When KICC turned into a Swahili cultural hub

By KIUNDU WAWERU

It was a night to behold. Women of all shapes and shades strutted into the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in style for Radio Maisha’s taarab night.

Upcountry taarab lovers were left open-mouthed by the show of fashion and fun, as their urban counterparts flaunted their beauty and style.

They were dressed in flowing dresses known as dira or gowni. The gowns resemble the ones worn in weddings, complete with floor sweeping trains. Well, not the Margaret Wanjiru 10km kind of ‘train’. Their hands and feet were henna painted and faces shone with makeup.

Mzee Yusu aka Dr Love. Top a member of his band. [PHOTOS: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Daktari wa Mapenzi (Dr love) Mzee Yusuf of Jahazi Modern Taarab was at hand to entertain the revellers who were mostly women. The women danced to almost every song, only sitting down when the song ended. The moment another started, they would all rise and glide, gyrating their ample derrieres in rhythm to the slow music, to the stage.

A few brave men, lost in a sea of beauties, also took to the stage. Funnily, the men did not indulge the women in the dance, a phenomenon Mohamed Kabale Sadia, a music promoter with Masters Classics Productions attributed to Muslim culture.

LARGE FOLLOWING

"Taarab is a coastal music culture, performed originally in weddings. The Swahili are largely Muslims and do not mix with women, that explains why the women dance alone," said Sadia.

Sadia adds that taarab traditionally appealed to older people, and only married men attended. For the women, they must have authority from their husbands who would buy them new clothes and gold jewellery.

"Taarab is about the woman. It showcases beauty, elegance, life, love and reality," avers Mwanaisha Chidzuga, KTN’s Kiswahili newscaster and Radio Maisha presenter. She hosts a Taarab Show, Mchikicho, on Sundays from 4pm to 7pm.

Dressed in a flowing dress, Chidzuga enthused, "Taarab ni muziki wa heshima (Taarab is arespected music genre), it is poetic, and talks about life experiences and love."

With Chidzuga at the show was Hadija Ali of KBC. Ali says taarab carries deep messages wrapped in parables.

"The poetic lyrics always bear a hidden meaning. Some words might come up as matusi (obscenity) but there is a message being conveyed," says Ali.

And speaking about culture, a longstanding habit of coastal people was also evident – they went about their business without a hurry. A first time visitor to Coast from upcountry is usually amazed by the laid-back attitude of the Swahili. The way they sit by the roadside and in front of their houses chewing miraa, drinking countless cups of kahawa chungu (strong coffee) and chatting endlessly.

LARGE FOLLOWING

At KICC, most turned up with miraa, which they chewed as they slowly sipped soda. Miraa chewing is not part of the Swahili culture but several beautiful and decent looking women chewed the green leaves as they whiled away time. Two women sat with a paper bag full of khat, a bottle of red wine and peanuts.

"This is not part of Swahili culture but a habit people developed along the way," said Sadia.

At about five minutes to midnight, the eagerly awaited Dr Love hit the stage to the wild cheer of women. He was wearing a black suit with a silk shirt and tie.

Men grace taarab events in their finest suits, which, like women, they delight in showing off. They from time to time sashayed to the dais and handed Dr Love money — another taarab culture where men give the singer money. The women, too, were not left behind as they showered Dr Love with money.

Modernisation of taarab has seen introduction of new aspects, including use of more instruments, like the electric guitar. "Today, taarab is appreciated by many… from Kisumu to Kakamega and every other region," says Emmanuel Mwashumbe, a presenter with Radio Maisha.

"Taarab attracts mostly women but men are catching up. Look at this large crowd, I am glad Radio Maisha has this large following."

Taarab, a popular music genre in Zanzibar, has seen incorporation of many cultures including Arabic, Indian, Egyptian and others. So can upcountry people appreciate the genre and perhaps adopt and fuse it with other genres as Gatanga musicians did with benga?

It remains to be seen. But as Ali Hassan, a Mombasa born man who lived in Eastleigh said at KICC, taarab remains one of the music genres that can claim a cultural following.