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Zanzibar Culture
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Zanzibar Culture Taarab The prevalent indigenous music in Zanzibar is taraab.The primary influences are certainly Omani and Persian. The word taraab itself is from the Arabic, being conventionally defined as 'joy, pleasure and entertainment brought about by an artistic combination of lyrics, poems and music'. Another major source of influence is the local African style, along with overtones of twentieth century Western music, both from the time of the British Residency and from more modern music. Not only is taraab a unique mixture of musical styles, but it is played with a quite incredible array of instruments from the ancient udd, quanun and nay, through violins, accordions and organs to modern electric guitars and drum kits.The resulting sound is almost indescribable, borrowing as it does from so many sources. To Western ears the phrase 'a pleasant wailing' perhaps conveys a reasonable impression. To add further cultural confusion to the taraab, orchestras dress in full evening dress, complete with tails and bow ties. This is presumably a tradition started when playing for British formal functions. Taraab is performed at weddings and other celebrations by an orchestra of up to fifty musicians and one or more singers. Ladies at taraab dances traditionally wear long flowing dresses or 'gowni', with bright colours and as many frills as possible, whilst the gentlemen put on their finest suits. The songs of the Taraab fall into two categories. Firstly there are the romantic songs, which will be typically requested by a male member of the audience for a lady of his affection. The gentleman will 'make a donation' to the singer, strutting up to the stage, showing off his fine clothes to their best advantage and perhaps joining in with the singer for a few lines before retiring. The happy couple may then lead the next dance. The second type of song is a grievance song, of which there are a number of standards. These songs are requested by a member of the audience and dedicated to a specific purpose, usually to accuse or make public some indiscretion such as infidelity or greed. Mostly these accusations pass off with a great amount of hilarity and fun, but true feelings are often just under the surface. Although taraab music is unique to the East Coast of Africa, it has become increasingly popular overseas, notably in Europe and in Oman, with modern exponents travelling to play in international music festivals. Some of the taraab orchestras in Zanzibar have traditions dating back over a hundred years, with the most famous being the Culture, Ghazi and Malindi Music Clubs, as well as the Orchestra Akhwan Safaa. The best place to see live taraab is at the Bwawani Hotel, the Haile Selassie School or the Old Fort. Siti binti Sadi
As the first and greatest Taarab Recording-Star from the early days of phonographic records She popularized Taarab music through works combing her musical excellence with love songs containing themes of social empowerment and political commentary. What made her work so revolutionary was that she sang in the language of the common people. A long time resident of the Ng'ambo section of Zanzibar City, she later traveled throughout East Africa performing and selling thousands of records. So popular among the masses was this new recorded music, from one of their own in their own language, that some scholars attribute much of modern spread and regional domination of the Swahili Language to these early recordings. As a daughter of slaves she
started life with very little. Through her own hard work and her wonderful
voice she first mastered the singing of courtly Tarabu; songs of the
palace, in praise of the Ruler, and sung in Arabic. She then translated
those rhythmic and poetic structures onto popular tunes. The result,
Swahili Taarab, made her a Star and created an new art form, that is still
very popular in the Islands and practically indispensable at Zanzibari
weddings and festivals. Juju One might have thought that the influences of Arabic, Indian and European cultures would have combined over the centuries to extinguish traditional native beliefs, but this is not the case. In the same way that the Swahili people have managed to seamlessly blend these foreign influences into their bloodline, their language, their music and their culture, so the people have quite happily blended their adoption of the Islamic faith with a belief in juju. Mwaka Kogwa Usually taking place around the 23rd or 24th of July, the Mwaka Kogwa is the celebration of the Shirazi or Persian new year. It is a flamboyant demonstration of Zanzibar passion and style, with the biggest single event being held at Makunduchi in Southern Unguja. Bao All over Zanzibar, on street corners, in shady clearings, in bars and on verandahs small groups of men can often be seen clustered around in intense circles, watching excitedly as two protagonists execute the game of bao. Market So often the life and soul of a town is to be found in its market and Zanzibar Town is no exception. Every day farmers and small traders travel into to town on the Gari la Shamba to set out their stalls at Darajani Market. The fruit and vegetable section is mainly located behind the main building, in a courtyard made up of ramshackle huts and lean-to's. Some have regular patches, rough tables overhung with canvas or makeshift tin roofs to shield the goods from the sun. Others have just a scrubby patch of earth on which to lay out a sackcloth. Whatever their lot, traders display their produce with the infinite care of an artist. Stalls of mangos and tomatoes, ripe and glowing with colour, are arranged in tiny pyramids three high and five to a pile, regimented into rows like soldiers on parade. Bananas, papaya and jackfruit sit in homemade baskets, carefully woven back on the shambas from fresh green palm fronds. Some stalls seem only to have a few dozen lychees or a single pile of onions to mark either a poor harvest or a good day's sale. SWAHILI LANGUAGE: The predominant language of Zanzibar, in common with the rest of the East African coast is kiswahili. As its name implies, kiswahili is the language of the swahili people and as such is very much a Bantu language, with strong Arab influence. The name of the language comes from the Arabic word 'sawahil', meaning 'coasts' and many Arabic words can be easily recognised , such as the use of 'marahaba', meaning 'hello' (said in response to 'shikamoo', which is the respectful form of address to older people).
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