This is an engrossing account of ethnographic field work carried out in Lupupa Ngye, a Basongye village of central Zaire. The author's general aim was to know Basongye society and culture, and also to study music and the other arts. This volume provides a vivid descriptive sketch of the daily lives of the villagers and an understanding of their belief system. Professor Merriam's field-work in Lupupa Ngye was intensive and capable; his report on it is illuminating.

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In this highly praised and seminal work, Alan Merriam demonstrates that musicis asocial behavior one worthy and available to study through the methods of anthropology. In it, he convincingly arguesthat ethnomusicology, by definition, cannot separatethe sound-analysis of music from its cultural context of people thinking, acting, and creating.
The study begins with a review of the various approaches in ethnomusicology. He then suggests a useful and simple research model: ideas about music lead to behavior related to music and this behavior results in musical sound. He explains many...