ABSTRACT

This chapter describes reductionist notions of top-down message dissemination and unchanging tradition and emphasize instead the broader processes of meaning making and social mobilization that take place through music. In health development discourse, performers involved in health promotion are referred to as “traditional communicators.” The goal of many health promotion programs is to change people’s behavior, whether by encouraging hand washing, exclusive breastfeeding, or the use of sugar-salt solution to treat diarrhea. Incorporating a variety of styles and formats can enable health organizations to accommodate differences in preferences shaped by gender, age, ethnicity, or individual predilections. Health performances in The Gambia are the product of multi-layered negotiations between international organizations and funding bodies, national level policy makers, local health workers, and performers of various kinds. Health workers described the process of message development and translation as one of collaboration between health educators with expertise in health information and performers with expertise in music, dance, and drama.