Definitions for kwela
kwela

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. kwelanoun

   a kind of danceable music popular among black South Africans; includes a whistle among its instruments

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. kwelanoun

   A style of music first played in the townships whose principal instrument is the penny whistle.

2. Etymology: Nguni group of languages: kwela get-up, climb.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Kwela

   Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to the albums A Swingin' Safari by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and Graceland by Paul Simon (1986)), giving modern South African music, particularly jazz, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger. The Piranha's 1980 UK Top Ten hit 'Tom Hark' was based on an earlier 1950's Kwela hit song. One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flutes of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the more northerly parts of South Africa and the pennywhistle thus enabled the swift adaptation of folk tunes into the new marabi-influenced music.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. kwela

   Kwela is a style of music that originated in South Africa in the 1950s. It is characterized by cheerful, upbeat rhythms played primarily on the pennywhistle, combined with elements of jazz and traditional African music. The term "kwela" comes from the Zulu language and roughly translates to "get up," reflecting the lively, danceable quality of the music.

WikidataRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Kwela

   Kwela is a pennywhistle-based, street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music, giving modern South African music, particularly jazz, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger. One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flutes of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the more northerly parts of South Africa, and the pennywhistle thus enabled the swift adaptation of folk tunes into the new marabi-influenced music. The pennywhistle also symbolizes the oppression of blacks during the South African apartheid, because in nearly all of the oppressed racial groups, the pennywhistle could be used to warn others of the arrival of whites or police forces. In kwela music, it tends to have a strongly negative connotation.

Matched Categories

1. • Dance Music

How to pronounce kwela?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say kwela in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of kwela in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of kwela in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=kwela
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Kwela
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwela
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=kwela