From “unease” to self-encounter

A brief analysis of Ethnomusicology in light of ethno-racial relations

Abstract

The objective of this article is to provide an analysis of moments in the history of Ethnomusicology, during and following its inception, particularly when applied to Africa and the African diaspora. This analysis draws on authors from Brazil and abroad who have addressed this subject, specifically those who have situated it within the scope of ethno-racial relations – e.g., Kofi Agawu from Ghana, Mhoze Chikowero from Zimbabwe – thereby highlighting power relations with their asymmetries.  Such asymmetries have resulted not only a mitigation of the epistemicide imposed by colonial/neocolonial whiteness on African-descended peoples but also the denial of Black peoples’ own protagonism in the context of their forms of expression, effectively silencing their personal narratives history. In this sense, the objective is to inquire which spaces are meant for the Black ethnomusicologist who finds him/herself confronted with the unease caused by the the biased tradition within this field of study.