An introductory study of music among the Kera
Introduction
The Kera have migrated from further east in Chad, but their music has much in common with groups who are to the south and west of them. They inhabit the savanna, and during rainy season much of the Kera region is flooded. There are approximately 30,000 Kera, the majority of whom live in the Mayo-Kebbi region of Chad. Some live in the capital city of N'Djaména as well as in Douala and Yaoundé, the two largest cities in Cameroon. They are subsistence farmers, growing two crops of millet per year, and mixed livestock raisers. Cattle is considered to be wealth and is used in payment for a marriage. The system of village and area chiefs is fairly recent. The festivals and customs of the Kera have much in common with the neighboring Tupuri people even though their languages are not similar and they originally came from different areas. The Kera have a positive attitude toward their own language, although some also speak Tupuri and/or French.
In this survey, I have concentrated on what I could observe such as the instruments and the festivals, and also on what I could hear throughout the day. Whenever I heard a song, I tried to write it down. In all of the examples that I give, the pitch is relative. Some of the instruments are tuned and that can then define the pitch, but for Kera music in general, the pitch is relative, even if pitched instruments are used.
Diagrams of Kera instruments
