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CULTURAL POLITICS IN THE POST-COLONY: MUSIC, NATIONALISM AND STATISM IN MALI, 1964–75

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2012

Ryan Thomas Skinner
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Abstract

This article examines the shifting experience of national belonging and state patronage at a crucial juncture in Mali's post-colonial history, the ten-year period that marked the end of the country's First Republic (1960–8) and the beginning of its Second Republic (1968–91). My focus is on the contested politics of culture that characterized this period, elucidated through the experiences and expressions of two popular dance bands, Las Maravillas de Mali and Les Ambassadeurs du Motel. By following the post-colonial careers of Las Maravillas and Les Ambassadeurs I explore social and musical encounters with national community and state authority from which broader questions of political sovereignty and accountability emerge.

Resumé

Cet article examine l'expérience changeante d'appartenance nationale et de patronage d’État à un moment crucial de l'histoire postcoloniale du Mali, à savoir la décennie qui marqua la fin de la première République du pays (1960–1968) et le début de sa seconde (1968–1991). Il s'intéresse à la politique de culture contestée qui a caractérisé cette période, à travers les expériences et les expressions de deux groupes de danse populaire, Las Maravillas de Mali et Les Ambassadeurs du Motel. En suivant les carrières postcoloniales de Las Maravillas et des Ambassadeurs, l'article examine les démêlés sociaux et musicaux avec la communauté nationale et l'autorité de l'État, dont émergent des questions plus larges de souveraineté et de responsabilité politiques.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 82 , Issue 4 , November 2012 , pp. 511 - 534
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2012

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Discography

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