This thesis interrogates Andrew Tracey’s career as an ethnomusicologist and the significance of his research and publications on lamellophone (mbira) music of the Shona/Sena in Zimbabwe and Mozambique to subsequent scholarship of lamellophones throughout southern Africa. Through a survey of authors who have cited Tracey’s publications, this study assess how his use of the pulse notation transcription method and his theory of form and harmonic structure in mbira music, which he terms ‘the system of the mbira’ (A. Tracey, 1989) have influenced and contributed to the work of ethnomusicologists, musicologists and composers. Further this research evaluates the impact on subsequent publications by other scholars of Tracey's technical analysis of mbira music. Organizing and indexing Andrew Tracey's field collection in the ILAM archive gave direct knowledge of the scope of his work. The thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter contains a general introduction to the thesis and outlines the goals of the research. Chapter Two presents a biographical sketch of Andrew Tracey. A general introduction to the lamellophone (mbira) family of musical instruments in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa is presented in Chapter Three, which also addresses the social function of lamellophone music. Chapter Four gives a summary of Andrew Tracey’s research on the Shona mbira (his publications, recordings, films etc), and it analyzes his theory - “The system of the mbira” - in which he defines the form and structure of mbira music. Chapter Five examines the impact of Andrew Tracey’s research and publications on mbira music to subsequent scholarship and makes an analysis and evaluation of the significance of his contribution to the body of knowledge of the instrument and its music. In addition I relate my personal experiences with mbira music as a Shona person and mbira player and give my opinions on Tracey’s and subsequent scholars’ theories on mbira music. Chapter Six concludes with a summary of outcomes of this research. Basing on the analyses of presented data, it is deduced that, despite a few shortcomings, Andrew Tracey’s research on mbira music is crucial for it laid the groundwork for subsequent mbira scholarship.

This thesis is an ethnography of mhande dance as a dynamic phenomenon that enunciates Karanga belief and normative values that are enacted through performance of mhande dance in its chief indigenous contexts: the kurova guva (settling the spirit of the dead) and the mutoro (rain making) rituals. Approached from an emic perspective, the study draws data from field research conducted between 2008 and 2010 among the rural Karanga of Shurugwi District in Zimbabwe. This study is an explication of mhande dance which provides the reader with cognitive understanding of the indigenous spiritual dance that embraces music, dance and gestures. The dance features both symbolize and spiritualize Karanga culture. Karanga scheme of reality (chivanhu) embodies two worlds: the natural and the supernatural in which the natural is explained by the supernatural. The supernatural is the world of the spirits with God (Mwari) being the Supreme Spirit. According to the Karanga, the deceased become spirit beings that maintain the quality of life of their human nature. Thus the Karanga spiritual world is populated with good and bad spirits where the good are referred to as ancestors (vadzimu) and the bad are identified differently; for example, sorcerers (varoyi) , alien (mashavi) and avenging spirits (ngozi). The Karanga believe in God who they venerate through their ancestors. Ancestors are empowered to overcome bad spirits and hence their siblings appease them in order that the spirits assist the humans to deal with challenges of life for which the natural world provides no solution. Karanga reality of the existence of spiritual beings is made to be a part of everyday life through the conduct of spiritual ritual ceremonies: kurova guva and mutoro wherein the performance of mhande dance occasions spirit possession. Thus, through its efficacious and symbolic features, mhande dance is experienced reality of Karanga epistemology (chikaranga). / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This thesis provides a critical study of texts associated with Hugh Tracey (1903–1977). Tracey is well-known for his work in African music studies, particularly for his major contribution to the recorded archive of musical sound in sub-Saharan Africa and his founding of the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in 1954. My reading of him is informed by a postcolonial perspective, whiteness studies and African scholarship on ways in which constructions of African identity and tradition have been shaped by the colonial archive. In my view, Tracey was part of a mid-twentieth century movement which sought to marshal positive representations of traditional African culture in the interest of maintaining and strengthening colonial rule. While his recording project may have fostered inclusion through creating spaces for indigenous musicians to be heard, it also functioned to promote racist exclusion in the manner of its production, distribution and claims to expertise. Moreover, his initial strategy for ILAM’s sustainability targeted colonial government and industry as primary clients, with the promise that promoting traditional music as a means of entertainment and self-expression for black subjects and workers would ease administration and reduce conflict. I believe that it is important to acknowledge and interrogate the problematic racial attitudes and practices associated with the history of Tracey’s archive – not to undermine its significance in any way but to allow it to be better understood and used more productively in the future.