The Arts and Music as History in Liberia

The Power of Music



http://blog.liberiapastandpresent.org/?p=234

Music is one of the main highlights of Liberian culture, especially to the indigenous peoples. Not only is it played for entertainment purposes, but it is also played to educate listeners about Liberia’s history. The topics can range from culture and political problems to social problems and human rights. The drum is one of the primary musical instruments they use and the lyrical songs are sung in both the English language and in the indigenous languages.[1] Many Liberian tribes also employ “talking instruments” that tells stories when played.[2] In fact, many western African cultures use the “talking drum” in which the music created by the drum actually communicates a sentence without actually using words.[3] The “talking drum” mimics the tone, rhythm, intonation, and stress of human speech. The indigenous peoples of Liberia use the talking drum during different traditional activities and rituals such as religious rites, royal occasions, and even circumcisions.[4]





 



Symbolism in Liberia’s Flag
The Liberian flag has a five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper left hand corner and also consists of eleven horizontal red and white stripes. Liberia’s flag is actually modeled after the United States’ Stars and Stripes. Liberia’s flag, as a form of art, is entrenched is historical symbolism. The white star symbolizes the freedom that the ex-slaves were given after America relocated them to Africa. The blue square stands for the African mainland and, finally, the eleven stripes on the flag represent the eleven signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence.[5] This flag has a tremendous amount of cultural and historical significance. Liberia, as the “place for freedom”, was given by the American Colonization Society who acquired the land from local tribal chiefs in 1821 for freed African slaves in America. The colony declared itself an independent nation in 1847 and the flow of immigrants dwindled to nearly zero following the end of the American Civil War. These Americo-Liberians, as they were called, became the intellectual and ruling class of Liberia, modeling the government after that of the United States of America.[6]

http://blog.liberiapastandpresent.org/?p=234

[1] “Culture of Liberia”, Wikipedia, (accessed 22 January 2015, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Liberia).

[2] “Folk Music of Liberia”, Wikipedia, (accessed 22 January 2015, http://www.folkways.si.edu/folk-music-of-liberia/world/ album/smithosonian).

[3] “Music as Storytelling”, Liberty University, (accessed 22 January 2015).

[4] “The Talking Drum”, Stream Africa, (accessed 22 January 2015, http://streamafrica.com/culture/culture-of-africa/#).

[5] “Liberia Flag”, Maps of the World, (accessed 22 January 2015, http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/leberia-flag.html).

[6] “Liberian Americans”, Countries and Their Cultures, (accessed 22 January 2015, http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Liberian-Americans.html).