Kidumbaki or kidumbak is a
Zanzibari musical genre. It is closely related to
taarab (with
Arab- and
Indian-influenced music and singing in
Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa
* Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of ...
) but it is played by smaller ensembles. The typical kidumbaki band comprises a
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
, a
sanduku (a kind of
washtub bass), a
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
, and two "kidumbak"
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s. Traditional
percussions such as ''
cherewas'' are sometimes used as well.
Kidumbaki is sometimes called kitaarab, loosely translatable as "little taarab" (the particle ''ki-'', in Swahili, is used for
diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
s). It is disputed, anyway, whether kidumbaki is to be regarded as a derivative of taarab or the other way round. Some of the founders of taarab, such as
Siti binti Saad
Siti binti Saad (1880–1950) was a pioneering artist in the taarab genre of east African music. The first East African singer to make commercial recordings, she made over 150 gramophone recordings during her lifetime. She also introduced a new I ...
, did in fact span across the two genres. Also, taarab ensembles in the early 20th century were usually much smaller than they are today, and more like modern "kidumbaki" ensembles.
Makame Faki Makame is a Tanzanian given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Makame Mbarawa (born 1961), Tanzanian politician
* Makame Rashidi
Makame Rashidi (died April 14, 2013) was a Tanzanian military officer and diplomat, the Ambassador
A ...
of musical ensemble
Sina Chuki Kidumbak
Sina may refer to:
Relating to China
* Chin (China), or Sina (), old Chinese form of the Sanskrit name Cina ()
** Shina (word), or Sina ( ja, 支那, links=no), archaic Japanese word for China
** Sinae, Latin name for China
Places
* Sina, Alb ...
is one of today's most popular kidumbaki singers.
History of Kidumbaki
Footnotes
Tanzanian music
Swahili culture
Tanzanian styles of music
Tanzanian music industry
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