Super Mama Djombo is a band from Guinea Bissau who sing in

Guinea-Bissau Creole Guinea-Bissau Creole, also known as Kiriol or Crioulo, is a creole language whose lexicon derives mostly from Portuguese. It is spoken in Guinea Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia. It is also called by its native speakers as , , or . Guinea-Bissau ...

. The band was formed in the mid-1960s, at a Boy Scout camp, when the members were only children (the youngest was six years old). Mama Djombo is the name of a spirit that many fighters appealed to for protection during Guinea-Bissau's

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. In 1974, the politically conscious band leader Adriano Atchutchi joined. The group became immensely popular in the young country, which had gained its independence the same year. They would often play at President Luís Cabral's public speeches, and their concerts were broadcast live on radio. In 1978, the group traveled to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and appeared on the eleventh youth music festival in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. Early in 1980, they went to Lisbon and recorded six hours of material. The first album ''Na cambança'' was released the same year, and the song ''Pamparida,'' which was based on a children's song, became a huge hit throughout West Africa. In 1980 Cabral was overthrown, and the new regime under

João Bernardo Vieira João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira (; 27 April 1939 – 2 March 2009) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999, except for a three-day period in May 1984, and from 2005 to 2009. After seizing power ...

no longer supported the band. They had fewer opportunities to perform, and broke up in 1986. However, the soundtrack to

Flora Gomes Flora Gomes is a Bissau-Guinean film director. He was born in Cadique, Guinea-Bissau on 31 December 1949 and after high school in Cuba, he decided to study film at the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos in Havana. Shot f ...

' film ''

Udju Azul di Yonta ''Udju Azul di Yonta'' / ''The Blue Eyes of Yonta'' is a 1991 Portuguese film, the second film by the Bissau-Guinean director Flora Gomes. The government of Guinea-Bissau helped in production, together with the Institute of Cinema in Portugal, Ver ...

'' (''The blue eyes of Yonta'') (1993) was recorded by Adriano Atchutchi and other members of the original band under the name of Super Mama Djombo. In 2012, Super Mama Djombo toured Europe appearting at

Afrika Festival Hertme The Afrika Festival Hertme is an annual two day festival of African music in the Dutch village of Hertme. History It started spontaneously in 1989, with a performance by a dance group from Burkina Faso. Thousands of people come and there are man ...

. The band included several of the original members, drummer Zé Manel, guitarist Miguelinho N'Simba, percussionist Armando Vaz Pereira and Djon Motta, together with new members such as solo guitarist Fernando Correia from the band Freaky Sound. Although Adriano Atchutchi, the original lead composer and bandleader, is not part of the current line up, the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

in April resulted in him having to leave his post as a provincial governor when the military took over the functions of the government, so he was able to attend rehearsals to help the band prepare for the tour. The band said they hoped the tour would "show people that Guinea-Bissau's loudest sound is not that of gunfire, but that of music."

References

Bissau-Guinean musical groups {{GuineaBissau-stub