The International Library of African Music is pleased to announce the release of the album Makishi Music: Chokwe, Luchazi, Luvale, and Mbunda Spirit Manifestation in Zambia. This compact disc features 10 high-quality recordings of music that accompanies the famous dances of makishi, the masked ancestral spirits common in the Zambia/Angola/DRC region of Africa. The tracks were performed by some of the most highly respected cultural custodians in this tradition. Most of these genres have never been professionally recorded or commercially accessible until now.
The package also contains 28 pages of informative liner notes, beautiful color photographs, and drum notation by ethnomusicologist Jason Winikoff. This collection is designed for listening, dancing, study, teaching, and documentation of this cultural heritage. It is also a fundraiser for the Likumbi Lya Mize Cultural Association, an organization appointed by his royal highness, the Luvale Senior Chief Ndungu. Every purchase helps them with their mission to preserve, protect, and promote Luvale culture in Zambia. The album is available in both CD and digital download formats.
This album is more than a musical compilation, it is a living archive of ancestral presence.
Carefully recorded and annotated by Jason Winikoff, the album preserves the nuanced interplay between sound, spirit, and ceremony, providing listeners with a rare window into cultural practices that continue to shape identity, belonging, and resistance in Zambia.
Order your copy by emailing ilam@ru.ac.za now!