TANZANIA: MUSIC AND DANCE

Music in Tanzania has long borrowed and been influenced by musical styles from a number of different groups who traveled through the area. Many of their traditional instruments are similar to those that are fairly ubiquitous throughout the broader region. This includes common ones like the mbira, goblet drums, rattles, and tuned drums. And some instruments (or variations of instruments) are specific to certain ethnic groups. Modern music utilizes many of the modern musical instruments we see today.

One of the most popular musical genres in Tanzania is Taarab. Coming from Islamic roots, it uses several instruments that are popular in the Middle East, like the oud and the qanun, but also uses a lot of African percussion instruments and European guitars, and even instruments from East Asia (like the Japanese taishokoto). The melodies were mainly Islamic songs mixed with ancient Swahili songs. It started to really gain popularity in the late 1920s, and by the 1960s, Taarab groups had started to modernize it a bit and introduce it to other nearby countries.

Tanzania is a multi-ethnic country, and each ethnic group has their own styles of traditional dance. These traditional dances were passed down from generation to generation and told stories or represented a facet of life. In modern society, they’ve been somewhat lost to the younger generations, but there are dance troupes out there trying to teach people their history.

Starting in the 1930s, Cuban rumba and other Latin genres began to make its way into Tanzania, and it was really popular! Bands started forming and performing this new music, often calling themselves jazz bands, even though many of them didn’t play jazz. They stayed popular as dance music bands throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Today, quite a few new genres have gained in popularity, based on European and American styles mixed with their traditional sounds and instruments. Bongo Flava developed during the 1990s as a mix between hip-hop and reggae and mostly sung in Swahili. Hip-hop is equally just as popular, with Dar es Salaam being one of the centers for hip-hop musicians to thrive. Likewise, reggae here has been influenced by African and Caribbean roots but with its particular Swahili flair added to it. By the way, Freddie Mercury of the band Queen was born in an Indian community on Zanzibar. They tried to do a big celebration for him, but plans were shut down because of his openly gay lifestyle, seeing how homosexuality is illegal there.

Ras Nas

I found quite a few artists on Spotify that I took a quick listen to. I started with a bit of reggae from Ras Nas. It’s pretty chill, and I really liked it. You can really tell that he makes use of the guitar using African styles and rhythms behind some of it. He used English and Swahili (I’m guessing) both in his songs.

I found a couple of hip-hop artists. I checked out Juma Nature. There weren’t too many of his songs posted on there, but the ones I listened to were pretty catchy. One was a little more chill, and one was a little faster. Obviously, I don’t know what he’s saying, but I liked the cadence and inflections. The other one I listened to was X Plastaz. They incorporate more Maasai rhythms and styles into their music. It was pretty catchy and put together well from what I heard.

Vanessa Mdee

Now for the big genre: Bongo Flava. First of all, there’s a nice playlist on Spotify. And some of the artists I sampled (and some are on that playlist) include Vanessa Mdee, Diamond Platnumz, Harmonize, Dully Sykes, and Nandy. I really like this genre. I feel like it’s something I could listen to while driving with the windows down. Like a summer playlist if it would ever get warm and stay warm.

Up next: the food

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: MUSIC AND DANCE

Tucked away far from the cities in the Central African Republic lies some of the greatest ethnomusical finds of the century. Well, maybe last century.  There are two notable styles of folk music in this area: that of the Banda people and that of the Pygmy people.

The Banda music has been described as “jazzy,” utilizing trumpets and other instruments.  The ongo is an instrument made of wood or the horn of antelopes, and a lot of times, it was used in various ceremonies. The thing about the Banda’s music is that because of it’s jazzy sound, it became somewhat popular outside of this area and outside of Africa. 

The Pygmies have a style of music that uses polyphony and counterpoint.  It’s almost always divided into four parts, with one of the parts functioning as an ostinato bass, except it utilizes variations and may even be closer to a passacaglia. It’s just really hard to believe that in the past (and still today), many people, especially the Europeans who colonized these areas called the native tribes primitive and savages, and that they have no capacity for understanding higher, more complex thinking. It’s absurd. How can Bach be a genius because he utilized polyphony and counterpoint, but Pygmies in central Africa are incapable of such depth even though they utilize it as well? Africans were thriving at commerce and arts when Europeans were still throwing their excrement in the streets. I’m really hoping that there will be a point when we realize that and stop all of this nonsense that certain peoples are innately dumb. All peoples have positives and negatives. Anyway… The Pygmies also use the style known as liquindi, or water drumming. It’s mostly performed by women and girls who stand in the water and cups their hand to hit the surface of the water, making a percussive sound. Some of the other instruments that are primarily used by the Pygmies are bow harp (ieta), ngombi (harp zither), and a limbindo (a string bow). This is an excellent video that goes into much more detail about their music and accompanying dance of their tribe. 

The Ngbaka people use a type of instrument called the mbela, which is made from an arched piece of wood (usually a branch) with a string strung between the two ends, like a bow and arrow.  The performer will put their mouth on the end to use as a resonator. It’s one of the several ancestors to modern string instruments, and there are several variations of this instrument throughout the world.

The sanza, also called mbira or kalimba, is also a popular instrument throughout central and southern Africa.  I was in college taking a required world music course as part of the music major curriculum when I first heard of the mbira. I fell in love with it and with its sound – it was mesmerizing. Last year, I finally ordered one via the Internet. I play it, making up my own songs as a stress release.  The basic construction is a block of wood with metal keys made of steel fixed on it and a hole to help hold it. The bottom of each mbira has a metal bar with rattles on it, made of either metal beads (like the one I have) or bottle caps, or some other kind of metal tab. It goes by many names, and I even found a YouTube video of a five-octave mbira, which is now the object of my fancy. There are different kinds of tuning based on several different reasons and construction, but it’s not based on the octave system as in traditional European instruments – it’s closer to the modes of the Medieval period. And a lot of tuning an mbira has to do with overtones as well.  I came across this video when I first bought my mbira; I really like this song and wished that I could find it to download. 

As far as popular music goes, Western and European rock music, jazz, and other pan-African genres, especially from countries that border it, like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are commonly listened to in the Central African Republic. Makossa music, soukous, and Afrobeat are some of the more popular styles among the people.

Dance is seen by the community as a means of bonding and bringing the people in the community together. Dance can be done both in public and in private. The types of dances, the location, and times when people dance all depend and determine a person’s role in the community and station in their life. Likewise, some dances are for ceremonial purposes, and some are designated for entertainment. 

Up next: the food!