John Brearley Botswana Collection (British Library Sounds)

Housed in the British Library Sounds, John Brearley Botswana Collection is an ongoing work that began with his first trip to Botswana in July 1982. The purpose of the trip was to investigate and record traditional music, and to observe to what extent the influence of radio and recorded music had interrupted the use of traditional instruments. In particular he wanted to learn about the music of the Basarwa (San / Bushmen) and so the collection includes recordings from a range of Bushmen groups including the Kung, Nharo and Makoko and features performances of healing dances, games, and instrumental tunes on a range of indigenous instruments the Sevuikivuiki. The Sevuikivuiki is a friction drum constructed over a hole in the ground. A hole is dug, about the size of a bucket, and a fairly flat woven mat is placed over it acting. It accompanies singing and hand clapping.

He did some of the recordings at Junior Secondary school in Ghanzi, western Botswana, where a significant proportion of the children are Basarwa (San, Bush People). This is noticeable in their music, particularly in the Naro Choir items and the traditional dance.

The collection is part of British Library Sounds’ 50,000 recordings. The collection is an associated documentation from the Library’s extensive collections of unique sound recordings which come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound: music, drama and literature, oral history, wildlife and environmental sounds.