General Information > Music and Art Music Mats and Baskets Initiation Ceremonies Pottery Masks and Mask Dancing Toys Wood Sculpture Tingatinga Art Music There are many types of traditional dances and traditional musical instruments. A traditional guitar was a big fiddle with a resonator made from a coconut shell and this was common along the Coast. The "marimba" is a common musical instrument among many tribes especially around Dodoma. The small wooden box is the resonator for an array of metal springs of different lengths which are touched by the thumb to produce music. The drum is one of the most important African musical instruments. There are various types, shapes and sizes. Drums were also used in traditional days to announce arrival or departure of traditional leaders or to keep a rhythm or morale to farming societies through a dance called Gobogobo. Some drums were used to summon people to meet the ruler or as battle cry. Dancing is an expression of emotion. The emotion could be happiness or sadness or that which marks a sacred occasion (harvest time, weddings, circumcision, initiation event). Different musical instruments are used including drums, marimba, whistles, etc. Whatever the dance, the message it communicates can be read in the faces of the audience. Taarab is a local music show very popular in Zanzibar. Traditional taarab is an evening show involving a singer who performs backed by 40 piece orchestra, drums, horns and strings. Taarab is theatrical in that women dressed in dazzling evening wear slowly approach the singer, dancing as they ascend, to give money to the singer. This is an expression of compliments to the instrumentalist and singer. Taarab is a mixture of Indian, Arabian and African music. Mwaka Kogwa is a celebration of the onset of the New Year also popular in Zanzibar. This is a four-day celebration held on the third week of July and has its roots in the Zoroastrian religion. The main features are mock fights with banana stems. The idea of these fights is to give an opportunity to all to give vent to their grievances so that they can enter the new year with a clean and pure heart free from any bitter feelings. In other words, past year's misunderstandings and grievances are exorcised. While the men fight, the women, dressed in their best clothes, sing Kiswahili songs containing comments and messages about love and village life and mainly directed to the men. Initiation Ceremonies Traditionally, the young are taught by parents and community members about manners, discipline, work, beliefs, art of bravery, the different roles of man and woman, etc. When they reach puberty, they go through a special ceremony of initiation into the ranks of adulthood. This ceremony is so important that the traditional ruler must attend and sometimes become master of ceremony or simply take the lead in the dance. Along the Coast, the most popular dance is "mdundiko". In some tribes like the Kwere of Chalinze, when a girl reached puberty stage, she was secluded till the harvest season. During seclusion, she carries a wooden or gourd doll which she must take great care as it was believed if she did so, she would be bestowed with fertility. When she gets out of seclusion, a dance is performed and thereafter, she can marry an eligible man. In some tribes, clay figures were used as visual teaching aids at the time of initiation. These were used to demonstrate the inner meanings of songs or riddles and poems which were later translated into simpler language for the initiates. For example, wives, to make husbands stay home, they should make them comfortable, like sitting on a clay stool. Masks and Mask Dancing Mask Dancing is an important activity during initiation ceremonies among the Makonde of Southern Tanzania. The masks symbolize the relationship that exists between the departed ancestors and the living population. They are also used as teaching aids of society norms such as respect to the aged and continuing relationship between the dead ancestors and the living. In many tribes, a drinking party begins by pouring drink on the ground symbolizing offering drink first to the departed ancestors so that they give blessing for the party to be enjoyable and harmonious. Wood Sculpture Tanzania is famous worldwide for wood sculpture generally known as Makonde Art. The Makonde tribe of Southern Tanzania and Northern Mozambique have a long tradition in wood carving. Their carvings usually reflect nature objects (animals, human beings) but nowadays the most popular style is the "Shetani" which depicts devils in various forms and the family tree which depicts tradition of togetherness (many images of persons carved together in one piece of wood). The carving is done by traditional iron tools and the type of wood is usually ebony (black hard wood). The style of representation range from the naturalistic to the abstract. Although the Makonde are from Southern Tanzania, it is common to find groups of them in Dar es Salaam making various carvings for sale to tourists. Mats and Baskets Handwoven mats are widely used especially along coastal Tanzania for sleeping, sitting, for spreading out food items to dry and as carpets in praying places. Some carpets are nicely painted and bear Koranic verses praising God or poems. Mats are made of palm leaves, bamboo leaves and different types of grass. The same raw materials are used to make handwoven baskets, trays and decorative objects, imbedded with beautiful colour patterns. Pottery So far back as 1000 years ago, people of Tanzania made and used pots made of clay for cooking and as water containers. The durability, fineness, etc. of a piece of pottery depends on the type of clay and the method of firing. Good pottery is made out of clay from Kilimanjaro Mountain slopes and nearby Pare Mountains. Although only traditional methods of making pots is common, some potters usually elderly women turn out magnificent pots. Toys Like children all over the world, Tanzanian children would play with things that adults use but produced as a toy. Usually, Tanzanian children cannot afford modern toys. They make their own toys such as car toys, all wooden or wooden bicycle toys. There are also wooden toy guns and pistols. Tingatinga Art Traditionally, people painted on walls, or leather or on stones. Paintings reflect scenes of village or town lives and stylized animals, birds or reflections of superstitious beliefs. More recently, Tanzanians have developed indigenous form of art mainly very colourful images of life in the community, nature, evil spirits, etc. The founder of this form of art was a person from the "makua" tribe of southern Tanzania called Edward Said Tingatinga. He was a talented artist with little education but succeeded in making very original paintings in a style not seen anywhere else in the world. This style of colourful paintings about nature and daily aspects of life in Tanzania is now well known abroad as indigenous Tanzanian art and has been named Tingatinga Art in honour of the pioneer artist who died in 1972 at the age of 35 years. Other famous tingatinga artists are Simon George Mpata 1942-1984, Jaffari Aussi, George Lilanga and Mikidadi Bush Bohary.

| Category Top | History | Culture & Food |