Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part series on "Mamaya" traditions in Malinke cultures.
This post provides information about Malinke cultures, provides an excerpt from Ingrid Monson's book about "Mamaya" song, dance, and events.
This post also showcases seven YouTube examples of "Mamaya" song and dance events.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/eight-video-examples-of-contemporary.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides a few additional excerpts from online articles about "Mamaya". Part II also showcases eight videos of more contemporary Mamaya social events.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Pancocojams visitors are encouraged to read this entire chapter and/or this entire book.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the creators of Mamaya music, dance, and cultural events.
Thanks Ingrid Monson for her research that is excerpted below, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these YouTube examples and thanks to the publishers of these examples.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MALINKE CULTURES
From https://www.britannica.com/topic/Malinke
"Malinke, also called Maninka, Mandinka, Mandingo, or Manding, a West African people occupying parts of Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. They speak a Mandekan language of the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo family.
The Malinke are divided into numerous independent groups dominated by a hereditary nobility, a feature that distinguishes them from most of their more egalitarian neighbours. One group, the Kangaba, has one of the world’s most ancient dynasties; its rule has been virtually uninterrupted for 13 centuries. Beginning in the 7th century ad as the centre of a small state, Kangaba became the capital of the great Malinke empire known as Mali. This was the most powerful and most renowned of all the empires of the western Sudan, now memorialized in the name of the Republic of Mali."...
****
BOOK EXCERPT:
From African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective
edited by Ingrid Monson (Routledge, Mar 1, 2004)
Pancocojams Editor's Note: Malinke words and French words are given in this pancocojams post without their accent marks.
[Google book] https://books.google.com/books?id=VS-UAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA192&lpg=PA192&dq=mamaya+guinean+word&source=bl&ots=dj26nDAJbs&sig=hncrNuhXJquuOydrqB8Q1ymQi6w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMnauPpsrTAhVI0iYKHflsBToQ6AEIPTAD#v=onepage&q=mamaya%20guinean%20word&f=false
[page] 188
..."Not only have the words, melodies, and harmonies of Mamaya become widely known and appreciated, but the time and place that it represents is fondly remembered as yet one more instance of a local flowering of a broadly influential Mande expressive culture.
In the aftermath of the late-nineteenth century wars of the almami Samory Toure, followed by the French colonial rule in 1898, Kankan, the former capital of the kingdom of Bateh, emerged as the major cultural and political center in Upper Guinea (Kaba, 1973). The city became known for its entrepreneurial and erudite Muslim culture with a rich musical life to match ...When the generations born in the late 1910s and 1920s reached adulthood in the 1930s, they celebrated their artistic tastes and lifestyles in Mamaya, one of the most innovative and influential musical movements in the Maninnka world.
Played on xylophones (bala; balafo means "to play the bala) with a female chorus, and occasionally a bass drum (dundun), or Western drum set, Mamaya was an exquisite and joyful music and dance event- or ambiance as it is called in West African French - in which both young men and women participated in their finest clothes. Mamaya was created by a renowned Kankan composer and bala player, Sidi Djeli Djoubate, for his children's enjoyment. Although it primarily centered around Sidi Djeli's family, and more specifically associated with his sons Sidi Karammo, Sidi Mamadi, and Sidi Moussa, (and later Djanka Amo), whose bala trio was recorded in 1949 and 1952, Mamaya involved musicians from other Kankan musical lineages, including the Kouyate, Diawara, and Kante families.
The actual piece of music called Mamaya as distinguished from the whole event of the same name holds special place in the repertory of Maninnka musicians due to its unique character. An extended bala and vocal composition, the core of Mamaya is a long section of lyrics sung to a melody with few repetitions and many twists and turns. It is one of the most through-composed melodies in the repertory of jelis (called griots by the French), the Maninnka musical culture. Several bala based musical accompaniments can be played before and after this extended song.
Mamaya performances usually involved verse after verse of choral singing, set to other melodies and punctuated by bala solos, praising the Kankan notables of the day. The sum total of a Mamaya
[page] 189 includes portion of Mamaya lyrics]
[pages 190 -191 not given in this Google Book edition]
[page] 192
The word Mamaya has no clear meaning in the Maninnka language. It implies, however, a sense of collective excitement, joy, and refined pageantry cultivated in a prosperous urban environment . It also conjures up images of serious artistry in music and dance of a colonial era in which local African culture was celebrated with finesse and pride. A popular youth music grounded in Kankan’s traditions, Mamaya expresses the musical preferences of the younger generations as well as the cosmopolitan culture for which that city was first known in the first half of the twentieth century.... An inquiry into the cultural and historical background of Mamaya can provide insight into how Africans, specifically Maninnka of Upper Guinea have confronted and integrated diverse influences into their own unique cultural expressions in the mid-twentieth century, with continued strong reverberations through several generations into the next century.
[...]
[page] 196
....A key to understanding the importance of Mamaya during its time, as well as its ongoing status is appreciating the significance of age groups.
[...]
[page] 197
...age groups definitely define and bind generations together. In Kankan there are five sede and each has a name: dan diya ("End's happiness"), perhaps an allusion to the dictum that there is an end to everything; san diya ("Year's happiness"), hara makonon ("Expecting good tidings"), du diya (Town's happiness), and jamana diya ("Country's happiness"). Sede are initially based on the grouping of children born during the same epoch and membership lasts a lifetime. Males and females are grouped together under the same sede name, but they have their own group leaders. Every three or four years, new initiates enter into the next rotation of sede so that every fifteen or twenty years the sede names cycle around. The sede known as san diya groups together those born in the early 1920s. They were the first performers of Mamaya.
The time of the san diya generation born in the early 1920s was crucial in colonial Kankan. By that time European culture and values had filtered into the urban environment through travels, schooling, and contact with some members of the white community. Africans, however, did not adopt all the European cultural symbols they had observed. Rather, they reshaped those elements of European culture that they found attractive to fit their own lifestyles. The young men of san diya and other age groups admired such European musical instruments as the guitar and drum set, and such dances of the day as the tango, waltz, rumba, and bolero. They were eager to live their own lives, as every generation desires. But, rigid cultural mores and constraints prevented Kankan youth from introducing European-dance styles based on physical contact between male and female dancers into their beloved hometown. For Kankan, although a modern metropolis, was home to Cheikh Muhammad Cherif and other religious leaders who made it an abode of Maninnka rigorism and a city of strict adherence to Islamic codes of behavior. Early testimony is provided by the French traveler Rene Caillile (1968: 1: 269), who sojourned in Kankan in 1823: "Music and dancing are forbidden among Musulmans [Muslims], and consequently their amusements are far from equalling in frolic and gaiety those which prevail among the pagans"...
[page] 198
...Although dancing was permitted in Kankan with certain restrictions, it was genteel in style and did not take on the sometimes frenetic and violent nature of jembe based rhythms such as Dundunba...
The generational problems of the san diya and the dan diya youth of the 1930s and 1940s generations found a creative solution in Mamaya. They had to initiate an open theatrical forums to conform with their generational attitudes and preferences that would also be compatible with the culture of Kankan. A new artistic form had to be invented, composed, rehearsed, and performed in public. Mamaya expressed this harmony between the imperatives of renewal and respect for traditions.
[...]
page 199
[...]
A typical Mamaya performance involved three bala, a chorus of female singers standing behind them, and sometimes a dun dun (bass drum) or jass drum set player. Youth organized the performance to begin in the mid-afternoon. Grooups of the same age set (sede) would compete for the most elaborate and successful performance, and two Mamaya were often held the same day in Kabada and Timbo, the two largest sections in Kankan. The male members of the sede would wear white or azure damask caftans or boubous (robes), white socks, and open-backed shoes (babouches). They danced in front of the musicians a la ronde holding a staff or handkerchief in their hands. As the dancers would turn to face the musicians, their names would be sung. The length of the Mamaya core and extended lyrics, unusual in African musical tradition, derived from the need to recognize each dancer, his or her family, and specific quality. This implies that Mamaya belonged to the Maninnka tradition of praise song, but performed in a new style and a new context.
[...]
[page] 200
The closest historical model for Mamaya is probably the piece Lamban, which like Mamaya, is distinguished for the rest of the jeli's repertory in two ways. First, both Lamban and Mamaya have a specific dance associated with them. This occurs with very few jeli musical compositions, notably Janjon, which originated in the hunter's repertory. With some exceptions, traditional jeliya is for listening, not dancing. Secondary, neither Lamban nor Mamaya are dedicated to a particular patron or event of political significance, another rare
[page 201-202 aren't included in this Google book excerpt].
page 203
[...]
Transformation of the tradition has also included the use of instruments other than balas for Mamaya recordings. (See El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyate (1992) for bala recordings and Djeli Moussa Djawara [1988) for a recording using bala, guitar, and kora... Modern renditions of Mamaya often add other instruments, such as guitars, electric bass, keyboards, and brass, while reducing the role of the bala. Once again, whether this is a renewal or a corruption depends on one's vantage point and the creativity of the artist.
[...]
It [Mamaya] remains a symbol of musical innovation within the jeli's tradition, and of a Maninnka group's genius for creative renewal in musical expression."
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
[With the exception of the first video, these examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date, with the oldest dated example given first.]
Excerpt #1: Ami Koïta – Mamaya
Ousmane Bakary Kaba Uploaded on Aug 27, 2010
un tube qui reste aussi célèbre qu'à la date de sa sortie. ici la diva Ami koïta rend hommage au Mali son pays. le clip a été tournée en Guinée avec une réalisation de JMJ
-snip-
(Google translate from French to English)
A tube that remains as famous as when it was released. Here the diva Ami koïta pays tribute to Mali his country. The clip was shot in Guinea with a realization of WYD.
****
Excerpt #2: RTG conakry presente la Mamaya de Kankan 2005
Aladji Toure, Uploaded on Dec 16, 2006
La Mamaya 2005 a kankan presenté par la radio television guinéeenne organisé par Sede sandiaya 3 de kankan a suivre
[Google translate from French to English]
La Mamaya 2005 a kankan presented by the radio television guineaeenne organized by Sede sandiaya 3 of kankan to follow
****
Example #3: MAMAYA DE KANKAN 2008
Aladji Toure Uploaded on Jan 26, 2008
{Gooble translate from French to English]
The radio-kankan.com presents the biggest griots most popular has kankan for the cause of the mamaya follow well this film unique in the world
**
Except #4: Mamaya 2008 a kankan
Aladji Toure Uploaded on Mar 27, 2008
****
Example #5: Le MAMAYA de 30 MAI 2009 en Hollande
Djiguipromotions Uploaded on Dec 21, 2009
Djigui promotion presente
Le MAMAYA de 30 MAI 2009 en Hollande
****
Excerpt #6: Kankan Mamaya 2006
Aladji Toure, Uploaded on May 4, 2011
radio-kankan.com presente Mamaya 2006 avec Sede sandiya 3 a kankan
Voila la derniere version de la mamaya a kankan un orchestre de sididou anime la soirée
{Google translate from French to English)
Here is the last version of the mamaya a kankan an orchestra of sididou animates the evening
****
Excerpt #7: MAMAYA DE KANKAN- TOUJOUR LIVE.
Seretoure Sekoukaba, Published on Mar 9, 2015
-snip-
This is showcased in this post in part because of its historical photographs
.****
This concludes Part I of this two part series about Mamaya.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Music In Islamic West Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music In Islamic West Africa. Show all posts
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Hausa Music & Fulani Music In Nigeria (Music In Islamic West Africa)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provides information about music in the Northern region of Nigeria and showcases a very small sample of traditional and contemporary northern Nigerian music and dance.
Selected comments from some of these video's discussion threads are included in this post along with explanatory information about terms that are mentioned in the title or the summary statement of two of the showcased videos.
This is the third post in a continuing pancocojams series about music in Islamic Africa. Click the tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those singers, musicians, and dancers who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MUSIC IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
From http://musicinafrica.net/traditional-music-northern-nigeria "Traditional music in northern Nigeria" Nov 11, 2015 • by In-house Nigeria By E.I Aimiuwu
...."The Hausa, Fulani and the Kanuri uses of music is well known and is not much different from the use of music in any African communities except for the restrictions that follow Muslim influences. Traditional music of the people found in the Middle Belt or North Central Nigeria are usually done to worship the gods of the lands before they were conquered by the Jihadists and later on colonialized by the British. However, some of the people of North Central Nigeria were not conquered before the British colonization, proclamation of the Northern protectorate and they were able to keep and practice some of their traditional music style that usually follows the Hausa ceremonial music styles dominated by praise singers.
According to Bode Omojola in his book ‘Nigeria Art Music’, the advent of Islam has, however, not completely eroded traditional, pre-Islamic religious practices which still survive today mainly in the north central zone of northern Nigeria. One of such musical practice which still survives and is thriving among the Islamic dominated area in the north is the Bori possession Music.
Bori music is a type of music believed to have enormous spiritual power which can help worshippers to reach a state of ecstasy through which they can communicate directly with their ancestral spirits. In the New Grove Dictionary of Music, A. King observed Hausa professional musicians belong to a distinct social class which has the character of an euedaus within the society because of its low social status, hereditary membership and dependence on patronage. Such patronage is usually provided by the emir, palace officials and chiefs who till today constitute the aristocrats, the feudal Lords in traditional Hausa northern society.
In other words, musical practice in the north is closely and seriously controlled by religious, social and political consideration. As a result of Islamic introduction to the area around the 13th century, the region’s music is influenced by Arabic and Islamic elements. Serious musical performances are frequently held in the palace to entertain the Emir, and paramount rulers or chiefs under serious unadulterated Islamic culture. During such performances the Emir’s visitors and subjects are entrained in front of the palace. In such occasions the Emir restates his religious and political authority while his subjects reaffirm their confidence in the authority of the Emir or chief and the acceptance of his leadership. For example ‘in Katsina, when an Emir is to be crowned, the Yanibari drum is struck 12 times so that the people can know that they have a new Emir’.”…
The advent of Islam and Christianity and the western government system changed all that was in traditional music performance and practice. The tradition and practices of traditional music changed drastically from that of communal to that of individual. Hence, the emergence of solo or group traditional musicians that took advantage of traditional music revival as a result of the FESTAC '77 (The Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture that held in Nigeria in 1977)—one of the greatest musical events that brought traditional African music a universal recognition....
Suffice to say that traditional music in the North Central is now the link between the old and new traditional music that gave birth to popular music. Traditional music has found solace in the establishments of states and Federal musical troupes.
The government should therefore establish more musical groups in all the local government areas throughout the federation to fill the gap created by the abolition of authority of the traditional rulers to prevent a total extinction of traditional music as we know it in pre-Islamic/Christianity and colonial rule. That will create room for youths to go into the study and practice of traditional music for economic growth and preservation of our rich musical culture."
****
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Northern_Nigeria
"The cinema of Northern Nigeria informally called Kannywood. It is mainly based in Kano, Nigeria.
Like its people, the film-makers in Nigeria are divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious, lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. Although the films produced in the South mostly use English, the use of Pidgin-English, a creole form of English developed in the south has made southern films largely unattractive. The few ones rendered in the local language also hardly attracts much attention. Ibrahim, Muhsin. "Hausa film: Compatible or incompatible with Islam?,". Performing Islam….
2000's
By 2012, over 2000 film companies were registered with the Kano State Filmmakers Association.[3] In 2003, with the rise of the Izala and the coming to power of Ibrahim Shekarau; the then ultrareligious government of Kano initiated an iconoclastic campaign against Kannywood. Numerous movies deemed irreligious were censored and some film makers were jailed. This reversed some the gains Kannywood had made and allowed the Southern Nigerian film industry to supersede it.
In 2007, the Hiyana Affair: when the sex tape of a popular actress became public led to a severe backlash from the then Islamist government of Kano State under Ibrahim Shekarau. Shekarau went on to institute censorship with the support of the Izala Society and other Islamist organisations, Kannywood and the equally popular Hausa romantic novel industry were severely censored, actors, actresses and writers were jailed by the state government[2] and books and other media materials were burnt by the Governor himself.[2] In 2011 the replacement of the Islamist government by a much more liberal government led by the PDP led to a more favourable atmosphere for the Industry.”...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest example given first.
Example #1: Hausa-Fulani music from Nigeria
AhavaYah Uploaded on Dec 11, 2008
Nigerian music
****
Example #2: zazzau praise singers
aliyu suleiman Uploaded on Dec 27, 2011
praise singers during wamban dawaki's turbaning
-snip-
Information about Zazzau:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazzau
"The Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate is a traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. As of September 2015 the emir was Alhaji Shehu Idris.[1]
Early Hausa kingdom
Our most important source for the early history of Zazau is a chronicle composed in the early twentieth century from oral tradition. It tells the traditional story of the foundation of the Hausa kingdoms by Bayajidda, a culture hero and gives a list of rulers, along with the length of their reigns. According to this chronology, the original Hausa or Habe kingdom is said to date from the 11th century, founded by King Gunguma.[2] This source also makes it one of the seven Hausa Bakwai states. Zazzau's most famous early ruler was Queen (or princess) Amina, who ruled either in the mid-fifteenth or mid-sixteenth centuries, and was held by Muhammed Bello, an early nineteenth century Hausa historian and the second Sultan of Sokoto, to have been the first to establish a kingdom among the Hausa.[3]"
****
Example #3: Hausa traditional music near Malumfashi
warren hill, Published on Apr 30, 2012
-snip-
"Malumfashi (or Malum Fashi) is a Local Government Area in Katsina State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Malumfashi." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malumfashi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malumfashi
****
Example #4: Fulani {Ful6e} of Nigeria. www.facebook.com/zonefulbe
Gidado Published on Nov 7, 2012
http://www.facebook.com/ZoneFulbe
Nigeria, is Africa's Largest nation, and about 9-10% of Nigerians, are Fulani. With a total Population of about some 16.5 Million Ful6e, Nigeria turns out to be Africa's Largest Fulani country as well. Here is a compilation of various Fulani faces, from across the country....Enjoy.
****
Example #5: Sarakuna.DAT
Naziru M. Ahmad Published on Jan 31, 2013
Hausa Song
****
Example #6: Garnakaki 2.DAT
Naziru M. Ahmad Published on Jan 31, 2013
Hausa Song
****
Example #7: Fulani 1 song
Morou Zouhedou. Published on Mar 14, 2013
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Sabry omer, 2014
"Sorry this is not the Fulani language the video is dubbing Fulani people
**
Reply
"mack rodrigo, 2015
"+Sabry omer this is hausa..its hausa mix.. but mostly fulani people in video."
**
Reply
Ku_Tube, 2016
"+Sabry omer and others may not know (a thing).. this a song of a film performed in Hausa language, FULANI 1 is song of part one of the film called Fulani, that is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall and please do not tell us this here, go to Nigeria and ask them why this happens."
**
Jallo101, 2015
"It's not a fulani song , they are singing in haussa. I hadn't heard any fulfulde word in this song. The title is not appropriate better call it haussa song."
**
Reply
Pranking Strangers, 2016
"because its a Hausa movie... they wanted to promote the tradition and culture of Fulani's bcz Hausa tradition has overshadowed it in northern region"
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post provides information about music in the Northern region of Nigeria and showcases a very small sample of traditional and contemporary northern Nigerian music and dance.
Selected comments from some of these video's discussion threads are included in this post along with explanatory information about terms that are mentioned in the title or the summary statement of two of the showcased videos.
This is the third post in a continuing pancocojams series about music in Islamic Africa. Click the tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those singers, musicians, and dancers who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MUSIC IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
From http://musicinafrica.net/traditional-music-northern-nigeria "Traditional music in northern Nigeria" Nov 11, 2015 • by In-house Nigeria By E.I Aimiuwu
...."The Hausa, Fulani and the Kanuri uses of music is well known and is not much different from the use of music in any African communities except for the restrictions that follow Muslim influences. Traditional music of the people found in the Middle Belt or North Central Nigeria are usually done to worship the gods of the lands before they were conquered by the Jihadists and later on colonialized by the British. However, some of the people of North Central Nigeria were not conquered before the British colonization, proclamation of the Northern protectorate and they were able to keep and practice some of their traditional music style that usually follows the Hausa ceremonial music styles dominated by praise singers.
According to Bode Omojola in his book ‘Nigeria Art Music’, the advent of Islam has, however, not completely eroded traditional, pre-Islamic religious practices which still survive today mainly in the north central zone of northern Nigeria. One of such musical practice which still survives and is thriving among the Islamic dominated area in the north is the Bori possession Music.
Bori music is a type of music believed to have enormous spiritual power which can help worshippers to reach a state of ecstasy through which they can communicate directly with their ancestral spirits. In the New Grove Dictionary of Music, A. King observed Hausa professional musicians belong to a distinct social class which has the character of an euedaus within the society because of its low social status, hereditary membership and dependence on patronage. Such patronage is usually provided by the emir, palace officials and chiefs who till today constitute the aristocrats, the feudal Lords in traditional Hausa northern society.
In other words, musical practice in the north is closely and seriously controlled by religious, social and political consideration. As a result of Islamic introduction to the area around the 13th century, the region’s music is influenced by Arabic and Islamic elements. Serious musical performances are frequently held in the palace to entertain the Emir, and paramount rulers or chiefs under serious unadulterated Islamic culture. During such performances the Emir’s visitors and subjects are entrained in front of the palace. In such occasions the Emir restates his religious and political authority while his subjects reaffirm their confidence in the authority of the Emir or chief and the acceptance of his leadership. For example ‘in Katsina, when an Emir is to be crowned, the Yanibari drum is struck 12 times so that the people can know that they have a new Emir’.”…
The advent of Islam and Christianity and the western government system changed all that was in traditional music performance and practice. The tradition and practices of traditional music changed drastically from that of communal to that of individual. Hence, the emergence of solo or group traditional musicians that took advantage of traditional music revival as a result of the FESTAC '77 (The Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture that held in Nigeria in 1977)—one of the greatest musical events that brought traditional African music a universal recognition....
Suffice to say that traditional music in the North Central is now the link between the old and new traditional music that gave birth to popular music. Traditional music has found solace in the establishments of states and Federal musical troupes.
The government should therefore establish more musical groups in all the local government areas throughout the federation to fill the gap created by the abolition of authority of the traditional rulers to prevent a total extinction of traditional music as we know it in pre-Islamic/Christianity and colonial rule. That will create room for youths to go into the study and practice of traditional music for economic growth and preservation of our rich musical culture."
****
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Northern_Nigeria
"The cinema of Northern Nigeria informally called Kannywood. It is mainly based in Kano, Nigeria.
Like its people, the film-makers in Nigeria are divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious, lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. Although the films produced in the South mostly use English, the use of Pidgin-English, a creole form of English developed in the south has made southern films largely unattractive. The few ones rendered in the local language also hardly attracts much attention. Ibrahim, Muhsin. "Hausa film: Compatible or incompatible with Islam?,". Performing Islam….
2000's
By 2012, over 2000 film companies were registered with the Kano State Filmmakers Association.[3] In 2003, with the rise of the Izala and the coming to power of Ibrahim Shekarau; the then ultrareligious government of Kano initiated an iconoclastic campaign against Kannywood. Numerous movies deemed irreligious were censored and some film makers were jailed. This reversed some the gains Kannywood had made and allowed the Southern Nigerian film industry to supersede it.
In 2007, the Hiyana Affair: when the sex tape of a popular actress became public led to a severe backlash from the then Islamist government of Kano State under Ibrahim Shekarau. Shekarau went on to institute censorship with the support of the Izala Society and other Islamist organisations, Kannywood and the equally popular Hausa romantic novel industry were severely censored, actors, actresses and writers were jailed by the state government[2] and books and other media materials were burnt by the Governor himself.[2] In 2011 the replacement of the Islamist government by a much more liberal government led by the PDP led to a more favourable atmosphere for the Industry.”...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest example given first.
Example #1: Hausa-Fulani music from Nigeria
AhavaYah Uploaded on Dec 11, 2008
Nigerian music
****
Example #2: zazzau praise singers
aliyu suleiman Uploaded on Dec 27, 2011
praise singers during wamban dawaki's turbaning
-snip-
Information about Zazzau:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazzau
"The Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate is a traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. As of September 2015 the emir was Alhaji Shehu Idris.[1]
Early Hausa kingdom
Our most important source for the early history of Zazau is a chronicle composed in the early twentieth century from oral tradition. It tells the traditional story of the foundation of the Hausa kingdoms by Bayajidda, a culture hero and gives a list of rulers, along with the length of their reigns. According to this chronology, the original Hausa or Habe kingdom is said to date from the 11th century, founded by King Gunguma.[2] This source also makes it one of the seven Hausa Bakwai states. Zazzau's most famous early ruler was Queen (or princess) Amina, who ruled either in the mid-fifteenth or mid-sixteenth centuries, and was held by Muhammed Bello, an early nineteenth century Hausa historian and the second Sultan of Sokoto, to have been the first to establish a kingdom among the Hausa.[3]"
****
Example #3: Hausa traditional music near Malumfashi
warren hill, Published on Apr 30, 2012
-snip-
"Malumfashi (or Malum Fashi) is a Local Government Area in Katsina State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Malumfashi." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malumfashi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malumfashi
****
Example #4: Fulani {Ful6e} of Nigeria. www.facebook.com/zonefulbe
Gidado Published on Nov 7, 2012
http://www.facebook.com/ZoneFulbe
Nigeria, is Africa's Largest nation, and about 9-10% of Nigerians, are Fulani. With a total Population of about some 16.5 Million Ful6e, Nigeria turns out to be Africa's Largest Fulani country as well. Here is a compilation of various Fulani faces, from across the country....Enjoy.
****
Example #5: Sarakuna.DAT
Naziru M. Ahmad Published on Jan 31, 2013
Hausa Song
****
Example #6: Garnakaki 2.DAT
Naziru M. Ahmad Published on Jan 31, 2013
Hausa Song
****
Example #7: Fulani 1 song
Morou Zouhedou. Published on Mar 14, 2013
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Sabry omer, 2014
"Sorry this is not the Fulani language the video is dubbing Fulani people
**
Reply
"mack rodrigo, 2015
"+Sabry omer this is hausa..its hausa mix.. but mostly fulani people in video."
**
Reply
Ku_Tube, 2016
"+Sabry omer and others may not know (a thing).. this a song of a film performed in Hausa language, FULANI 1 is song of part one of the film called Fulani, that is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall and please do not tell us this here, go to Nigeria and ask them why this happens."
**
Jallo101, 2015
"It's not a fulani song , they are singing in haussa. I hadn't heard any fulfulde word in this song. The title is not appropriate better call it haussa song."
**
Reply
Pranking Strangers, 2016
"because its a Hausa movie... they wanted to promote the tradition and culture of Fulani's bcz Hausa tradition has overshadowed it in northern region"
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Mali, West Africa Singers Ramata Diakité & Tata Diakité (music in Islamic West Africa)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provides information about Islam in the West African nation of Mali. This post also provides information about the Malian singers Ramata Diakité and Tata Diakité and showcases three YouTube videos of each of these singers.
This is the second post in a continuing pancocojams series about music in Islamic Africa. Click the tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Ramata Diakité and Tata Diakité andfor their for musical legacies. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM IN THE WEST AFRICAN NATION OF MALI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Mali
"An estimated 90 percent of Malians are Muslim, mostly Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence influenced with Sufism. Ahmadiyya and Shia minorities are also present.[2] Approximately 5 percent are Christian (about two-thirds Roman Catholic and one-third Protestant denominations); the remaining 5 percent of Malians adhere to indigenous or traditional animist beliefs.[3] Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis, although some are Deist.[4]
According to the 2005 U.S. Department of State’s annual report on religious freedom, Islam as traditionally practiced in Mali was characterized as moderate, tolerant, and adapted to local conditions.[4] Women were allowed to participate in social economical and political activities and generally do not wear veils.[4] According to the 2012 Pew Forum study The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity, 94% of Muslim in Mali surveyed believe that religion very important in their lives, and 71% believe there is "only one true way to understand Islam’s teachings" (24% believing that multiple interpretations of Islam are possible).[2]
The constitution establishes a secular state and provides for freedom of religion, and the government largely respects this right.[4] Relations between Muslims and practitioners of minority religious faiths are generally friendly, and foreign missionary groups (both Muslim and non-Muslim) are tolerated.[4]
Because of the 2012 application of Sharia law in northern parts of the country however, Mali was listed high (#7) in the Christian persecution index published by Open Doors which described the persecution in the north as severe.[5][6] In spite of this, a 2015 study estimated some 8,000 believers in Christ from a Muslim background in the country.[7]
Application of Sharia included banning of music, with groups showing up randomly in villages, armed with weaponry, to burn musical instruments and musical items. One guitarist was threatened that his fingers would be chopped off if he ever showed his face in one town again.[8] Other rules such as cutting off hands or feet of thieves, stoning of adulterers and public whipping of smokers, alcohol drinkers and women who are not properly dressed were also implemented.[8] However, the occupation and Sharia law were both short-lived, cut short by a French and Chadian military intervention that began in January 2013. See Northern Mali Conflict.
In 2012 several Islamic sites in Mali were destroyed or damaged by vigilante activists linked to Al Qaeda, claiming that "idol worship" characterized the sites.[9] Given the cultural and religious importance of the sites in the city of Timbuctu (Tomboctou), 8 of the shrines on the UNESCO heritage list had been fully reconstructed, and another 6 were in the process of reconstruction, by July 2015.[10]"
****
INFORMATION ABOUT RAMATA DIAKITE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramata_Diakit%C3%A9
"Ramata "Rah" Diakité (Madina Diansa, Wassoulou, 1976 - Burkina Faso October 30, 2009) was a Malian Wassoulou woman musician.[1] She was the cousin of Tata Diakité, who also died young.[2]
Ramata was born in 1976. Although Ramata did not come from a family of traditional musicians, when she was about twelve, Ramata started humming to herself in secret, accompanying herself on a gourd. In Wassoulou (and other areas of Mali), music is usually created by those of a certain caste (jeli/griot), and it can be controversial for artists outside of these castes to perform. Salif Keita is likely the most prominent example of a non-musical-caste performer to confront and conquer adversity relating to these cultural restrictions.
Ramata's aunt, Djénéba Diakité, asked her to sing backing vocals on a cassette, which was the start of her musical career, even though Ramata's parents frowned on the idea. As a backing vocalist, Ramata's vocal potential was quickly spotted, and she gained concert experience thanks to trips to France and throughout Africa. She was soon called upon as a vocalist by many artists and arrangers, notably Samba Diallo, Yoro Diallo, and Tenin Sidibé.
In December 1995 she recorded her first cassette, Artistes, a bestseller in Mali in 1996. She gave many concerts and took part, along with Salif Keita, in a Mali evening at the Cité de la Musique in Paris in October 1997.
Ramata died on October 30, 2009 in Burkina Faso of complications related to a year-long battle with Hepatitis A."
****
INFORMATION ABOUT TATA DIAKITE
Editor's Note: This is the only information online that I've found for Tata Diakité. Additional information is welcome.
From https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.africultures.com/php/index.php%3Fnav%3Dmurmure%26no%3D597&prev=search TATA DIAKITÉ DIED "in February 2003
"Victim of a traffic accident, there are two months, the Malian singer Tata Diakité eventually died January 24 at age 28, leaving behind three children and two albums.
During her* fight for survival, she has enjoyed the moral and financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the wife of the Malian president and her family.
Malian artists who had planned a benefit concert for the 25th day after her death, have nevertheless given to support her offspring."
-snip-
* I corrected the pronoun given in this article.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS : RAMATA DIAKITE
Example #1: Ramata Diakite - Sigui
Tyrus Maximus, Uploaded on Jun 6, 2009
Ramata Diakité de Mali
****
Example #2: Ramata Diakite - Noumouya & Foula
chojiro22, Uploaded on Feb 26, 2010
Malian singer Ramata Diakite
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Michael Friedman, 2014
"Lovely video clip and musical performance !"
**
Allaye Dembele, 2014
"Le Mali on vous oubliera jamais ra on 'a perdu une grande voie ds la musique malienne"
Mali is one you never forget ra one has lost a great way ds Malian music
****
Example #3: Ramata Diakité - Dunia -.mp4
ajc15, Published on Mar 9, 2015
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS: TATA DIAKITE
Example #1: Tata Diakité - Kono kan bora - 1998.mp4
Published on Mar 10, 2015
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
ami sankara, 2014
"Merci pour cette bonne musique unique en son genre. Rip
Thank you for this good music unique in its kind Rip [Rest in peace]
**
Mamadou Doukara, 2015
merci tata pour cette bonne musique que ton âme repose en paix
tata thank you for this great music that your soul rest in peace
****
Example #2: Tata Diakité - N'Tanan ni - Ben BD Compil Vol. 1.mp4
ajc15 Published on Mar 10, 2015
****
Example #3: Tata Diakité à Paris, feat. Aïchata Sidibé - Marakaw Donkan -.mp4
ajc15, Published on Mar 10, 2015
Tata Diakité à Paris, feat. Aïchata Sidibé - Marakaw Donkan -.mp4
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post provides information about Islam in the West African nation of Mali. This post also provides information about the Malian singers Ramata Diakité and Tata Diakité and showcases three YouTube videos of each of these singers.
This is the second post in a continuing pancocojams series about music in Islamic Africa. Click the tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Ramata Diakité and Tata Diakité andfor their for musical legacies. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM IN THE WEST AFRICAN NATION OF MALI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Mali
"An estimated 90 percent of Malians are Muslim, mostly Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence influenced with Sufism. Ahmadiyya and Shia minorities are also present.[2] Approximately 5 percent are Christian (about two-thirds Roman Catholic and one-third Protestant denominations); the remaining 5 percent of Malians adhere to indigenous or traditional animist beliefs.[3] Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis, although some are Deist.[4]
According to the 2005 U.S. Department of State’s annual report on religious freedom, Islam as traditionally practiced in Mali was characterized as moderate, tolerant, and adapted to local conditions.[4] Women were allowed to participate in social economical and political activities and generally do not wear veils.[4] According to the 2012 Pew Forum study The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity, 94% of Muslim in Mali surveyed believe that religion very important in their lives, and 71% believe there is "only one true way to understand Islam’s teachings" (24% believing that multiple interpretations of Islam are possible).[2]
The constitution establishes a secular state and provides for freedom of religion, and the government largely respects this right.[4] Relations between Muslims and practitioners of minority religious faiths are generally friendly, and foreign missionary groups (both Muslim and non-Muslim) are tolerated.[4]
Because of the 2012 application of Sharia law in northern parts of the country however, Mali was listed high (#7) in the Christian persecution index published by Open Doors which described the persecution in the north as severe.[5][6] In spite of this, a 2015 study estimated some 8,000 believers in Christ from a Muslim background in the country.[7]
Application of Sharia included banning of music, with groups showing up randomly in villages, armed with weaponry, to burn musical instruments and musical items. One guitarist was threatened that his fingers would be chopped off if he ever showed his face in one town again.[8] Other rules such as cutting off hands or feet of thieves, stoning of adulterers and public whipping of smokers, alcohol drinkers and women who are not properly dressed were also implemented.[8] However, the occupation and Sharia law were both short-lived, cut short by a French and Chadian military intervention that began in January 2013. See Northern Mali Conflict.
In 2012 several Islamic sites in Mali were destroyed or damaged by vigilante activists linked to Al Qaeda, claiming that "idol worship" characterized the sites.[9] Given the cultural and religious importance of the sites in the city of Timbuctu (Tomboctou), 8 of the shrines on the UNESCO heritage list had been fully reconstructed, and another 6 were in the process of reconstruction, by July 2015.[10]"
****
INFORMATION ABOUT RAMATA DIAKITE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramata_Diakit%C3%A9
"Ramata "Rah" Diakité (Madina Diansa, Wassoulou, 1976 - Burkina Faso October 30, 2009) was a Malian Wassoulou woman musician.[1] She was the cousin of Tata Diakité, who also died young.[2]
Ramata was born in 1976. Although Ramata did not come from a family of traditional musicians, when she was about twelve, Ramata started humming to herself in secret, accompanying herself on a gourd. In Wassoulou (and other areas of Mali), music is usually created by those of a certain caste (jeli/griot), and it can be controversial for artists outside of these castes to perform. Salif Keita is likely the most prominent example of a non-musical-caste performer to confront and conquer adversity relating to these cultural restrictions.
Ramata's aunt, Djénéba Diakité, asked her to sing backing vocals on a cassette, which was the start of her musical career, even though Ramata's parents frowned on the idea. As a backing vocalist, Ramata's vocal potential was quickly spotted, and she gained concert experience thanks to trips to France and throughout Africa. She was soon called upon as a vocalist by many artists and arrangers, notably Samba Diallo, Yoro Diallo, and Tenin Sidibé.
In December 1995 she recorded her first cassette, Artistes, a bestseller in Mali in 1996. She gave many concerts and took part, along with Salif Keita, in a Mali evening at the Cité de la Musique in Paris in October 1997.
Ramata died on October 30, 2009 in Burkina Faso of complications related to a year-long battle with Hepatitis A."
****
INFORMATION ABOUT TATA DIAKITE
Editor's Note: This is the only information online that I've found for Tata Diakité. Additional information is welcome.
From https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.africultures.com/php/index.php%3Fnav%3Dmurmure%26no%3D597&prev=search TATA DIAKITÉ DIED "in February 2003
"Victim of a traffic accident, there are two months, the Malian singer Tata Diakité eventually died January 24 at age 28, leaving behind three children and two albums.
During her* fight for survival, she has enjoyed the moral and financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the wife of the Malian president and her family.
Malian artists who had planned a benefit concert for the 25th day after her death, have nevertheless given to support her offspring."
-snip-
* I corrected the pronoun given in this article.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS : RAMATA DIAKITE
Example #1: Ramata Diakite - Sigui
Tyrus Maximus, Uploaded on Jun 6, 2009
Ramata Diakité de Mali
****
Example #2: Ramata Diakite - Noumouya & Foula
chojiro22, Uploaded on Feb 26, 2010
Malian singer Ramata Diakite
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Michael Friedman, 2014
"Lovely video clip and musical performance !"
**
Allaye Dembele, 2014
"Le Mali on vous oubliera jamais ra on 'a perdu une grande voie ds la musique malienne"
Mali is one you never forget ra one has lost a great way ds Malian music
****
Example #3: Ramata Diakité - Dunia -.mp4
ajc15, Published on Mar 9, 2015
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS: TATA DIAKITE
Example #1: Tata Diakité - Kono kan bora - 1998.mp4
Published on Mar 10, 2015
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
ami sankara, 2014
"Merci pour cette bonne musique unique en son genre. Rip
Thank you for this good music unique in its kind Rip [Rest in peace]
**
Mamadou Doukara, 2015
merci tata pour cette bonne musique que ton âme repose en paix
tata thank you for this great music that your soul rest in peace
****
Example #2: Tata Diakité - N'Tanan ni - Ben BD Compil Vol. 1.mp4
ajc15 Published on Mar 10, 2015
****
Example #3: Tata Diakité à Paris, feat. Aïchata Sidibé - Marakaw Donkan -.mp4
ajc15, Published on Mar 10, 2015
Tata Diakité à Paris, feat. Aïchata Sidibé - Marakaw Donkan -.mp4
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Mali, West Africa Singer Khaira Arby (pancocojams series: Music In Islamic West Africa)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provides information about the Malian singer Khaira Arby and showcases five YouTube videos of her songs. Selected comments from some of these videos' discussion thread are also included in this post.
This is the first post in a continuing pancocojams series about music in Islamic Africa. Click the tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Khaira Arby for her for musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KHAIRA ARBY (also given as "Haira Arby")
Excerpt #1:
From http://www.npr.org/2011/02/23/129552534/khaira-arby-malis-reigning-queen-of-song Khaira Arby: Mali's Reigning Queen Of Song; August 31, 2010; BANNING EYRE
"In "Waidio," singer Khaira Arby insists that women must be free to pursue their own happiness.
Khaira Arby is the reigning queen of song in Timbuktu, Mali. She's been writing and singing in the indigenous languages of her Sahara Desert region — Sonrhai, Tamaschek, Bambara, Arabic — for decades. Her robust voice, roiling grooves and direct lyrics, often addressing sensitive issues, have made her a legend in her own time. Arby's debut international CD release (Timbuktu Tarab) and her first U.S. tour are giving Americans their first glimpses of a desert rose. But, as they'll discover, that rose has both a beautiful crimson flower and razor-sharp thorns.
Perhaps Arby's greatest social impact in a conservative Islamic milieu has been her advocacy on behalf of women. She divorced a controlling husband to pursue a career in music. (She's since remarried.) As a singer, she's opened the door to a generation of artistic women who now follow in her footsteps. Arby has also sung against the practice of female genital mutilation, and in "Waidio," she decries the "anguish of women," insisting that they must be free to pursue their own happiness. Arby asks, "Why, in a country of beautiful women, do men go to war?" The song showcases Arby's powerful vocal in her first language, Sonrhai, as well as the amazingly tight groove of her electric-guitar-driven band."
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://voicesofafrica.co.za/music-spirituality-and-islam-in-africa/ "Music, Spirituality, And Islam In Africa" by Thembi Mutch, March 7, 2013
..."A couple of thousand miles west of Sudan in Mali, the tensions between contrasting interpretations of the role of music for Muslims was been brought into particularly sharp, and often tragic, focus following the takeover of the north by Islamist militants last year.
Khaïra Arby, looking regal in her striking head wrap and plush blue dress, her face lined and tired, just got off a plane from Mali. “Yes, it’s true, I’ve seen it myself; they will cut off your tongue if you sing,” she says. “I’ve seen friends who’ve had their hands cut off for the ringtones on their mobile phones.”
Arby, adored across Mali, is affectionately called the nightingale of the North. Born in the village of Abaradjou, north of Timbuktu, her parents came from different ethnic backgrounds – her mother Songhai, her father Berber. Arby’s music, which is more popular at home than the music of her internationally famous cousin Salif Keita, captures northern Mali’s diversity of ethnic groups, styles and poetry.
After persistent threats and attacks from Islamists militants – including smashing up stereo systems in markets and people’s homes, confiscating radios and even SIM cards with music on them – Arby escaped to Bamako to stay with Salif Keita on his island on the river Niger just outside Mali’s capital of Bamako. Many Malian musicians are among the thousands who fled south since the crisis began.
Keita is also resigned. Before the international intervention against the Islamist rebels, he commented, “If there’s no music, no Timbuktu, it means that there is no more culture in Mali.” Indeed, Timbuktu is regarded as part of a chain of African kingdoms that had a long history of education, literature and intellectual life. It was the site of one of the largest Islamic libraries in Africa and a meeting point for scholars who debated and interpreted the Qur’an.
However, last year the Islamist rebels who took over the towns declared the shrines to be idolatrous and restricted forms of expression, such as music, that had been part of the fundamental fabric of everyday life. Like many Malians, Arby was bewildered. “There’s not a single part of the Qur’an that forbids music,” she says. “I’ve read it all, I can tell you honestly, there’s nothing in there that says don’t sing. I’ve never seen, never, that music is forbidden.”
In fact, Arby is highly sceptical as to the importance of religion at all in the motives of militants. “This war is about drug-running and arms trafficking. It’s about controlling important routes through a very long term trade area. It’s about money, politics and control. It’s not about religion,” she insists….
Meanwhile Arby states defiantly, “We have an obligation to sing, to dance, to respect, and to show appreciation for the suffering and the endurance and bravery of the people who are fighting for us, for those who cannot sing. We must compose beautiful songs before the war, during the war, and after the war, to celebrate what we have.”
This piece by Thembi Mutch was first published on Think Africa Press.
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Mali for the article about religion in Mali (as of 2015). That article is quoted in its entirety in the second post of this pancocojams series: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/07/malian-singers-ramata-diakite-tata_3.html.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest video given first.
Example #1: the Timbuktu diva Khaira Arby : desert blues
afropop is the future ! Uploaded on Oct 13, 2008
she sings for her mother , the song is aigna
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Susanne D7, 2008
"Where did you get this video?"
**
Reply
afropopstar, 2008
"i did it..."
**
akatiku, 2009
"What language she is singing?"
**
Reply
Monsieur Africain
"It is Songhai language"
**
Arlene McKenna, 2012
"Lovely. So sorry she and other musicians are being silenced by religious extremists in Mali right now."
**
ngoniba, 2013
"The guitar in this song is not that of Farka, is Hammane Touré."
****
Example #2: Mali: Khaira ARBY – Amandiath
Tyrus Maximus Uploaded on Jun 2, 2010
Haira Arby. music from Mali, West Africa.
****
Example #3: Khaïra ARBY, TIEBA BI MALI
maitreGABAUploaded on Jun 30, 2011
Khaïra ARBY, une artiste Malienne, la voix du désert. ce son me rappel de longues dates!
Google translate from French to English: a Malian artist, the voice of the desert. this sound reminds me of long dates!*
-snip-
*"of long dates" = of long ago (or "of time past")
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread
Tcheta Douk, 2011
"Merci a toi d'avoir poster ce son, je l'ai tellement recherché.
Il me rappelle ma tendre enfance avec mon père qui nous faisait écouter le morceau et souvent meme jouait de sa guitare, ke de bons moments.
Merci papa de nous avoir transmit autant d'amour, quoiqu'il advienne aujourd'hui, sache ke nous tes enfants t'oublieront jamais et t'aimont plus que tout. Dieu nous benisse!!!
Thank you to you to have post this sound, I so desired."
[s]He reminds me reach my childhood with my father who made us listen to the song, and often even played his [her] guitar, ke good times.
Thank you dad have passed us so much love, whatever happens today, we know ke your children never forget you and you Aimont more than anything. God bless us !!!
**
Mama Diarra, 2015
"Je suis émue d'entendre cette chanson qui me rappelle mon adolescence au grand Mali Un grand merci à personne qui a posté cette magnifique chanson de Kahira Harbi. Qu' Allah bénis le Mali."
I am moved to hear this song that reminds me of my youth to the great Mali A big thank you to anyone who posted this beautiful song Kahira Harbi. May Allah bless Mali.
****
Example #4: Khaira Arby - AFH345
Afrikafestival Hertme Published on Feb 2, 2014
Distinguished diva from a point north of Timbuktu
Family connections don't always provide a leg-up on the ladder of life. Take Khaira Arby, for instance. Despite being a cousin of the mighty Ali Farka Toure, she was forbidden by her father to pursue her musical calling and instead bore a family. But domesticity couldn't extinguish that dream and a resolute Khaira reinvented herself. And aren't we glad. From a country where great singers grow on (baobab) trees, Khaira sits at the metaphorical top table and is known as 'the nightingale of Mali's north'. Indeed, while the capital Bamako becomes an ever-crowded musical marketplace, her location in a village near Timbuktu has allowed her to mark her own territory. And just as Timbuktu is a crossroads, Khaira's music heads out in different directions too. Of mixed Berber and Songhai parentage - and singing in Arabic, Songhai, Tamashek, Bambara and French - her spiky, occasionally psychedelicised take on her homeland's varied music has made her a true national hero. Despite Pop's best efforts.
****
Example #5: Khaira Arby Jazz & Joy Worms 2015
Khaira Arby Published on Mar 25, 2016
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post provides information about the Malian singer Khaira Arby and showcases five YouTube videos of her songs. Selected comments from some of these videos' discussion thread are also included in this post.
This is the first post in a continuing pancocojams series about music in Islamic Africa. Click the tab below for other posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Khaira Arby for her for musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KHAIRA ARBY (also given as "Haira Arby")
Excerpt #1:
From http://www.npr.org/2011/02/23/129552534/khaira-arby-malis-reigning-queen-of-song Khaira Arby: Mali's Reigning Queen Of Song; August 31, 2010; BANNING EYRE
"In "Waidio," singer Khaira Arby insists that women must be free to pursue their own happiness.
Khaira Arby is the reigning queen of song in Timbuktu, Mali. She's been writing and singing in the indigenous languages of her Sahara Desert region — Sonrhai, Tamaschek, Bambara, Arabic — for decades. Her robust voice, roiling grooves and direct lyrics, often addressing sensitive issues, have made her a legend in her own time. Arby's debut international CD release (Timbuktu Tarab) and her first U.S. tour are giving Americans their first glimpses of a desert rose. But, as they'll discover, that rose has both a beautiful crimson flower and razor-sharp thorns.
Perhaps Arby's greatest social impact in a conservative Islamic milieu has been her advocacy on behalf of women. She divorced a controlling husband to pursue a career in music. (She's since remarried.) As a singer, she's opened the door to a generation of artistic women who now follow in her footsteps. Arby has also sung against the practice of female genital mutilation, and in "Waidio," she decries the "anguish of women," insisting that they must be free to pursue their own happiness. Arby asks, "Why, in a country of beautiful women, do men go to war?" The song showcases Arby's powerful vocal in her first language, Sonrhai, as well as the amazingly tight groove of her electric-guitar-driven band."
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://voicesofafrica.co.za/music-spirituality-and-islam-in-africa/ "Music, Spirituality, And Islam In Africa" by Thembi Mutch, March 7, 2013
..."A couple of thousand miles west of Sudan in Mali, the tensions between contrasting interpretations of the role of music for Muslims was been brought into particularly sharp, and often tragic, focus following the takeover of the north by Islamist militants last year.
Khaïra Arby, looking regal in her striking head wrap and plush blue dress, her face lined and tired, just got off a plane from Mali. “Yes, it’s true, I’ve seen it myself; they will cut off your tongue if you sing,” she says. “I’ve seen friends who’ve had their hands cut off for the ringtones on their mobile phones.”
Arby, adored across Mali, is affectionately called the nightingale of the North. Born in the village of Abaradjou, north of Timbuktu, her parents came from different ethnic backgrounds – her mother Songhai, her father Berber. Arby’s music, which is more popular at home than the music of her internationally famous cousin Salif Keita, captures northern Mali’s diversity of ethnic groups, styles and poetry.
After persistent threats and attacks from Islamists militants – including smashing up stereo systems in markets and people’s homes, confiscating radios and even SIM cards with music on them – Arby escaped to Bamako to stay with Salif Keita on his island on the river Niger just outside Mali’s capital of Bamako. Many Malian musicians are among the thousands who fled south since the crisis began.
Keita is also resigned. Before the international intervention against the Islamist rebels, he commented, “If there’s no music, no Timbuktu, it means that there is no more culture in Mali.” Indeed, Timbuktu is regarded as part of a chain of African kingdoms that had a long history of education, literature and intellectual life. It was the site of one of the largest Islamic libraries in Africa and a meeting point for scholars who debated and interpreted the Qur’an.
However, last year the Islamist rebels who took over the towns declared the shrines to be idolatrous and restricted forms of expression, such as music, that had been part of the fundamental fabric of everyday life. Like many Malians, Arby was bewildered. “There’s not a single part of the Qur’an that forbids music,” she says. “I’ve read it all, I can tell you honestly, there’s nothing in there that says don’t sing. I’ve never seen, never, that music is forbidden.”
In fact, Arby is highly sceptical as to the importance of religion at all in the motives of militants. “This war is about drug-running and arms trafficking. It’s about controlling important routes through a very long term trade area. It’s about money, politics and control. It’s not about religion,” she insists….
Meanwhile Arby states defiantly, “We have an obligation to sing, to dance, to respect, and to show appreciation for the suffering and the endurance and bravery of the people who are fighting for us, for those who cannot sing. We must compose beautiful songs before the war, during the war, and after the war, to celebrate what we have.”
This piece by Thembi Mutch was first published on Think Africa Press.
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Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Mali for the article about religion in Mali (as of 2015). That article is quoted in its entirety in the second post of this pancocojams series: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/07/malian-singers-ramata-diakite-tata_3.html.
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest video given first.
Example #1: the Timbuktu diva Khaira Arby : desert blues
afropop is the future ! Uploaded on Oct 13, 2008
she sings for her mother , the song is aigna
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Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Susanne D7, 2008
"Where did you get this video?"
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Reply
afropopstar, 2008
"i did it..."
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akatiku, 2009
"What language she is singing?"
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Reply
Monsieur Africain
"It is Songhai language"
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Arlene McKenna, 2012
"Lovely. So sorry she and other musicians are being silenced by religious extremists in Mali right now."
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ngoniba, 2013
"The guitar in this song is not that of Farka, is Hammane Touré."
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Example #2: Mali: Khaira ARBY – Amandiath
Tyrus Maximus Uploaded on Jun 2, 2010
Haira Arby. music from Mali, West Africa.
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Example #3: Khaïra ARBY, TIEBA BI MALI
maitreGABAUploaded on Jun 30, 2011
Khaïra ARBY, une artiste Malienne, la voix du désert. ce son me rappel de longues dates!
Google translate from French to English: a Malian artist, the voice of the desert. this sound reminds me of long dates!*
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*"of long dates" = of long ago (or "of time past")
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread
Tcheta Douk, 2011
"Merci a toi d'avoir poster ce son, je l'ai tellement recherché.
Il me rappelle ma tendre enfance avec mon père qui nous faisait écouter le morceau et souvent meme jouait de sa guitare, ke de bons moments.
Merci papa de nous avoir transmit autant d'amour, quoiqu'il advienne aujourd'hui, sache ke nous tes enfants t'oublieront jamais et t'aimont plus que tout. Dieu nous benisse!!!
Thank you to you to have post this sound, I so desired."
[s]He reminds me reach my childhood with my father who made us listen to the song, and often even played his [her] guitar, ke good times.
Thank you dad have passed us so much love, whatever happens today, we know ke your children never forget you and you Aimont more than anything. God bless us !!!
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Mama Diarra, 2015
"Je suis émue d'entendre cette chanson qui me rappelle mon adolescence au grand Mali Un grand merci à personne qui a posté cette magnifique chanson de Kahira Harbi. Qu' Allah bénis le Mali."
I am moved to hear this song that reminds me of my youth to the great Mali A big thank you to anyone who posted this beautiful song Kahira Harbi. May Allah bless Mali.
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Example #4: Khaira Arby - AFH345
Afrikafestival Hertme Published on Feb 2, 2014
Distinguished diva from a point north of Timbuktu
Family connections don't always provide a leg-up on the ladder of life. Take Khaira Arby, for instance. Despite being a cousin of the mighty Ali Farka Toure, she was forbidden by her father to pursue her musical calling and instead bore a family. But domesticity couldn't extinguish that dream and a resolute Khaira reinvented herself. And aren't we glad. From a country where great singers grow on (baobab) trees, Khaira sits at the metaphorical top table and is known as 'the nightingale of Mali's north'. Indeed, while the capital Bamako becomes an ever-crowded musical marketplace, her location in a village near Timbuktu has allowed her to mark her own territory. And just as Timbuktu is a crossroads, Khaira's music heads out in different directions too. Of mixed Berber and Songhai parentage - and singing in Arabic, Songhai, Tamashek, Bambara and French - her spiky, occasionally psychedelicised take on her homeland's varied music has made her a true national hero. Despite Pop's best efforts.
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Example #5: Khaira Arby Jazz & Joy Worms 2015
Khaira Arby Published on Mar 25, 2016
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