Music of the Waswahili of Lamu, Kenya

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Said, who pLayed the nai in the previous sarnai selection.The musical as well as religious contribution ofthis family to the East African Muslim community isprofound.Dhikiri is not regularly performed in Iamu. Severalinformants encouraged me to attend a dhikiri performance,but I could not locate one until one night, inMambrui, Kenya, I happened to be present whendhikiri was performed. The mosque in Mambrui is asatellite of the Riadha Mosque in Iamu, being notedfor its musical rituals. Several of its teachers are outstandingmusicians.Dhikiri is known to occur in many parts of the Muslimworld. It is supposed to be based upon the Quranicinjunction, "Remember God with frequent remembranceand glorify Him morning and evening." Thismandate has evolved into recitations that involve thechanting of songs, accompanied by constant repetitionof the name of Allah. In some places these recitationsreach a high pitch of intensity, due at least in part tothe hyperventilation that results from aspirating "Allah"A zeJe is a procession, not a styLe of music, yet inlamu some music was used exclusively in zeJe. Hymnsfrom Mauiidi ya Kiswahili and kasida were alsoperformed, but exclusively zeJe songs were especiallypopular. They are performed in grand processionsthrough the streets of the town before crowds of womenand children and an occasional tourist who is attractedby the music. ZeJe usually precede and often followa ritual called ziara, which is a visit to the graveof an honored person to sing praises of the Prophetand to heap blessings upon the head of the deceased.Some zeJe were more elaborate than others, the largestof all being the one to the gravesite of Habib Saleh atthe end of mauiidi, the celebration of the birthof the Prophet, sponsored by the Riadha Mosque. Themany visitors to Iamu for the festival contribute greatenthusiasm to the zeJe, each group performing musicassociated with its own village or school. One of themost popular songs is a justification of singing mauiidi,directed at those who oppose such "noisy" displaysThe chants sung by a group of school boys whoprecede the procession and by the men bearing thecoffin of a deceased person to the burial ground areamong the most sensitive musical lines to be heardin Iamu. The contrast between praise and sorrow asexpressed in these songs is a clear expression of thereligious convictions that permeate Iamu society andthe tragedies that affect the lives of every man andwoman.The body of the deceased is prepared for the burialat home and is then taken to a mosque where familySide 2, Band 1DhikirlBand 2ZeJeBand 3Funeral Processionover and over again. On occasion, some may experienceseizures by the spirit or indulge in self-flagellationduring dhikiri.In Mambrui, the performance of dhikiri reached apeak of emotional intensity and one seizure did occur,but most of the performance was marked more by theinvolvement of the men in the joy of their praises andin the beauty of the hymns. The soloist in the first songon this recording is Mohammad Khitami, a youngteacher, scholar and musician who was teaching inMalindi at the time. He is a son of one of the leadingdescendants of Habib Saleh. The reciter and leader ofthe second song is Hussein Badawy, the singer andcomposer of the kasida heard on side 1, band 2, ofthis record. The combination of these two men togetherwas electrifying.ZeJe being led by teachers dancing enthusiasticallyof overenthusiastic devotion. Today, there are fewsuch opponents in Iamu, but in the past such resistancewas much more widespread. Songs like this one reflecta tension that was once a serious problem for theteachers and leaders of the community.and friends gather for prayers. Immediately thereafterthe coffin is borne to the graveyard for interment. Theboys walk first and are followed closely by the menwho are continuously replacing each other as pallbearers.At the grave the body is placed on a terracedug out of the side of the grave, lying on its side facingMecca.After the burial special prayers and praises are sungeither at the homes of close relatives or in mosques.Women close to the deceased must remain indoorsand mourn for at least three days.12
Volume IIISecular MusicSecular music in lamu is clearly marked by thecontexts in which it occurs. The first and most importantcontext is the wedding. Although marriage iscontracted in the presence of a religious leader, oftenin a mosque, the great majority of events that occurduring a wedding are non-religious, being clearlyviewed as separate from the short, formal ceremonyitself.Men dance goma, kirumbizi and, on occasion,chama. Women process in the street canying giftsand dancing vugo and, on the morning after the consummationof the marriage, they carry msuwaki to thegroom's home. During the previous night they dancechakacha nonstop until dawn. Meanwhile, the menhave been listening to tarab while enjoying cups oftea.Chama and goma have also become associatedwith national patriotic celebrations, being performedduring public ceremonies and on the streets throughouta holiday.The instruments used in these dance forms neverappear in mosques or during religiOUS ceremonies.This distinction alone is enough to clearly mark theseparation of sacred and secular music in lamu.Coma is associated with Siyu and Faza. It was seenonce in lamu itself and that was when visitors from theseother towns performed it on the occasion of the annualcelebration of maulidi in front of the Riadha Mosque.A space about twenty-five feet square is roped offfor the performance. Chairs for special guests may beplaced inside the ropes on one side of the squarewhile the accompanying ensemble is placed on theopposite side. The instrumentation consists of a goma,a large single-headed drum standing on the ground onits own feet, a chapuo, an utasa and a zumari. Otherobservers stand outside the ropes. The dancers, dressedin white gowns called kanzu, and small hats calledkojia, assemble in a line, Single file, shoulder toshoulder, along the third side. They each carry a caneabout four feet long, called bakora, in the right hand.The dance is divided into two parts as can bediscerned on the recording. During the first part thedancers quietly shift their weight from left to right whilegesturing with the canes. The dancer begins thesequence holding the cane straight up along his rightside. On the second half of a count of eight he lifts thecane up to a forty-five degree angle in front of himself.Simultaneously with a heavy thud being struck on thegoma, he snaps his wrist and the cane away from hisbody. He then brings it down again beside his body. Atintervals the group sings short songs.Side 1, Band 1GomaBand 2ChamaDuring the second half of the dance the drum beatis faster, the gesture with the canes is not done, andno songs are sung. On another occasion than the oneon this recording, various other gestures wereperformed with the canes, such as holding themparallel to the ground in both hands in front of thebody, or dropping the ends to the ground while leaningon them.Throughout the entire dance a leader, kiongozt; walksback and forth in front of the line calling on thedancers to keep themselves in order. The dancersmust keep their eyes fixed, not allowing themselvesto be distracted. Friends may approach a dancer andplace a lighted cigarette or a piece of candy in his mouth,or pin money on his clothing. In addition, women mayline up outside the cleared area facing a horizontalpole which they strike in time with the drumming.Sometimes Coma is performed by two groups at thesame time, as a competition. The contest is one ofendurance as the dance continues throughout thenight. However, when Coma is performed as part of awedding celebration, it lasts only two or three hours.It is followed by a procession to the bride's house wherethe dancing continues a little longer and appropriatesongs are sung. This part of the performance is callednimbi herero.Chama is a men's dance which is indigenous toMatandoni, the small village on the opposite side of theisland from lamu, near the mainland. It is the newestvillage on the island. Its inhabitants are principallydescendants of immigrants from towns north of lamu,especially Pate and Siyu. The people of Matandonihave carved out their place in the area by becomingshipbuilders, the town's location being ideal forpreparing a dhow and launching it on its maidenvoyage. The harbor is shallow and is nearly waterless atlow tide.The performance of chama on this recording wasdone by a group of visitors to a wedding in lamu.Seventeen men and boys from Matandoni performed13the dance in a vacant space on the waterfront. Theywere dressed in white kanzu and kojia, the traditionaldress of respect for religiOUS men. Each man was alsodecorated with sashes and garlands of flowers andcarried a sword or a cane which he waved in synchronywith the others, not unlike the movements of goma. Afew wore belts with bells which jingled as they danced.The men entered a roped-off enclosure in a singleline, doing a shuffling step which required that the feetremain in the same relationship to each other, theright foot always being in front. The left foot was crossedbehind the right, just touching the ground with the ballof the foot. The line undulated as the men shuffledfirst to the right and then to the left. After all had
Page 1 and 2: COLLECTED BY ALAN W BOYDETHNIC FOLK
Page 3 and 4: ETHNIC FOLKWAYS RECORDS Album Nos.
Page 5: The lamu waterfront, a zeJe process
Page 8 and 9: THE KENYA COAST\\SOMALIA\\\KENyAWit
Page 10 and 11: The first volume in this collection
Page 12 and 13: who are seated facing their teacher
Page 16 and 17: entered and circumnavigated the enc
Page 18: For Add it ion a I I n form a t ion

Music of the Waswahili of Lamu, Kenya

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