Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the evolution of batuku from an oral tradition to a musical genre, explores how batuku performances establish a link between tradition and modernity and discusses how female performers challenge well-established social patterns on stage and beyond.

Paper long abstract:

Batuku is a genre at the crossroads of oral literature, music and dance, probably brought to Cape Verde in the 15th century with enslaved people taken from West Africa. It is usually performed by a group of women sitting in a semi-circle with rolled-up cloths or small drums held between their thighs, on which they beat contrasting rhythmic patterns, creating a polyrhythmic texture. Batuku songs are sung in Kriolu, the Cape Verdean language. They cover a wide range of topics and are structured in the call-and-response style commonly found in traditional African music. This paper examines the roles played by batuku both under Portuguese rule as well as in the postcolonial period. The 21st century has brought a significant shift in the way batuku is performed and perceived, both locally and outside of the archipelago. The paper discusses this shift as it relates to issues of positioning, identity, female agency and empowerment and outlines how batuku performers reinvent tradition whilst innovating and heavily standardizing their performances. Focusing on the last decades, this paper aims at showing the impact of local and global processes on an oral tradition, which as a new genre and as a commodity is increasingly aiming at a globalized market.