Dr. Janice Haworth, associate professor of music at Bemidji State University, will present a April 21 Honors Council Lecture which will discuss the cultural and historical significance of Yankadi rhythms to the Susu people of Guinea.

Her presentation, “A Contextual Analysis of Yankadi: A Traditional Rhythm from Guinea (West Africa)”, begins at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 112. BSU’s Honor Council lectures are open to everyone free of charge.

During the lecture, Haworth will look beyond the rhythmic patterns of the Yankadi to analyze its influences and social, cultural and historical significance.

Yankadi is a traditional Guinean rhythm from the Susu people of the Coastal region of Guinea. The moment the drummers begin to play this rhythm, the entire Susu community is swept up in the joy of the memories and connotations of the sounds and the culture that it conveys. Many aspects of Guinean culture become part of this rhythm – including the coastal geography, the French colonization, the history of the Susu people, the oral teaching tradition, the Yankadi dance, and even the simple folk song about the tailor that is often sung with it.

“Hearing Yankadi simply as an exercise in playing polyrhythmic patterns misses the whole point of the music,” Haworth said. “This study is an attempt to look at this one rhythm from as many perspectives as possible and to create a contextual analysis of what Yankadi represents historically as well as what it means today.”

About Dr. Janice Haworth
Dr. Haworth is an associate professor of music focusing on music education with degrees from Newman University in music education and church music, the University of Tennessee in choral conducting and the University of Florida in music education. From 2010-2012 Dr. Haworth was a Fulbright Scholar in Dubrèka, Guinea where she taught at the Institut Supérieur des Arts de Guinée and developed a circular notation system using bottle caps to notate the traditional rhythms of Guinea.

About the Honors Council Lecture Series
The Honors Council Lecture Series is hosted by the Bemidji State University Honors Council. The council is the advisory group to the honors program composed of 12 faculty members representing each of the university’s colleges. Student representatives are also elected to the council by their cohorts for one-year terms.

Contacts

• Kari Caughey, BSU honors program; (218) 755-3984, kcaughey@bemidjistate.edu
• Dr. Janice Haworth, associate professor of music; (218) 755-3361, jhaworth@bemidjistate.edu

Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling nearly 5,000 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.