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Dan Maraya
Dan Maraya Jos (also known as Adamu Danmaraya Jos; born Adamu Wayya in 1946 – 20 June 2015) was a Nigerian Hausa griot best known for playing the kontigi. Life Dan Maraya Jos, whose name means "The Orphan of Jos", was born in 1946 in Bukuru, near Jos in Plateau State, Nigeria. His birth name is Adamu Wayya, but his father died shortly after his birth and his mother died while he was still an infant, hence the name by which everyone knows him. Dan Maraya's father was a court musician for the Sarkin Hausawa of Bukuru, who took Dan Maraya under his care when his parents died. Dan Maraya showed an early interest in music and came under the influence of local professional musicians. During a trip to Maiduguri while he was still a pre-teen, he was impressed by musicians some playing with the Kuntigi instrument, upon his return to Jos, he made a kuntigi, with which he has accompanied himself ever since. The kuntigi is a small, single-stringed lute. The body is usually a large, ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hausa Music
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Sudan, Cameroon and in many West and Central African countries. Their folk music has played an important part in the development of Nigerian music, contributing such elements as the Goje, a one-stringed fiddle. There are two broad categories of traditional Hausa music: rural folk music and urban court music. They introduced the African pop culture genre that is still popular today. Ceremonial music (''rokon fada'') is performed as a status symbol, and musicians are generally chosen for political reasons as opposed to musical ones. Ceremonial music can be heard at the weekly ''sara'', a statement of authority by the emir which takes place every Thursday evening. Courtly praise-singers like the renowned Narambada, are devoted to singing the virtues of a patron, such as a sultan or emir. Praise songs are accompanied by kettledrums and ''kalangu'' talking drums, along with the kakaki, a kind of long trumpet der ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a leader due to their position as an advisor to royal personages. As a result of the former of these two functions, they are sometimes called bards. They also act as mediators in disputes. Occurrence and naming Many griots today live in many parts of West Africa and are present among the Mande peoples ( Mandinka or Malinké, Bambara, Soninke etc.), Fulɓe (Fula), Hausa, Songhai, Tukulóor, Wolof, Serer,Unesco. Regional Office for Education in Africa, ''Educafrica, Numéro 11'', (ed. Unesco, Regional Office for Education in Africa, 1984), p. 110Hale, Thomas Albert, ''Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music'', Indiana University Press (1998), p. 176, Mossi, Dagomba, Mauritan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kontigi
A kontigi or kuntigi is a one- or three-stringed African lute. The one string version is used among the Songhai and Djerma. The 3-string version ''teharden'' is used among the Tamashek. The instrument is also used in Hausa music, primarily in northern Nigeria and Niger, and among Hausa minorities in Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. It is also found among Islamized peoples throughout West Africa (see Xalam). The best-known player of the kontigi is Dan Maraya. Characteristics The instrument uses a calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ... gourd as the body of the instrument, covered by skin, with a stick for a neck. The neck on the Kontigi has "metal disk surrounded by small rings" which make noise as the instrument is moved or played. The tone is high p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bukuru
Bukuru is a city located on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria. It was previously considered a separate city from the city of Jos close by, but like every other form of urbanization, the city of Jos has merged with the town of Bukuru to form the Jos-Bukuru metropolis. It is the headquarters of Jos South Local Government Area. Overview It lies along a branch railway, and it is still a major tin and columbite mining centre. It is situated on one of the highest parts of the plateau, more than 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) above sea level. In recent times Bukuru has witnessed massive urbanization growth with the influx of banks, hotels and recreation centers. It boasts of the only independent power company in plateau State, the Nigerian electricity supply company (NESCO). It is also home to one of the most successful industries in Nigeria like Grand cereals and oil mills limited, a subsidiary of United African Company (UAC). Transport A Bauchi Light Railway, which was closed in 1957, wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
