Culture Day Music Quiz

What's the purpose of this song?

• to confess love

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This is a love song from the Highland Scots, who are most well-known for bagpipes. In this song, a woman describes how her love didn't recognise her when he saw her, but then goes on to say how she is uncorcerned because she is actually in love with somebody else.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to confess love

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This dance song was performed by the Kanak people of Melanesia. In this recording, a choir of men and women sung to accompany a dance performed by elderly women who mimed pulling a canoe along the beach.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to confess love

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This is a healing oration sung by the Guna, an indigenous people living in the Archipelago os San Bias, Panama. In Guna culture, prayers and botanical knowledge of roots, leaves and barks are used to heal the sick. In this song, the Guna call upon a spirit found in a special stone of a river called Aquanusa. The opening of the song introduces the spirit of the stone to the person being cured.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to chase away bad spirits

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

• to recall the past

Answer explanation

This is a lullaby by the Q'ero people of the Central Andes. The lyrics of this song roughly translate to 'chi, chi, wqwq (baby) that you might learn to work the potatoes, young one'.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to chase away bad spirits

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

• to recall the past

Answer explanation

This is a healing song of the Ganda people of Eastern Africa. During this recording, a doctor laid a sick child upon his knees and gave him medicine while singing. At the same time, the doctor's assistant shook an Akanyege, a gourd with sand and pebbles inside.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

• to recall the past

Answer explanation

This is a dance song of the Yolngu people, an Aboriginal group native to Northeast Australia. This region is the origin of the yidaki instrument, known more commonly as the didgeridoo. This instrument is a wooden pipe ranging from three to ten feet in length that produces a distinctive drone that has been described as an 'aural kaleidoscope of timbres'.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to confess love

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This is a love song from the Bai people of Yunnan, China. Known for its diverse culture, 15 out of the 56 recognised ethnic groups of China are found in Yunnan. The lyrics of this song describe a man trying to convince a woman to marry him while they are still young.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to confess love

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This is a lullaby by the of the Lardil people from Mornington Island in Queensland, Australia. As with many songs in Aboriginal culture, women's songs auch as this one are sung as Lardil charms. This lullaby is a charm to induce sleep.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to bring rain

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This is a healing song from Mexico used in a Mayan purification ceremony for a sick person. Shamans incorporate 'xi'nche' branches as rhythmic percussion instruments in order to extract the spirits causing the person's illness. Thy lyrics can only be spoken by Shamans and contain some words that are incomprehensible to even native Mayan speakers.

What's the purpose of this song?

• to pray for a healthy child

• to dance

• to soothe a baby

• to heal the sick

Answer explanation

This is a healing song from the Mbuti people of Central Africa. The Mbuti do not typically turn to sources beyond the forest for medical help.