Azmari

In Ethiopia, music is a way of life. This book offers a close, immersive portrait of itinerant poet-musicians who earn their living through song and performance. Focusing on Azmari singer-instrumentalists and itinerant Lalibela singers, the author, Itsushi Kawase, draws on many years of fieldwork to trace how these singers skillfully engage with audiences and shape their lives through music. Moving beyond the conventional divide between researcher and subject, Kawase follows their practices, aspirations, and transformations. Written by a visual anthropologist and filmmaker, and richly illustrated with photographs, this work captures Ethiopian musical culture in motion — from local performances to international stages, and through the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic — inviting readers to reconsider music and performance from an original and intimate perspective. +++ Itsushi Kawase is a professor at Japan’s National Museum of Ethnology and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies. His work bridges ethnographic filmmaking, poetry, fiction and performance, bringing a dynamic and engaged approach to scholarship. Since 2001, he has conducted research on hereditary singers in northern Ethiopia, and since 2018, he has explored religious practices among the Ethiopian diaspora in Tokyo. As a filmmaker, he has directed several documentaries, including Azmari-The Fest of Voices- (2023), When Spirits Ride Their Horses (2012) and the award-winning Room 11, Ethiopia Hotel (2007). His work critically examines the challenges and opportunities of communicating anthropological knowledge through film, encouraging dialogue both on screen and in daily life. +++ About the Author Introduction 1. The Chenbir guys 2. The ancient city of Gondar, where the princess had her view 3. Living myth, instrument masenqo 4. Subordination and resistance: Entertainers as media 5. Festive rituals and Azmari 6. Mediating conversations with spirits 7. Farm work and Azmari 8. Praise song 9. Wax and gold: Diving into the world of images 10. The secret of secret words 11. Connection to one’s hometown 12. Tegabu and Yetayal 13. The Azmari network spreads: In Mekelle 14. My big brother in Washington, DC 15. The rise and fall of Azmaribet 16. Ethiopian music shaken from the outside 17. Becoming artists 18. Lalibela, bard of the high plains 19. Various names 20. The legend of shkatch 21. Living in the endless blessing 22. Reactions to the film 23. Let’s survive! Acknowledgment Image References References