Baka Music & The Technology of Enchantment Part 3 (of 5) - Yeli and Enchanting the Forest

Stephen Feld noticed that the Kaluli of the  Bosavi rainforest in Papua New Guinea had a deep understanding of their sonic rich forest environment he suggested that to the Kaluli, sound was Central to making sense, to knowing, to experiential truth it is the same for the Baka born in this environment you learn to  listen to the forest at a very early age in the forest you have no need for maps, no need for clocks each time of day, each physical space has its own unique soundscape now we're goin

g to look at the  Baka women's singing the "yeli" how and why they do it what it means to them and the possible mechanisms that make it work here's some more recorded in February 1992 deep in the rainforest of Cameroon by the river Boumba note that it's the same ternary Rhythm we saw  in the Mbouamboua in the last episode ["yeli 1" from "Heart of the Forest"] the shaker she's playing helps everyone know where the beat is where the triplets are as long as everyone knows which beat they come in on

then the polyphony will work you can just hear in the background the second woman working out her part all in the 'chest voice' - no yodels In a rainforest survival is dependent on your listening skills hearing becomes your primary sense when walking through the forest all members of a group  will instantly react to sound, freezing midstep the Baka see the forest as their loving parent  who will look after you and keep you safe you perceive all sounds as the forest speaking to you telling you w

hat you need to know all sounds in the forest are telling you something the hum of bees lead you to Honey the song of frogs leads you to water there's no need to filter out irrelevant sounds - there aren't any in our busy modern lives we learn to cut out the  myriad of useless noises that clutter our life we actively learn not to listen One Day in 1992 I was walking in the forest with  a hunter called Mokoloba he was showing me how to lay snares so that I could look after myself and stop being a

burden on the camp we were walking along a path when he suddenly stopped, listening intently I stopped too and listened. I could hear some bees far up in the trees to the right of us and I asked, "are you looking for honey?" he looked at me in surprise and said in a shocked voice "you understand what the forest is saying" being so tuned into the sound of the forest  means you're in a constant conversation with it turning part of the conversation into song charms  the forest Arom suggests that P

ygmy polyphonic singing is pure music as it has no words whereas Lewis suggests that the sounds produced are the forest's language the intended recipient of the Mbendjeli's rhythmic utterances is the Forest as on organic whole of which people, spirits, animals and plants are all a part thus is the forest singing to itself everything is in the moment, the now, in the 'Kaluli groove' as Feld would say in this next song we can hear three  distinct voices coming in one at a time first there is a

low voice then Loni, who has been the main singer so far joins with a second line in a low register a third voice copies the first, but in a higher register with yodel then Loni also shifts to a higher register all these songs you've heard are recordings of the Baka women performing their 'yeli' for their own reasons it wasn't a performance for me they are genuinely singing to the forest I was told that all the men that night had to stay in their huts I was woken by the singing and recorded the

m through the leaves of my mongolou hut to the Bayaka, music has power both over the forest and animals they believe that it is the women's songs that are responsible for the success of the hunt for big game, such as elephant yet the Mbendjeli, a subgroup of Aka, and the Baka interpret this in different ways the Mbendjelli women believe that their spirits fly over the forest and tie the elephant's spirits down, so that the hunters can easily kill them the Baka women believe that the spirits of

past hunters walk with the elephants, herding them as the Hauser herd their zebu the 'yeli' singing encourages them to herd  the elephants towards the Hunter's Spears 'yeli', when sung to ensnare big game, will only be sung by initiates, who will be the older women life is short in the forest so that means over about 30. it is only the initiates who yodel during 'Spirit Dances' all the women and girls will be singing which is why it's been said that certain groups don't actually yodel but imita

te the sound using only their 'chest voice' it has also been said that the western Forest People don't hocket but if you listen to the 'head voice' of the yodel in this recording it is hocketing In Baka cosmology all elements of the environment are interconnected the forest is listening to its inhabitants and vice versa forest sounds are very diverse and polyphonic so are Baka conversations with the forest the song is a communication with the forest, the polyphonic sounds are the language of t

he forest the myriads of creatures calling into the night  give enough space in their calls so that all can be heard the overall Kaleidoscope of sound is a real-time representation of what is going on at that precise moment any changes are reflected in the sounds all sentient beings reacting to the sounds and silences of the others this is the voice of the rainforest that tells you everything you need to know and being part of this soundscape enables you to affect what happens in part 4 we shal

l look at the connection between music and language, at the nature of "Mé" and how music and dance are so important for the Baka's well-being