Music of the Waswahili of Lamu, Kenya

who are seated facing their teachers and other dignitarieswho are attending the reading, dance with a subduedswaying and forward and back motion. The dancingis not as coordinated as in Maulidi ya Kiswahili readings,but when the fervor reaches its peak, it does allowconsiderable room for individual expression.After the maqam with its accompanying hymnsand the dua, a special song is often sung by one ofthe Riadha leaders. Occasionally, someone preaches asermon. Neither of these features exists in MaulidiOccasionally, at a celebration that appears to theoutside observer to be Maulidi al-Habshi because theRiadha sharifs are present, the readings being usedare actually those of Maulidi Barazanji, interspersedwith hymns from Maulidi al-Habshi. Maulidi Barazanjiis customarily read without instruments and with onlyone song immediately following the maqam. It mostoften occurs in private readings attended only by areligiOUS leader, the family sponsoring the event anda small number of invited friends. The occasion for thereading is often to fulfill a promise of praises to Allah ifa child is safely born, a business venture is successful,or someone's desire to make the pilgrimage to Meccahas become a reality. Maulidi Barazanji is commonlyused by women for private devotions. Some readings,especially those in honor of a deceased relative or anhonored teacher, have become annual events.The form of Maulidi Barazanji is similar toThis recording of Maulidi Diriji is unique. It wasperformed in Pate, a village which today sits in the middleof the ruins of a much larger and more powerful town,which was dominant in the northern coastal regionuntil the seventeenth century. Maulidi Diriji wasplayed during a large wedding celebration in Pateto which many people from Siyu, another town aboutan hour's walk away on the same island, were invited.It is likely that some of the drummers and "readers"were from Siyu.People said very little about Maulidi Dinji, exceptthat it was old and its performance was restricted toPate and Siyu. Its form is similar to other maulidiBand 2Maulldi BarazanjiBand 3Maulldi DlrljiBand 4Maulldi Sharaful Anam (Kukangaya)ya Kiswahili readings.During the month long celebration of the birth ofthe Prophet, Maulidi al-Habshi is read in nearly everymosque in ramu. Maulidi ya Kiswahili is not read at allduring that month. After the celebration reaches itsclimax in the Riadha Mosque itself, the teachers andstudents travel to many of the towns on the islandssurrounding ramu, bringing the celebration andreading of Maulidi al-Habshi to those mosques as well.Maulidi ya Kiswahili and Maulidi al-Habshi, consistingof jatiha, four basic chapters which can be supplemented,and dua. The whole reading takes less than anhour. Refreshments after the reading are often veryelaborate since a small number of people attend andthe success of the reading is a reflection upon thegenerosity of the host.Maulidi Barazanji can be enlarged by the additionof sacred songs or hymns, but it has no hymns of its own.As is heard on the second volume in this set, the use ofMaulidi Barazanji readings combined with aparticular style of hymn, samai, is becoming verypopular in ramu. When it is used in this way, thereadings are referred to by the name of the musicalstyle rather than as maulidi. The recording of MaulidiBarazanji on this record is as it is most commonlyknown in ramu.consisting of chanted readings (recitations would bea better word, since there is no book present) andhymns chanted by a number of men at the same time.The readings are longer than those contained inMaulidi ya Kiswahili or Maulidi al-Habshi and arerecited in a more songlike style. The whole formcould be said to consist of hymns alone, but withoutfurther study, this judgement should be withheld.The hymns were accompanied by seven, or occasionallyeight, matan, which were larger than those used inramu and most of which did not have the metal ringsin their rims.Maulidi Sharajul Anam means "the model of mankind."It is a form that is known only to a few men inramu, and it was performed only once during the yearof my stay there. It is executed without instrumentalaccompaniment and is performed without referenceto any written sources. It consists of three parts calledWitina, Hamzia and Burdai. The whole of MaulidiSharajulAnam takes more than twelve hours to perform,ideally with each section performed from beginning toend without interruption. If time does not allow fora complete reading, the first section is interrupted inthe middle and the second started. The performancefrom which this excerpt is taken lasted nearly sevenhours.10Another name for Maulidi Sharajul Anam is MaulidiKukangaya, which refers to the "trembling" vocalquality used during the solo singing. The songs consistof sections chanted by the leader interspersed withrepetitions and choruses by the whole group. However,because very few know this form in its entirety, mostparticipants were able to join in only sporadically.In fact, the leader of this performance, which tookplace in the house of a deeply religiOUS man in ramu,was from Siyu. He brought a group of his students toassist him, and these men contributed the bulk ofthe group recitations.Occasionally kukangaya-style chanting is used duringa hymn. When this happens, the group activity