Jump to content

Taarab: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by 141.91.210.76 (talk) to last version by Solidest
Tags: Rollback Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit
 
(23 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Music genre}}
{{Short description|Music genre}}
{{About|the musical genre|the [[studio album]] by [[Rabih Abou-Khalil]]|Tarab}}
{{Music of Tanzania}}
{{Infobox Music genre
{{Infobox Music genre
| name = Taarab
| name = Taarab
| bgcolor = deepskyblue
| stylistic_origins =
| stylistic_origins =
| cultural_origins = Late 19th century
| cultural_origins = Late 19th century
Line 8: Line 9:
| subgenres = [[Coastal taarab]]
| subgenres = [[Coastal taarab]]
| fusiongenres =
| fusiongenres =
| local_scenes = {{flag|Tanzania}} • {{flag|Zanzibar}} • {{flag|Kenya}}
| regional_scenes =
| regional_scenes = African Coastal Region
| other_topics =
| other_topics = {{hlist|[[Bongo Flava]]|[[Singeli]]|[[Mdundiko]]|[[Kidumbaki]]|[[Unyago]]}}
}}
}}
[[File:Musique de Zanzibar (Institut du monde arabe, Paris) (11227343546).jpg|thumb|right|Taarab performance by Kithara Orchestra of Zanzibar performing in [[Paris]]]]


'''Taarab''' is a [[music genre]] popular in [[Tanzania]] and [[Kenya]].<ref name="Edmondson_07">{{Cite book |last=Edmondson |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7EPcIVSHESEC |title=Performance and Politics in Tanzania: The Nation on Stage |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-253-11705-2 |editor-last=McNaughton |editor-first=Patrick |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington, IN]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Njogu_07">{{Cite book |last1=Njogu |first1=Kimani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q_lWEAAAQBAJ |title=Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa |last2=Maupeu |first2=Herv |publisher=[[Mkuki na Nyota|Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-9987-08-108-0 |location=[[Dar es Salaam|Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]] |pages=241–246 |language=en |chapter=Music and Politics in Tanzania: a case study of Nyota-wa-Cigogo}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Mgana_91">{{cite book |last1=Mgana |first1=Issa |title=Jukwaa la Taarab - Zanzibar |date=1991 |publisher=Mediafrica Books |location=[[Helsinki]] |isbn=978-9529675005 |page=101 |language=sw}}</ref><ref name="Askew_02">{{Cite book |last=Askew |first=Kelly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i7riV5SvDe8C |title=Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-226-02981-8 |location=[[Chicago]] |pages=27–67, 276 |language=en}}</ref>
'''Taarab''' is a [[music genre]] popular in [[Tanzania]] and [[Kenya]]. 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]].


According to local legend, taarab was started by Sultan [[Seyyid Barghash bin Said]] (1870-1888). He enjoyed luxury and the pleasures of life. It was this ruler who initiated taarab in [[Zanzibar]] and later it spread all over the African Great Lakes region. The sultan imported a taarab ensemble from [[Egypt]] to play in his Beit el-Ajab palace. He subsequently decided to send [[Mohamed Ibrahim (musician)|Mohamed Ibrahim]] from Zanzibar to Egypt to learn music and to play the [[Kanun (Instrument)|Kanun]]. Upon his return, he formed the Zanzibar Taarab Orchestra. In 1905, Zanzibar's second music society, [[Ikwhani Safaa Musical Club]], was established, and it continues to thrive today.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Swahili Taarab - Music of the Indian Ocean|url=https://sites.google.com/site/musicoftheindianocean/reading-units/swahili-taarab-pt-i-the-birth-of-swahili-taarab|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>
According to local legend, taarab was popularized by Sultan [[Seyyid Barghash bin Said]] (1870-1888).<ref name="Fargion_02">{{cite journal |last1=Fargion |first1=Janet T. |author2=Le Guennec-Coppens, Françoise |author3=Mery, Sophie |title=The Music of Zenj: Arab-African crossovers in the music of Zanzibar |journal=Journal des Africanistes |date=2002 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=203–212 |doi=10.3406/jafr.2002.1315 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/jafr_0399-0346_2002_num_72_2_1315 |location=[[Paris]] |language=fr}}</ref> He enjoyed luxury and the pleasures of life. It was this ruler who initiated taarab in [[Zanzibar]] and later it spread all over the African Great Lakes region. The sultan imported a taarab ensemble from [[Egypt]] to play in his Beit el-Ajab palace. He subsequently decided to send [[Mohamed Ibrahim (musician)|Mohamed Ibrahim]] from Zanzibar to Egypt to learn music and to play the [[Kanun (Instrument)|Kanun]]. Upon his return, he formed the Zanzibar Taarab Orchestra. In 1905, Zanzibar's second music society, [[Ikwhani Safaa Musical Club]], was established, and it continues to thrive today.<ref name="Indian Ocean">{{Cite web|title=Swahili Taarab - Music of the Indian Ocean|url=https://sites.google.com/site/musicoftheindianocean/reading-units/swahili-taarab-pt-i-the-birth-of-swahili-taarab|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> Ikwhani Safaa and [[Culture Musical Club]] (founded in 1958) remain the leading Zanzibar taarab orchestras.<ref name="Indian Ocean"/>


==Etymology==
Ikwhani Safaa and [[Culture Musical Club]] (founded in 1958) remain the leading Zanzibar taarab orchestras.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Swahili Taarab - Music of the Indian Ocean|url=https://sites.google.com/site/musicoftheindianocean/reading-units/swahili-taarab-pt-i-the-birth-of-swahili-taarab|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>
The word taarab is a loanword from Arabic. The Arabic word {{lang|ar|طرب}} means "having pleasure, delight with music".<ref name="Stone_08">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEeTAgAAQBAJ |title=The Garland Handbook of African Music |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2008 |isbn=9781135900014 |editor-last=Stone |editor-first=Ruth M. |location=[[New York City|New York]] |pages=14, 46–50, 136–137 |language=en}}</ref><ref>Mohamed El-Mohammady Rizk, ''Women in Taarab: The Performing Art in East Africa''. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2007.</ref>

The word taarab is a loanword from Arabic. The Arabic word '''طرب''' means "having joy with music".<ref>Mohamed El-Mohammady Rizk, ''Women in Taarab: The Performing Art in East Africa''. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2007.</ref>


== History of Taarab music ==
== 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 [[Siti bint Saad]]. Beginning in 1928, she and her band were the first from the region to make commercial recordings.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}
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 [[Siti bint Saad]].<ref name="Mgana_91" /><ref name="Stone_08" />


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.<ref name="Stone_08" />
⚫
Over the next several decades, bands and musicians like [[Bi Kidude]], [[Mzee Yusuph]], [[Culture Musical Club]] and [[Al-Watan Musical Club]] kept ''taarab'' at the forefront of the Tanzanian scene, and made inroads across the world. Playing in a similar style, [[Kidumbak]] ensembles grew popular, at least among the poor of Zanzibar, featuring two small drums, bass, violins and dancers using [[claves]] and [[maracas]]. The 1960s saw a group called the [[Black Star Musical Club]] from [[Tanga, Tanzania|Tanga]] modernize the genre, and brought it to audiences far afield, especially [[Burundi]] and [[Kenya]]. More recently, modern taarab bands like [[East African Melody]] have emerged, as have related backbiting songs for women, called [[mipasho]].


⚫
Over the next several decades, bands and musicians like [[Bi Kidude]], [[Mzee Yusuph]], [[Mila na Utamaduni (Culture Musical Club)]] and [[Al-Watan Musical Club]] kept ''taarab'' at the forefront of the Tanzanian scene, and made inroads across the world. Playing in a similar style, [[Kidumbak]] ensembles grew popular, at least among the poor of Zanzibar, featuring two small drums, bass, violins and dancers using [[claves]] and [[maracas]]. The 1960s saw a group called the [[Black Star Musical Club]] from [[Tanga, Tanzania|Tanga]] modernize the genre, and brought it to audiences far afield, especially [[Burundi]] and [[Kenya]]. More recently, modern taarab bands like [[East African Melody]] have emerged, as have related backbiting songs for women, called [[mipasho]].<ref name="Khamis_05">{{Cite journal |last=Khamis |first=Said A. M. |date=2005-12-07 |title=Clash of interests and conceptualisation of taarab in East Africa |url=https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/23648/ |journal=Swahili Forum |issue=12 |pages=133–159 |issn=1614-2373}}</ref>
⚫
Taarab music<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mwambao.com/tarab.htm|title=Tarab|work=mwambao.com}}</ref> is a fusion of [[Swahili culture|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. Wherever the Swahili speaking people travelled, [[Swahili culture|Taraab culture]] moved with them. It has penetrated to as far as [[Uganda]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]] in the interior of East Africa, where taarab groups compete in popularity with western-music inspired groups.


⚫
Taarab music<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mwambao.com/tarab.htm|title=Tarab|work=mwambao.com}}</ref> is a fusion of [[Swahili culture|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, [[Comoros]], Tanga and even further in [[Mombasa]] and [[Malindi]] along the Kenya coast.<ref name="Askew_02" /> Wherever the Swahili speaking people travelled, [[Swahili culture|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.<ref name="Njogu_07" />
⚫
Nowadays a taarab revolution<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swahilicoast.com/taarab_music_of_zanzibar.htm|title=Archived copy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050415042644/http://www.swahilicoast.com/taarab_music_of_zanzibar.htm|archive-date=15 April 2005|access-date=15 April 2005}}</ref> 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. 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.

⚫
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.<ref name="Njogu_07" /> 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.<ref name="Edmondson_07" />


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Bi Kidude]]
* [[Siti binti Saad]]
* [[Music of Tanzania]]
* [[Music of Tanzania]]

* [[Zanzibar]]
== Further reading ==

* {{Cite book |last=Askew |first=Kelly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNSxyGOO_HIC |title=Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania |date=2002-07-28 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-02981-8 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Edmondson |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BWtQAAAAMAAJ |title=Performance and Politics in Tanzania: The Nation on Stage |date=2007-07-20 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |isbn=978-0-253-11705-2 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Njogu |first1=Kimani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6efAAAAMAAJ |title=Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa |last2=Maupeu |first2=Herv |date=2007-10-15 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=978-9987-08-108-0 |language=en}}


==Sources==
==Sources==
Line 47: Line 54:


[[Category:Culture of Zanzibar]]
[[Category:Culture of Zanzibar]]
⚫
[[Category:Tanzanian music]]
[[Category:Kenyan styles of music]]
[[Category:Kenyan styles of music]]
⚫
[[Category:Tanzanian styles of music]]

Latest revision as of 09:57, 15 October 2024

This article is about the musical genre. For the studio album by Rabih Abou-Khalil, see Tarab.
Music of Tanzania
Genres
Media and performance
Music awards
Music festivals
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem
Regional music
Taarab
Cultural originsLate 19th century
Subgenres
Coastal taarab
Regional scenes
African Coastal Region
Local scenes
 Tanzania •  Zanzibar •  Kenya
Other topics
Taarab performance by Kithara Orchestra of Zanzibar performing in Paris

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 Seyyid Barghash bin Said (1870-1888).[5] He enjoyed luxury and the pleasures of life. It was this ruler who initiated taarab in Zanzibar and later it spread all over the African Great Lakes region. The sultan imported a taarab ensemble from Egypt to play in his Beit el-Ajab palace. He subsequently decided to send Mohamed Ibrahim from Zanzibar to Egypt to learn music and to play the Kanun. Upon his return, he formed the Zanzibar Taarab Orchestra. In 1905, Zanzibar's second music society, Ikwhani Safaa Musical Club, was established, and it continues to thrive today.[6] Ikwhani Safaa and Culture Musical Club (founded in 1958) remain the leading Zanzibar taarab orchestras.[6]

Etymology

[edit]

The word taarab is a loanword from Arabic. The Arabic word طرب means "having pleasure, delight with music".[7][8]

History of Taarab music

[edit]

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 Siti bint Saad.[3][7]

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 Bi Kidude, Mzee Yusuph, Mila na Utamaduni (Culture Musical Club) and Al-Watan Musical Club kept taarab at the forefront of the Tanzanian scene, and made inroads across the world. Playing in a similar style, Kidumbak ensembles grew popular, at least among the poor of Zanzibar, featuring two small drums, bass, violins and dancers using claves and maracas. The 1960s saw a group called the Black Star Musical Club from Tanga modernize the genre, and brought it to audiences far afield, especially Burundi and Kenya. More recently, modern taarab bands like East African Melody have emerged, as have related backbiting songs for women, called mipasho.[9]

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, Comoros, 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

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Askew, Kelly (2002-07-28). Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-02981-8.
  • Edmondson, Laura (2007-07-20). Performance and Politics in Tanzania: The Nation on Stage. Indiana University Press. 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

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Edmondson, Laura (2007). McNaughton, Patrick (ed.). Performance and Politics in Tanzania: The Nation on Stage. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-11705-2.
  2. ^ a b c Njogu, Kimani; Maupeu, Herv (2007). "Music and Politics in Tanzania: a case study of Nyota-wa-Cigogo". Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd. pp. 241–246. ISBN 978-9987-08-108-0.
  3. ^ a b Mgana, Issa (1991). Jukwaa la Taarab - Zanzibar (in Swahili). Helsinki: Mediafrica Books. p. 101. ISBN 978-9529675005.
  4. ^ a b Askew, Kelly (2002). Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 27–67, 276. ISBN 978-0-226-02981-8.
  5. ^ Fargion, Janet T.; Le Guennec-Coppens, Françoise; Mery, Sophie (2002). "The Music of Zenj: Arab-African crossovers in the music of Zanzibar". Journal des Africanistes (in French). 72 (2). Paris: 203–212. doi:10.3406/jafr.2002.1315.
  6. ^ a b "Swahili Taarab - Music of the Indian Ocean". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  7. ^ a b c Stone, Ruth M., ed. (2008). The Garland Handbook of African Music. New York: Routledge. pp. 14, 46–50, 136–137. ISBN 9781135900014.
  8. ^ Mohamed El-Mohammady Rizk, Women in Taarab: The Performing Art in East Africa. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2007.
  9. ^ Khamis, Said A. M. (2005-12-07). "Clash of interests and conceptualisation of taarab in East Africa". Swahili Forum (12): 133–159. ISSN 1614-2373.
  10. ^ "Tarab". mwambao.com.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taarab&oldid=1251280313"