the abayudaya have been nominated for a grammy. i know the abayudaya because of my brother, who played a role in the abayudaya's recent history. he encountered them when he was studying abroad in nairobi and then helped bring this obscure group to the attention of the outside world. (of course, their history does not start with my brother. a longer view is here, and even more abayudaya links (if you're so interested) are here and here and here)
after my brother finished college, he moved to kenya and i visited him there in 1995 when i finished law school. during my visit, he took me to the abayudaya village just over the ugandan border and we stayed for 3-4 days. even for a lost jew like me, the trip was really an incredible experience. it was also my first taste of real african village life (no electricity, no running water, no light after sunset, no telephones, no toilets, etc.) in a gorgeous mountainous setting. one of these days i will get around to scanning and posting the photos from this trip.
anyway, one of the most memorable parts of the visit was the music of the abayudaya congregation. their songs were essentially jewish prayers (often vaguely familiar, echoing repressed memories of hebrew school), hebrew words with african rhythms. at the time i visited, they had not been recorded. the only way to hear the abayudaya sing was to hear them live. as i did, in a simple synagogue in rural uganda. luckily, it's easier and considerably cheaper to hear them now. you can buy the cd (review)
the whole grammy thing is very strange. since my visit 10 years ago, i have not seen most of the abayudaya community.* i have vivid memories of them as traditionally dressed african villagers in a place with little connection to the outside world. where people would rub my white skin to see if it would come off and where children would cry when i walked by because i looked like a ghost. things are probably different there now. maybe they all dress like westerners and have an internet cafe by that big rock where i used to sit to watch the geckos (or maybe not). either way, i would love to see them appear in hollywood for the grammy ceremony. how cool would it be if they return to their village a few weeks later, riding up the mountain on a bicycle taxi, to place a grammy statutette by that gecko rock?
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* in 2001 (i think) i went to my parents' house for brunch one sunday morning and was surprised to find two of the big-wigs of the community sitting on my parents' back porch. they were stopping to visit my brother during their speaking tour of various synagogues in the eastern u.s. and one was just finishing a semester at rabbinical school in new york
