The Taarab-Kidumbak Ensemble from Zanzibar, an island that is currently united with Tanzania and which has over the past 500 years absorbed numerous foreign cultural influences, performed on Friday on the sidelines of the HIFA to a packed audience.
“‘Taraab’ is an Arabic word that means ‘agitated or moved,’ and I am pleased the audience joined in the singing and dancing, because they were moved,” Mohamed Issa Haji, the group’s artistic director, told The Anadolu Agency following Friday’s gig.
The musical group is known for playing local African drums and traditional dances infused with Arabic tones and instruments, such as the oud, qanun and tablah.This year, the group went one step further by infusing Shona, a local language in Zimbabwe, into its musical performances.In Friday’s show, the ensemble played several African songs in different languages that were warmly received by the audience, which mostly consisted of whites and local artists.
Although most of the songs performed by the band were in Arabic and Swahili, much of the audience was still able to follow the meaning due to similarities with the Bantu language.
“Swahili is not a very complex language. It is 40 percent Arabic, while the rest is Bantu language, including Zimbabwe’s own Shona,” Haji told AA, citing several terms in Shona with the same meaning in Swahili.
Haji said the band had been greatly influenced by Fatuma binti Baraka, widely known as Bi Kidude, a Zanzibar-born singer considered the queen of the taarab and unyago musical genres.
She died in 2013 at around the age of 90.
Zimbabwean afro-jazz artist Prudence Mbofana Katomeni was one of those in the audience who enjoyed the show.
“This was moving. As a musician myself, I have learned that Africa is diverse and rich, with traditional tones,” Katomeni told AA.
Shyleen Daves, an Australian who was in the audience, also spoke highly of the group following the performance.
“I think you can see that Zanzibar Taraab’s music could appeal to anyone here due to the way they play their instruments, the language and the dances,” Daves said.
Harare was set alight on Tuesday with the opening of this year’s HIFA, which was attended by a galaxy of international artists.
First launched in 1999 by Manuel Bagoro, HIFA’s founder and artistic director, the event is now considered one of Africa’s premier international art festivals.
A showcase for dance, fashion, poetry, comedy, music, the visual arts and sculpture, the HIFA – held every year in late April or early May – now draws award-winning artists from across the globe.
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