Sound Politics and Magic

The modern African state, like all states, is undoubtedly rooted in violence. However, hard power alone is always insufficient to maintain dominance, making a politics of enchantment or magic a necessity. National anthems are part and parcel of this strategy for hegemony. On the surface, they are just patriotic songs whose lyrics the citizens of most countries could probably only ad-lib, but their significance is much more serious. By combining tune, harmony, and rhythm with words (lyrics), national anthems enhance the ability of the state to enchant its citizens. In sum, they are political tools that engage citizens in nation and state building in melodious ways. This chapter centers on three questions. Why music as a medium of political enchantment? Just when did modern states decide to use organized sound (i.e., music) to enchant their citizens? Given their lyrics and especially tunes, can African national anthems be part of the secular magic toolkit? The chapter concludes that, while African national anthems are generally lyrically enchanting, their lack of historicity and their marching and hymnal tunes, which downplay African percussive instruments, suboptimize their magic.