Quantitative similarities between the banjo and a diverse collection of West African lutes

The banjo, a renowned American instrument, has a complex history rooted in the ingenuity of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean. Early commentators acknowledged its African origins, but its later association with white, rural culture has obscured this history. Identifying the banjo's West African progenitors is challenging due to centuries of cultural change and the disruptions caused by colonialism and enslavement. The banjo is a plucked lute with a distinctive resonator, typically made from a gourd, and a neck that penetrates the resonator body – a characteristic of spike lutes. The earliest documented banjos appear in the 17th-century Caribbean, closely linked to the musical culture of enslaved Africans. While the banjo's African origins are clear, it exhibits differences from extant African lutes, indicating it evolved as a distinct instrument within the Black diaspora. The goal of this study is to quantitatively analyze the structural similarities between the banjo and a wide range of West African lutes to better understand the cultural context of its origins. Early research suggests a strong connection to lutes from the Senegambia region, particularly those played by Bakic language speakers, but a broader quantitative analysis is needed to fully explore these relationships.

Previous research on the African origins of the banjo has focused on various aspects of the instrument's construction and playing style. Oliver (1970) suggested that plucked instrument traditions of the Sahel region, particularly Senegambia, might have been disproportionately important in the development of North American Black music, supported by observations of similar playing styles. The Jola ekonting, a Senegambian lute, has garnered significant attention for its perceived similarities to the banjo. However, a challenge in tracing banjo origins has been the assumption of a single African ancestor, which is unlikely considering the structural differences between early banjos and existing West African lutes. Pestcoe and Adams (2018a) proposed a "banjo genome" framework, using key character states to analyze the instrument's genealogical origins, but lacked statistically explicit analyses. This study builds upon this framework, utilizing quantitative methods to analyze a broader dataset of West African lutes.

The study used a taxon-character matrix to code 62 West African lutes based on descriptions from Pestcoe and Adams (2018c). Six characters were selected: player (griot or non-griot), bridge type, resonator material, neck type (full-spike or semi-spike), neck attachment method, and number of strings. The gourd banjo was coded using early descriptions. Two quantitative approaches were employed: Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) and NeighborNet. UPGMA uses an algorithm to minimize Euclidean distances among clusters, creating a dendrogram. NeighborNet creates a network representing multiple potential splits and accounts for uncertainty or horizontal information transfer. Analyses were conducted using R statistical programming language with the packages "ape," "Claddis," and "phangorn."

The UPGMA dendrogram showed the gourd banjo clustering with six Senegambian lutes associated with Bakic language-speaking peoples. These instruments shared characteristics like a non-griot player, a bipedal bridge, gourd body, and full-spike neck. The banjo differed in string number and neck attachment. The sister group to the banjo-Bakic cluster included instruments from the Niger River basin, differing in neck attachment. The NeighborNet network, designed to handle horizontal information transfer, also grouped the banjo with the Bakic lutes and showed proximity to three Niger Basin lutes (Hausa gurmi, Kilba gullum, and Kotoko gulum). These Niger Basin lutes showed slightly lower minimum phenetic distances to the banjo than the Bakic instruments. The analysis thus reveals a complex relationship, with the banjo demonstrating closest similarity to Bakic lutes but also clear connections to Niger Basin instruments, highlighting heterogeneous influences.

The findings support a close relationship between the banjo and instruments from Bakic language-speaking communities in Senegambia, particularly the Jola ekonting, aligning with observed similarities in playing style and construction. The connection to Niger Basin lutes highlights the diverse influences in the banjo's development. The absence of a griot class among Bakic cultures, unlike in many other Senegambian societies, suggests that the more egalitarian musical context of these cultures may have contributed to the banjo's adaptation in the context of enslavement. Although other musical traditions were suppressed, plucked lutes became central to the expression of creolized African identity. The relative accessibility and ease of construction of the ekonting mirrored those of the early gourd banjo, facilitating widespread adoption.

This study demonstrates the banjo's complex origins, drawing from diverse West African lute traditions, particularly those of Bakic language speakers in Senegambia and the Niger River basin. The banjo's development appears linked to the relatively egalitarian musical culture of Bakic-speaking communities. Future research should explore further West African lute traditions and incorporate detailed analyses of tuning and performance practices. Further, the quantitative methods used here can be applied to investigate other instrumental relationships within West Africa.

The study relies on existing literature and character descriptions, potentially introducing bias or limitations in data completeness. Further, cultural conceptions of different lutes within West Africa were not fully incorporated in the analysis. While the study identifies significant similarities, it does not fully resolve all phylogenetic relationships among West African lutes.