Music and the Ecology of Fear: Kanyeleng Women Performers and Ebola Prevention in The Gambia

This article examines the contributions of kanyeleng (female fertility society) performers to Ebola prevention in The Gambia, drawing on ethnographic research with performers and health workers, and offering analysis of performances. Contrasting with public-health programs that present African culture as an obstacle, kanyeleng performers' participation in Ebola prevention in The Gambia provides a model for more inclusive social mobilization and communication, grounded in cultural strengths. Involving community-based musicians such as kanyeleng in communication programs represents an important alternative to top-down approaches, which may reinforce fear and suspicion. To help audiences understand a foreign and unfamiliar disease, kanyeleng performers promote positive emotions of love and happiness over anger and fear.