thumb|right|Taarab performance by Kithara Orchestra of Zanzibar in [[Paris]]

Taarab is a music genre popular in Tanzania and Kenya, and the wider Swahilisphere. It has been 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 popularized 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 tarab 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, a string instrument similar to the zither. Upon his return, he formed the Zanzibar Taarab Orchestra. In 1905, Zanzibar's second music society, Ikwhani Safaa Musical Club, was established, which continues to thrive in the 21st century. Ikwhani Safaa and Culture Musical Club, were founded in 1958, have been the leading Zanzibar taarab orchestras.

Etymology

The word taarab is a loanword from Arabic. The Arabic word tarab () means "having pleasure, delight with 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.

The 1960s saw a group called the Black Star Musical Club from Tanga modernize the genre, bringing it to audiences farther 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.

Taarab music is a fusion of Swahili poetry sung in rhythmic poetic style, performed by male or female singers and taarab ensembles comprising numerous musicians. Taarab forms a 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, Taraab moved with them. It has penetrated as far inland as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in East Africa, where taarab groups compete in popularity with other kinds of popular musical groups.

In the early 21st century a taarab revolution has been taking place and much debate continues about the music which has been changed by the East African Melody phenomenon. Melody, as they are known by their mostly female fans, play modern taarab, which is 'taarab to dance to' and features direct lyrics, bypassing the lyrical subtlety of the older songs, where the meaning of the lyrics is only alluded to, and never directly inferred.

See also

  • Music of Tanzania
  • Tarab

Further reading

Sources

  • <!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --> (Review of the dokumentary Poetry in Motion: 100 Years of Zanzibar's Nadi Ikhwan Safaa. Directed by Ron Mulvihill. Produced by Kelly Askew and Werner Graebner. DVD. 2016.)
  • Video from Poetry in Motion: 100 Years of Zanzibar's Nadi Ikhwan Safaa at YouTube
  • Website about influences on taarab and instruments in taarab