We are delighted to share the latest research to emerge from our partnership with the University of Sienna´s cultural relations and diplomacy (CREDO) initiative, a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence co-funded with the EU Erasmus+ Programme. Through this partnership we have been supporting early-career researchers to undertake knowledge exchange placements with the British Council, helping to create connections between emerging academic insight and our own cultural relations practice in the arts and cultural heritage protection. The most recent placement was completed by Vashala Charles, a PhD student in cultural sustainability at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. Vashala's research focuses on the role of music in peacebuilding among communities affected by the Boko-Haram insurgency in Michika, Nigeria.
This is a particularly pertinent and interesting area of research for us in the context of our work to support artists and communities who are coping with the impact of conflict, social polarisation or climate change on their cultural heritage. It builds on our previous research in this space such as the Art of Peace report, which examines the value and the role of culture in post-conflict recovery.
We particularly value the opportunity provided by our partnership with CREDO to engage directly with the latest international academic thinking on topics such as that addressed by Vashala’s placement. Through collaborations such as this, we aim to embed critical new insight and evidence from around the world into our programming and strategy development. This includes the Cultural Protection Fund – our partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to deliver the UK's main response to international cultural heritage protection – through which we have supported the preservation and promotion of traditional Syrian music and musical instrument making among refugee communities.
We’ll leave the rest of this blog to Vashala, who describes his placement experience below and outlines in his own words the main findings and implications of his research.
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Kamwe traditional music as a tool for peace
The aim of my six-month placement, which got underway in September 2024, was to investigate the potential of Kamwe traditional music as a tool for peacebuilding within the Michika community, which has been ravaged by Boko Haram insurgencies and associated socio-political unrest. I used ethnographic research methods to study traditional musical practices in the Michika Local Government Area, with a focus on their cultural origins and modern functions as intergroup cooperation tools. This has shown how traditional music operates as a cultural foundation that develops community resilience and promotes solidarity and peace among the community’s various ethnic and religious groups.
Learning from the community
My research revealed that Kamwe people use music as a binding force within their community, which has united them both before and after the Boko-Haram conflict. Through my direct discussions with cultural custodians along with musicians, community members and elders, I have seen how Kamwe traditional music functions as a conflict resolution tool while providing trauma healing services for social relationship enhancement.
A great deal of traditional music has been lost following the Boko Haram's attacks on Michika. However, my research has revealed how, despite decreased levels of content, traditional music persists as an effective platform to build conciliation and establish peaceful relationships. Leaders from the community told me about the times before the insurgency where Kamwe music was performed at important public events such as wedding ceremonies and festivals as well as peace ceremonies. These performances were meant specifically to maintain unity and preserve a shared collective memory and promote shared values. Traditional music is a valuable cultural resource for recovery, healing and peacebuilding initiatives after the end of Boko-Haram conflict.
Music and social harmony
Traditional music forms an essential part of Kamwe (Higgi) identity since it inseparably weaves itself into the fundamental social and cultural structure of the Michika community. Traditional songs among Kamwe people have transcended their role as entertainment to become essential mechanisms for conflict resolution and emotional comfort and social cohesion.
Music has traditionally played an active role in maintaining social harmony in the Kamwe culture. Traditional music facilitated dispute settlement by giving rise to songs through which people communicated messages of peace towards resolution. Dumbori drums functioned as warning signs to initiate communal meetings that enabled peaceful and methodical solutions for resolving differences among community members. Large parts of Kamwe music also functioned as a healing mechanism for emotional and psychological wellness. Today, this music has the potential to re-emerge as an essential tool for survivors of the Boko-Haram conflict to heal emotionally while regaining their sense of common life. Songs include musical verses expressing survival through hope along with calls to unite that provide comfort to displaced persons along with survivors of insurgency deaths.
The musical traditions of the Kamwe people create an effect of healing for individuals but also help to maintain shared social bonds between community members. Through joint performances together with rituals, the community has built an accepting environment that removes obstacles between different social groups.
Music creates a unifying force for the various Kamwe people because they recognise it it as a bond which transcends their differences. For example, musical activities allow youth to find their identity and social connections, which can lead them to abstain from association with violent or radicalised groups.
A resilient heritage
The combined effects of modernisation, religious shifts and the destructive Boko Haram insurgency have negatively affected the production of Kamwe traditional music. Yet despite these significant challenges, the Kamwe music tradition still functions as an effective modern force, demonstrating its continued ability to support peacebuilding throughout the region through facilitating conflict resolution, emotional remediation and social integration.
There remain substantial risks to its enduring existence, however. The ongoing revitalisation of Kamwe traditional music must be backed up by educational efforts, documentation activities and cultural programmes. Local communities, cultural practitioners and policy makers need to work together to ensure this support is received, to protect the long-term future of this unique cultural heritage, and to ensure it remains a living resource for the healing of trauma, the binding of communities and an enduring peace in the region.
Keeping Kamwe music alive
My placement research experience has proved to me that cultural sustainability plays a vital role in areas affected by conflict and instability. Keeping Kamwe music alive serves two purposes – it protects our cultural traditions while also establishing robust methods for building stronger social unity. I look forward to sharing my research findings widely to inform policy and practice, utilising the new networks I have established with the British Council through the placement. In addition, I hope that this research will serve as a model for future studies into the role of traditional music in addressing global conflict – a challenge that affects every part of the world. I appreciate the opportunity given to me by British Council and CREDO.
