Indigenous music is a term for the traditional music of the indigenous peoples of the world, that is, the music of an "original" ethnic group that inhabits any geographic region alongside more recent immigrants who may be greater in number. The term therefore depends upon the political role an ethnic group plays rather than upon its strictly musical characteristics, for all further criteria (territory, race, history, subsistence lifestyle, etc.) defining indigenous peoples can also be applied to majority cultures.
Societies defined as, or defining themselves as, "indigenous" are found in every inhabited climate zone and continent of the world. Some important articles are:
- Music of Africa, especially the non-European, Asian or Arab-derived traditions
- Maori music of New Zealand
- Music of the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia
- Music of the indigenous peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean
- Native American music of the United States and Inuit, Métis and First Nation music of Canada
Famous quotes containing the words indigenous and/or music:
“All climates agree with brave Chanticleer. He is more indigenous even than the natives. His health is ever good, his lungs are sound, his spirits never flag.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man: wine is not so noble a liquor; and think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of warm coffee, or of an evening with a dish of tea! Ah, how low I fall when I am tempted by them! Even music may be intoxicating. Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)