"Weaving together music and politics, Helen Q. Kivnick, a Grammy nominee for her field-recorded album of traditional South African music, Mbube! Zulu Men's Singing Competition, explores the importance and power of music in the land of apartheid. She analyzes the music itself and the traditions of its major forms. And in colorful, moving anecdotes of her experiences in South Africa--talking and singing with people at weddings, homes, union meetings, churches and work camps--she demonstrates how music is the unifying element of black culture and the wellspring of people's strength and spirit in resisting oppression."--Publisher description.