British Forum for Ethnomusicology

Review: [untitled]
Author(s): Gerald Groemer
Reviewed work(s):
Japans blinde Snger im Schutz der Gottheit Myon-Benzaiten by Ingrid Fritsch
Source: British Journal of Ethnomusicology, Vol. 5 (1996), pp. 161-163
Published by: British Forum for Ethnomusicology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060874
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British Journal
of Ethnomusicology,
vol. 5
(1996) British Journal
of Ethnomusicology,
vol. 5
(1996)
heard intervals or
rhythms
which are not
quite
those so
carefully performed by
the
musicians.
Why
not
incorporate
different
transcription
systems?
For Indian
rhythm, why
notate
pitch
rather than make an effort to
represent
different
techniques
of
hitting
the drum?
Why present
some music with time
signatures
and Western
(orthodox) key
signatures,
but not others? And, in the
light
of Nattiez's research on Inuit
singing games,
is the
katajjaq
transcription
(pp.
86-7,
transcription book) really adequate?
But let's not
squabble.
World sound
matters, however I look at it, remains
mighty
impressive.
I
accept
that it is difficult, if not
impossible,
to
satisfy both an academic
higher
education market and the needs of
teachers and
pupils
in
secondary
schools. To
attempt
to do so calls for admiration. And
Stock is
largely
successful. This is
quite
a
remarkable achievement, though only
time
will tell to what extent World sound matters
finds its
place amongst
the
targeted
GCSE
teachers and students. In contrast, World
musics in education is less
impressive,
and
less
consistently
successful. The task it sets
itself seems to differ from what it offers, and
I remain unconvinced that sufficient time
was
spent ensuring
that it would suit its
intended market.
A final comment concerns the titles. I
accept
that
"ethnomusicology"
can be a bit
of a tum-off. But "world music", at least in
the British market, began
as a
marketing
tool. In fact, the
history
of the term,
stretching
back several decades before small
independent
record labels hit on the term as
a
way
to shift their
products,
is discussed
by
Robert Brown in an article in
Teaching
musics of
the world ("World music-as it
was, in the
beginning,
is now and
really
should be"). Brown claims to have
introduced the term
together
with David
McAlester for the "first
so-designated
world music
program"
at
Wesleyan
Univer-
sity
in Connecticut in the
early
1960s. He
insists on "music", not "musics". The
symposium
series on which
Teaching
musics
of
the world is based
began
in Amsterdam in
1991 as
"Teaching
World Music", but
quickly
realised some of the difficulties with
the term (in Germany,
for instance, "world
music" indicates ambient, New
Age sounds;
more
commonly,
it
signifies pop
more than
traditional music). And
amongst
scholars
heard intervals or
rhythms
which are not
quite
those so
carefully performed by
the
musicians.
Why
not
incorporate
different
transcription
systems?
For Indian
rhythm, why
notate
pitch
rather than make an effort to
represent
different
techniques
of
hitting
the drum?
Why present
some music with time
signatures
and Western
(orthodox) key
signatures,
but not others? And, in the
light
of Nattiez's research on Inuit
singing games,
is the
katajjaq
transcription
(pp.
86-7,
transcription book) really adequate?
But let's not
squabble.
World sound
matters, however I look at it, remains
mighty
impressive.
I
accept
that it is difficult, if not
impossible,
to
satisfy both an academic
higher
education market and the needs of
teachers and
pupils
in
secondary
schools. To
attempt
to do so calls for admiration. And
Stock is
largely
successful. This is
quite
a
remarkable achievement, though only
time
will tell to what extent World sound matters
finds its
place amongst
the
targeted
GCSE
teachers and students. In contrast, World
musics in education is less
impressive,
and
less
consistently
successful. The task it sets
itself seems to differ from what it offers, and
I remain unconvinced that sufficient time
was
spent ensuring
that it would suit its
intended market.
A final comment concerns the titles. I
accept
that
"ethnomusicology"
can be a bit
of a tum-off. But "world music", at least in
the British market, began
as a
marketing
tool. In fact, the
history
of the term,
stretching
back several decades before small
independent
record labels hit on the term as
a
way
to shift their
products,
is discussed
by
Robert Brown in an article in
Teaching
musics of
the world ("World music-as it
was, in the
beginning,
is now and
really
should be"). Brown claims to have
introduced the term
together
with David
McAlester for the "first
so-designated
world music
program"
at
Wesleyan
Univer-
sity
in Connecticut in the
early
1960s. He
insists on "music", not "musics". The
symposium
series on which
Teaching
musics
of
the world is based
began
in Amsterdam in
1991 as
"Teaching
World Music", but
quickly
realised some of the difficulties with
the term (in Germany,
for instance, "world
music" indicates ambient, New
Age sounds;
more
commonly,
it
signifies pop
more than
traditional music). And
amongst
scholars
and
performers,
"world music"
rarely
signifies
the world; rather, the music chosen
for concern tends to be
highly
selective.
Stock
manages
to
get
around the
problem,
and he can
lay
a claim to
provide exactly
what his subtitle
says:
"an
anthology
of
music from around the world".
Floyd
doesn't
acknowledge
the debate, but
throughout
his text refers to "world
musics". Discussion is needed, please.
Reference
Lieth-Philipp, Margot
& Andreas Gutzwiller
(1995) Teaching
musics of
the world.
Basel:
Conservatory
of Music/Affalter-
bach: Edition
Philipp.
KEITH HOWARD
School
of
Oriental and
African
Studies
University of
London
kh@soas.ac.uk
and
performers,
"world music"
rarely
signifies
the world; rather, the music chosen
for concern tends to be
highly
selective.
Stock
manages
to
get
around the
problem,
and he can
lay
a claim to
provide exactly
what his subtitle
says:
"an
anthology
of
music from around the world".
Floyd
doesn't
acknowledge
the debate, but
throughout
his text refers to "world
musics". Discussion is needed, please.
Reference
Lieth-Philipp, Margot
& Andreas Gutzwiller
(1995) Teaching
musics of
the world.
Basel:
Conservatory
of Music/Affalter-
bach: Edition
Philipp.
KEITH HOWARD
School
of
Oriental and
African
Studies
University of
London
kh@soas.ac.uk
INGRID FRITSCH,
Japans
blinde
Singer
im Schutz der Gottheit
Myoon-
Benzaiten. Munich: ludicium, 1996.
31
lpp., plates, figures.
ISBN 3-89129-311-
9
(pb).
In German.
Much of
Japanese
music
history
involves the
activities of the blind.
Anyone
who is familiar
with the near
unreadability, haphazard
documentation and
disorganized
nature of most
Japanese writings
on the blind will welcome
Japans
blinde
Sanger
as an extensive and
accurate overview of
Japanese primary
and
secondary
sources.
Ingrid
Fritsch has also read
widely
in the
Western-language
literature on the
subject,
and has even
engaged
in
original
fieldwork, interviewing
some of the last
remaining
blind
performers
in the
Japanese
countryside. Japans
blinde
Sanger
is
not,
however, merely
a
history
of the
visually
impaired
in
Japan. Instead,
Fritsch has
organized
her work around an
important
motif:
the role of Sarasvati (in Japanese: Myoon
or
Benzaiten), guardian goddess
of
many Japanese
blind
performers.
The volume
begins
with a discussion of
Myoon-Benzaiten
herself: her Indian
origins,
and her
reception
and
reinteipretation
in Tibet,
China and
eventually Japan.
When
exactly
My6on-Benzaiten
became a
protector-goddess
of
Japanese
musicians remains unclear, but
temples
and shrines
throughout Japan
(especially
those at Enoshima,
Chikubushima
and
Yoshino)
attest that the connection is heir
INGRID FRITSCH,
Japans
blinde
Singer
im Schutz der Gottheit
Myoon-
Benzaiten. Munich: ludicium, 1996.
31
lpp., plates, figures.
ISBN 3-89129-311-
9
(pb).
In German.
Much of
Japanese
music
history
involves the
activities of the blind.
Anyone
who is familiar
with the near
unreadability, haphazard
documentation and
disorganized
nature of most
Japanese writings
on the blind will welcome
Japans
blinde
Sanger
as an extensive and
accurate overview of
Japanese primary
and
secondary
sources.
Ingrid
Fritsch has also read
widely
in the
Western-language
literature on the
subject,
and has even
engaged
in
original
fieldwork, interviewing
some of the last
remaining
blind
performers
in the
Japanese
countryside. Japans
blinde
Sanger
is
not,
however, merely
a
history
of the
visually
impaired
in
Japan. Instead,
Fritsch has
organized
her work around an
important
motif:
the role of Sarasvati (in Japanese: Myoon
or
Benzaiten), guardian goddess
of
many Japanese
blind
performers.
The volume
begins
with a discussion of
Myoon-Benzaiten
herself: her Indian
origins,
and her
reception
and
reinteipretation
in Tibet,
China and
eventually Japan.
When
exactly
My6on-Benzaiten
became a
protector-goddess
of
Japanese
musicians remains unclear, but
temples
and shrines
throughout Japan
(especially
those at Enoshima,
Chikubushima
and
Yoshino)
attest that the connection is heir
161 161
162 British Journal
of Ethnomusicology,
vol. 5
(1996)
to a
long history. During
the twelfth
century,
Fritsch surmises, the musical connotations of
My6on-Benzaiten
became increasingly empha-
sized, especially by
musicians associated with
the
crumbling
Heian court. Fritsch recounts in
some detail evidence and
legends surrounding
Fujiwara
no Moronaga
(1137-92;
Buddhist
name:
My6on'in),
who was perhaps
the
initiator of the
My6onten
cult. Fritsch then cites
numerous documents from the 12th to 16th
centuries, chronicling
the
development
of
ceremonies dedicated to the
goddess. My6on-
Benzaiten
popularity among
court musicians
probably peaked during
the Kamakura period
(1185-1333),
but thereafter various rituals
continued to be celebrated
by many types
of
blind musicians until well into the twentieth
century.
Outside court circles, one
type
of blind
musician that venerated Myoon-Benzaiten
was
the itinerant blind male biwa
(lute)
performer
known as biwa hoshi. These musicians often
recited sections from the
epic
Tale of the Heike.
Another similar sort of
performer,
known as
moso, presented
a
variety
of sacred and secular
accompanied
narratives. Some time
during
the
early
Kamakura
period,
Heike biwa
performers
formed a
type
of
guild,
known as the t6d6-za,
which eventually
succeeded in
attaining
official
recognition
from the
government.
Fritsch
outlines the
history
of this
guild, focussing
on
its relation to
Myoon-Benzaiten.
She shows
that whereas the t3do-za became a
powerful
organization
that succeeded in
controlling
and
protecting
the interests of
many
of the blind
(especially
the richer
segment
of the blind
population),
the m6s6, who
operated mainly
in
rural areas on the island of
Kyushu,
failed to
establish a nationwide
organization.
Often
associating
themselves with various
powerful
temples, groups
of moso toured the
country-
side, offering
invocations and other
religious
or
semi-religious
recitations to rural inhabitants.
Moso also often
worshipped My6on-Benzaiten
at annual ceremonies that included biwa con-
certs. Such ceremonies were
commonly
held
until several decades
ago;
remnants continue to
be found even
today.
My6on-Benzaiten
was also
worshipped by
female blind musicians
(goze), especially
those
who were active in what is
today
Niigata
prefecture.
These women also
frequently
formed
occupational groups.
Fritsch
presents
what is to date
by
far the most detailed and
accurate
Western-language
ethnography
and
history
of the
goze.
She summarizes most of
the
legends surrounding
goze
origins, using
copious
documentation in a detailed discussion
of
goze
activities and
practices. Many
goze
associations held annual services in honour of
the
goddess,
which
might
also function as
graduation
ceremonies for
disciples
who had
withstood the
years
of training necessary
to
become a
full-fledged
member.
Yet another group
of blind female
performers
that honour
Myoon-Benzaiten
are
the shamanesses of northeastern Japan,
who
reorganized
themselves to become the Daiwa
-
shi sect of Buddhism after World War II.
Many
shamanesses still
practice today;
annual
festivities
pay homage
to the
goddess,
and
some members engage
in
private
veneration as
well.
In the final
chapters,
Fritsch summarizes
points
held in common
by legends surrounding
groups
of Japanese
blind
performers.
She finds
that in
many
tales of
origins
the founder of an
association is said to be of aristocratic heritage,
usually
related to an
emperor.
The
originator
gives up
social rank because of blindness and
usually through
divine
inspiration
is endowed
with an artistic or
religious ability.
This
ability
is then transmitted exclusively
to the blind. As a
show of
gratitude,
the
emperor grants special
ranks for the blind.
Japans
blinde Sanger will
probably
be most
appreciated by
readers who wish to know in
great
detail exactly
how several,
in
many
senses
atypical, Japanese occupational groups
employed legends, myth
and
religion
to serve
their own
purposes.
Fritsch rarely attempts
to
understand
why
such
legends arose,
or what
exact benefits
they produced. Instead,
she
contents herself with factual detail. As a
result,
there are such an immense number of trees in
this forest, each one with its own long history,
each one
inextricably
intertwined with the
others, that the
study
often
begins
to read
almost like a reference book.
Jam-packed
with
data and minute detail, this
labyrinthine
work
excels in
sorting
out variant versions of
myths,
setting straight confusing chronologies
and
terminology,
and illuminating
obscure Buddhist
allusions that
invariably accompany
the kind of
sources that must be used for this kind of
research.
One doubt that remained with me while
reading
this volume was whether studying
the
tod6-za and associations of goze,
moso and
other itinerant
performers
from the
point
of
view of
religion
is in fact
appropriate.
No
doubt, many
of the blind
genuflected
to the
goddess
when occasion called for it,
but at least
from the seventeenth century,
I would
argue,
British Journal
of Ethnomusicology,
vol. 5
(1996)
British Journal
of Ethnomusicology,
vol. 5
(1996)
the
presence
of
Myoon-Benzaiten was
hardly
central to the activities of
any
of these
organizations. Religion,
it seems to me, was
merely
a
handy expedient
for various secular
ends, of which we learn little in this volume
(accurate
records
probably
do not exist, and
Fritsch
usually
refuses to
guess).
To
my mind,
the t6do-za was
fundamentally
an economic
association, not a
religious one;
the
g6ze
and
moso, on the other hand, were
mainly
interested
in
retaining
a
monopoly
on their
respective
performing
arts. Fritsch does outline these
functions of each
organization,
but in such
sections-the most
interesting
of the book-
My6on-Benzaiten becomes as
peripheral
as I
believe she was in
reality.
I could
spot only
few minor errors. The
explanation
on
p.
20 is
misleading,
since not
only
recent biwa contain five
strings (rarely),
but also one
type
of ancient one, of which a
famous
example
is in the Sh6soin. The
illustration on
p.
74 is from a volume entitled
Shiji
no
yukikai (misread
as Shiji
koka;
cf.
p.
304).
In some
instances, macrons are
misplaced,
or characters are misread:
p. 41,
shugy6;
p. 42, ktaishi; p. 76, Kant6; p. 95,
Oita; p. 140, Chugoku; p. 205, furoshiki; p.
237, hosomichi;
pp.
237, 276,
hogo-bu;
p. 291,
Yizankaku; p. 298, shaiky6
hojin.
Other more
common
readin,g
include
p.
75 and elsewhere,
jijin-gyo/jijin-kyo;
p. 141, Tsukushi-goto; p.
211,
kan-geiko.
Rinsen shoten
(p.
269)
is in
Kyoto; references to
Ohnuki-Tierney
1989 on
pp. 61, 62, and 89 should
presumably
read
1987. And I am not sure
why my translation of
Takahashi Chikuzan's
autobiography
is in the
bibliography.
I could not find mention of it
anywhere, though
I
may
have missed it in the
jungle
of over 1100 footnotes.
GERALD GROEMER
Earlham
College
/ Yamanashi Univ.
groemge@earlham.edu
the
presence
of
Myoon-Benzaiten was
hardly
central to the activities of
any
of these
organizations. Religion,
it seems to me, was
merely
a
handy expedient
for various secular
ends, of which we learn little in this volume
(accurate
records
probably
do not exist, and
Fritsch
usually
refuses to
guess).
To
my mind,
the t6do-za was
fundamentally
an economic
association, not a
religious one;
the
g6ze
and
moso, on the other hand, were
mainly
interested
in
retaining
a
monopoly
on their
respective
performing
arts. Fritsch does outline these
functions of each
organization,
but in such
sections-the most
interesting
of the book-
My6on-Benzaiten becomes as
peripheral
as I
believe she was in
reality.
I could
spot only
few minor errors. The
explanation
on
p.
20 is
misleading,
since not
only
recent biwa contain five
strings (rarely),
but also one
type
of ancient one, of which a
famous
example
is in the Sh6soin. The
illustration on
p.
74 is from a volume entitled
Shiji
no
yukikai (misread
as Shiji
koka;
cf.
p.
304).
In some
instances, macrons are
misplaced,
or characters are misread:
p. 41,
shugy6;
p. 42, ktaishi; p. 76, Kant6; p. 95,
Oita; p. 140, Chugoku; p. 205, furoshiki; p.
237, hosomichi;
pp.
237, 276,
hogo-bu;
p. 291,
Yizankaku; p. 298, shaiky6
hojin.
Other more
common
readin,g
include
p.
75 and elsewhere,
jijin-gyo/jijin-kyo;
p. 141, Tsukushi-goto; p.
211,
kan-geiko.
Rinsen shoten
(p.
269)
is in
Kyoto; references to
Ohnuki-Tierney
1989 on
pp. 61, 62, and 89 should
presumably
read
1987. And I am not sure
why my translation of
Takahashi Chikuzan's
autobiography
is in the
bibliography.
I could not find mention of it
anywhere, though
I
may
have missed it in the
jungle
of over 1100 footnotes.
GERALD GROEMER
Earlham
College
/ Yamanashi Univ.
groemge@earlham.edu
MIREILLE HELFFER, Mchod-rol: les
instruments de la musi9ue tib6taine.
Paris: CNRS Editions, Editions de la
Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1994.
401pp.,
33 b&w
photos, 8 colour
plates,
30
tables, 57
figures,
appendices, bibliog.,
indices, CD. ISBN 2-7351-0643-8
(CNRS),
2-271-05224-6 (MSH) (pb).
In
French.
MIREILLE HELFFER, Mchod-rol: les
instruments de la musi9ue tib6taine.
Paris: CNRS Editions, Editions de la
Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1994.
401pp.,
33 b&w
photos, 8 colour
plates,
30
tables, 57
figures,
appendices, bibliog.,
indices, CD. ISBN 2-7351-0643-8
(CNRS),
2-271-05224-6 (MSH) (pb).
In
French.
Historically,
the state of research in Tibetan
music has suffered from a lack of definition
Historically,
the state of research in Tibetan
music has suffered from a lack of definition
of the "field", in both the
physical
and
scholarly
sense. Political conditions have
made the collection of materials
difficult,
and even where these existed
(and there are
important
collections of Tibetan instruments,
at
least,
in the
West),
few scholars were able
to
experience directly
the
"living
trad-
itions" in order to
interpret
them
adequately. Equally,
the material and textual
bias of Western
Tibetology presents
particular challenges
for the ethnomusic-
ologist seeking
to
equip
herself or himself
with a
knowledge of Tibetan
language
and
culture. As a result, the
published
literature
in this area has been uneven in its
scope
and
quality.
Helffer's recent book, however, is
representative
of the considerable advances
which she has led since the
early
1970s. It is
the fruit of more than
twenty years
of
meticulous research undertaken
by
one of a
small number of scholars
who, through
their
intimate
knowledge
of Tibetan
language
and
culture, have
brought
a new
ethnographic
depth
to the field. Given that
many
of their
important writings
in this
specialized
field
remain
unpublished (e.g.
Canzio 1978,
Ellingson 1979), Dr Helffer and her
publishers
are to be
thoroughly congrat-
ulated for
making
this
ground-breaking
work available to us.
At first
glance,
the title
(being perhaps
enigmatic
to the
non-specialist) might
suggest
that here is a book which is more
Tibetological
than
ethnomusicological
in
orientation and content. Indeed, it was
originally conceived as a
simple inventory
of
Tibetan musical instruments, and it remains
confined to the contexts of Tibetan
institutional
religion (Buddhist and
Bonpo),
Actually, however, the title mchod-rol
("musical offering",
pronounced
approximately
as
"ch6r6") points
to the
emic
perspective arising
from Helffer's
fieldwork in India and
Nepal,
which
permeates
the work and
gives
it substantial
interest and value for
ethnomusicologists
irrespective
of their
regional interests: for the
wider reader, it
gives
a
fascinating
and
informative
insight
into the
way
in which a
culture's aesthetic
concepts
and values are
organized
in terms of actual sound; for the
Tibet-oriented scholar, it consolidates two
decades of research
by
Helffer and others
which has
gradually
met the
challenge
presented by
the
discovery
of a wider
range
of the "field", in both the
physical
and
scholarly
sense. Political conditions have
made the collection of materials
difficult,
and even where these existed
(and there are
important
collections of Tibetan instruments,
at
least,
in the
West),
few scholars were able
to
experience directly
the
"living
trad-
itions" in order to
interpret
them
adequately. Equally,
the material and textual
bias of Western
Tibetology presents
particular challenges
for the ethnomusic-
ologist seeking
to
equip
herself or himself
with a
knowledge of Tibetan
language
and
culture. As a result, the
published
literature
in this area has been uneven in its
scope
and
quality.
Helffer's recent book, however, is
representative
of the considerable advances
which she has led since the
early
1970s. It is
the fruit of more than
twenty years
of
meticulous research undertaken
by
one of a
small number of scholars
who, through
their
intimate
knowledge
of Tibetan
language
and
culture, have
brought
a new
ethnographic
depth
to the field. Given that
many
of their
important writings
in this
specialized
field
remain
unpublished (e.g.
Canzio 1978,
Ellingson 1979), Dr Helffer and her
publishers
are to be
thoroughly congrat-
ulated for
making
this
ground-breaking
work available to us.
At first
glance,
the title
(being perhaps
enigmatic
to the
non-specialist) might
suggest
that here is a book which is more
Tibetological
than
ethnomusicological
in
orientation and content. Indeed, it was
originally conceived as a
simple inventory
of
Tibetan musical instruments, and it remains
confined to the contexts of Tibetan
institutional
religion (Buddhist and
Bonpo),
Actually, however, the title mchod-rol
("musical offering",
pronounced
approximately
as
"ch6r6") points
to the
emic
perspective arising
from Helffer's
fieldwork in India and
Nepal,
which
permeates
the work and
gives
it substantial
interest and value for
ethnomusicologists
irrespective
of their
regional interests: for the
wider reader, it
gives
a
fascinating
and
informative
insight
into the
way
in which a
culture's aesthetic
concepts
and values are
organized
in terms of actual sound; for the
Tibet-oriented scholar, it consolidates two
decades of research
by
Helffer and others
which has
gradually
met the
challenge
presented by
the
discovery
of a wider
range
163 163