Fishing Songs and Rhythms of the Ocean

Abstract

This article explores how fishers express their relationship with the ocean through songs performed during fishing. During a fieldwork in Bagamoyo, I observed fishermen paddle to their fishing grounds, creating rhythms and sounds with their paddles, while singing along. The sounds of singing, paddling, and water splashing, as well as their body movements, created a beautiful display of their relationship to each other, their work and the ocean. Studies have shown that music can offer an understanding of social lives within a community, and its interactions with the environment. This study builds on such research in ecomusicology, ethnomusicology, and related studies; while focusing on how fishers relate to the ocean environment. The article draws on my PhD fieldwork in Bagamoyo in August 2024, where I collected a number of songs performed by fishermen in occupational contexts. The study was based on ethnographic fieldwork, using methods of participant observation, interviews, and focus group discussions, as well as filming and audio recording.

https://dx.doi.org/10.56279/NJIY8787/TJDS.v23i1.7