Moving Across a Stylistic Continuum:

Tambrin Music in Tobago

Abstract

Tambrin Music on the Caribbean Island of Tobago is traditionally performed to entertain people at weddings and other family celebrations. The genre is also connected with healing ceremonies and the belief in ancestral spirits. It can cause trance and possession. Nevertheless, today’s musicians hardly ever play in these traditional contexts. Opportunities to perform arise from political events, folklore festivals, and concerts for tourists. In consideration of theoretical views concerning cultural contacts, preservation and staged respectively participatory performances, the article deals with different forms of musical interaction and different ways of playing depending on repertoire, individual performers, and performance conditions. It is based on fieldwork conducted between 1995 and 2009, thus comprising the music of two generations of musicians.