'Mashindano' - from Kiswahili, Kushindana (to compete) - is a generic
term for any organised competitive event. Here it relates to popular
entertainment activities within which cultural groups competing for
recognition by their communities, as leaders in their fields. Nineteen
leading scholars contribute new studies on this little researched area,
making a long overdue contribution to musical scholarship in East
Africa, with a focus on Tanzania. The authors address key questions:
What are the various roles played by competitive pratices in musical
contexts? How do music competitions act as mechanisms of innovation? How
do music competitions act as mechanisms of innovation? How do they serve
their communities in identity formation? And what, specifically, do
competitive music practices communicate, and to whom? Local dance
contests, choir competitions, popular entertainment, song duels, and
sporting events are all described. Work is drawn from ethnomusicology,
history, musicology, anthropology, folklore, and literary,
post-colonial, and performance studies.