Taarab
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| Music of Tanzania | ||||
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| Media and performance | ||||
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| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||
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| Regional music | ||||
| Taarab | |
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| Cultural origins | Late 19th century |
| Subgenres | |
| Coastal taarab | |
| Regional scenes | |
| African Coastal Region | |
| Local scenes | |
 Tanzania •  Zanzibar •  Kenya | |
| Other topics | |
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Taarab is a music genre popular in Tanzania and Kenya.[1][2] It is influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Taarab rose to prominence in 1928 with the advent of the genre's first star, Siti binti Saad.[3][4]
According to local legend, taarab was popularized by Sultan
Etymology
The word taarab is a loanword from Arabic. The Arabic word طرب means "having pleasure, delight with music".[7][8]
History of Taarab music
After the spreading of Taarab from the Sultan's palace to Zanzibari weddings and other community events, the first famous female singer of taarab was
In 1928, she and her band became the first from the region to make commercial recordings and was the first East African to be recorded in the Bombay HMV studios. She would go on to become one of the most famous taarab musicians of all time.[7]
Over the next several decades, bands and musicians like
Taarab music[10] is a fusion of pre-Islamic Swahili tunes sung in rhythmic poetic style, spiced with Arab-style melodies. It is an extremely lively art form, and immensely popular especially with women, drawing all the time from old and new sources. Taarab forms a major part of the social life of the Swahili people along the coastal areas, especially in Zanzibar, Tanga and even further in Mombasa and Malindi along the Kenya coast.[4] Wherever the Swahili speaking people travelled, Taraab culture moved with them. It has penetrated as far inland as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in East Africa, where taarab groups compete in popularity with western-music inspired groups.[2]
Nowadays a taarab revolution is taking place and much heated debate continues about the music which has been changed drastically by the East African Melody phenomenon. Melody, as they are affectionately known by their mostly female fans, play modern taarab, which, for the first time, is 'taarab to dance to' and features direct lyrics, bypassing the unwritten laws of lyrical subtlety of the older groups, where the meaning of their lyrics is only alluded to, and never directly inferred.[2] Today, taarab songs are explicit – sometimes even graphic – in sexual connotation, and much of the music of groups like Melody and Muungano is composed and played on keyboards, increasing portability for different venues. Also, the groups are much smaller in number than 'real taarab' orchestras and therefore more readily available to tour and play shows throughout the region and beyond.[1]
See also
Further reading
- Askew, Kelly (2002-07-28). Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania. ISBN 978-0-226-02981-8.
- Edmondson, Laura (2007-07-20). Performance and Politics in Tanzania: The Nation on Stage. ISBN 978-0-253-11705-2.
- Njogu, Kimani; Maupeu, Herv (2007-10-15). Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa. African Books Collective. ISBN 978-9987-08-108-0.
Sources
- ^ ISBN 978-0-253-11705-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-9987-08-108-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-9529675005.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-226-02981-8.
- .
- ^ a b "Swahili Taarab - Music of the Indian Ocean". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ^ ISBN 9781135900014.
- ^ Mohamed El-Mohammady Rizk, Women in Taarab: The Performing Art in East Africa. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2007.
- ISSN 1614-2373.
- ^ "Tarab". mwambao.com.
External links
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