The Kalahari debate has turned out to require more prep. time than I'd originally planned on. You know where I'm going with this, natch, since, as avid readers of this blog :-), you already know my position regarding the origins and meaning of Bushmen music. You might well guess that, as I see it, the whole Kalahari debate was a mistake, a silly quarrel that could have been avoided had the participants been willing to pay serious attention to the musical evidence -- as decisive as in the case of the Mikea. But the situation of the Bushmen is more complex and more interesting than that of the Mikea, with some wrinkles I still need to iron out.
And the underlying ideological issue(s) that fueled that debate, and continue to fuel related debates of the greatest importance, centering on terms such as "indigeneity," "authenticity," "identity" and "essentialism," are, to say the least, rather tricky to sort out. I've already given such matters a good deal of thought, but want to take some time to give them just a little bit more before attempting my own in-depth analysis. So please stay tuned. I hope to have something for you by tomorrow or the next day. We'll see.
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