Taarab.

A musical genre, the term tāarab comes from the Arabic tārab (from the root trb), meaning pleasure, rapture, entertainment, or these emotions as evoked by music. In East Africa it denotes a style of popular entertainment music played at weddings and other celebrations along the Swahili coast. The style contains the features of a typical Indian Ocean music, combining influences from Egypt, the Arabian peninsula, India and the West with local musical practices. Musicians generally agree that taarab was introduced to the island of Zanzibar from Egypt during the reign of the third Omani sultan, Sultan Barghash bin Said (1870–88). Since its introduction, the style has spread throughout the East African coastal region and has become stylistically and ideologically entwined with Swahili identity.

The original instrumentation and repertory is based on the Egyptian takht tradition featuring ‘ūd, qānūn (plucked zither), nāy (end-blown flute), riqq (small frame drum), violin and darabūkka (goblet drum), with a solo singer and chorus. This core has expanded to include electronic keyboard, piano accordion, bongos, cello, double bass, electric guitar and several violins. But taarab takes different forms: orchestral taarab is played by large ensembles; taarab ya wanawake (‘women's taarab’) is performed by clubs with exclusively female membership and smaller instrumental ensembles; and kidumbak is played by small, informal groups along the lines of other local music and dance styles (ngoma za kienyeji) with more of a percussive quality and characteristically features two kidumbak drums (local versions of the darabukka) and sanduku (one-string tea-chest bass).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

J. Topp Fargion: ‘The Role of Women in Taarab in Zanzibar: an Historical Examination of a Process of “Africanisation”’, World of Music, xxxv/2 (1993), 109–25

W. Graebner: ‘The Music of Zanzibar’, Taarab, iv, Globestyle ORBD 041 (1989) [disc notes]

JANET TOPP FARGION