A collection of African and Indian children's songs with activities for intercultural music education in South Africa.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to present a collection of indigenous African and Indian songs with accompanying activities. While both groups of songs derive from an oral tradition I have notated the songs in order to make them more accessible to teachers in schools. My intention is to provide music educators with teaching material which recognises the inherent value of musical traditions, such as those of India and Africa. In South Africa this is an important means of encouraging intercultural understanding between people. The songs are presented with a brief introduction to the cultural background in which they were created and transmitted. I hope that teachers will share some of this information with their students. This is an important collection of songs because it is the first step towards making two musical cultures of Natal, African and Indian, available to music educators. In the climate of violence and political instability, this music has remained inaccessible to most school music teachers in Natal.