Dan Maraya Jos (also known as Adamu Danmaraya Jos; born Adamu Wayya in 1946 – 20 June 2015) was a Nigerian

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

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 repos ...

best known for playing the

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 i ...

Life

Dan Maraya Jos, whose name means "The Orphan of Jos", was born in 1946 in

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-Buk ...

, near Jos in

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

, 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

, 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 Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

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, oval-shaped sardine can covered with goatskin. Dan Maraya and other kuntigi players are solo performers who accompany themselves with a rapid ostinato on the kuntigi. During instrumental interludes they repeat a fixed pattern for the song they are playing, but while singing, they will often change the notes of the pattern to parallel the melody they are singing. Like most professional musicians, the mainstay of Dan Maraya's repertoire is praise singing, but Dan Maraya singles out his personal heroes rather than the rich and famous. His first, and perhaps still his most famous song is "Wak'ar Karen Mota" Song of the Driver's Mate"in praise of the young men who get passengers in and out of minivan buses and do the dirty work of changing tires, pushing broken-down vans, and the like. During the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

, he composed numerous songs in praise of soldiers of the federal army and incorporated vivid accounts of scenes from the war in his songs. When the civil war ended with the victory of the federal government, Dan Maraya sang "Munafukan Yaki..." ("The Hypocrites of War") lampooning governments and international figures that sided with

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...

. Many of his songs incorporate social commentary. These include the songs on marriage, which probably date from the early 1970s. One might argue that they are really one large song, and in performance, Dan Maraya incorporates lines from each of them. However, the recordings that serve as the basis for this study have three distinct musical settings, and the songs themselves have three different themes: "Jawabin Aure" Discourse on Marriage"lists the problems attendant in divorce and admonishes married couples to try to patch up their differences. "Auren Dole" Forced Marriage"decries the practice of families arranging marriages for their daughters rather than letting them decide on their own mates. "Gulma-Wuya" The Busybody"describes a neighborhood gossip who works in collusion with a boka (a practitioner in casting spells, removing evil spirits, etc.) to disrupt marriages by sowing dissension between women and their husbands. The latter song is amusing in that Dan Maraya performs it as a drama, imitating the voices of the different characters as they speak, a technique that he has used in other songs as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maraya, Dan Musicians from Jos Nigerian male musicians 1946 births 2015 deaths Date of birth missing Place of birth missing