Masjid Al Aqsa, Addis Ababa
The first Muslims to travel to present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia arrived in the Christian Kingdom of Axum, in 613 or 615 CE (during the Prophet Muhammed's (PBUH) lifetime). A group of Muhammed's early followers fled the persecution of the ruling Quraysh tribe of Mecca, crossed the Red Sea, and sought refuge in Axum. By the 17th century Wollo province (part of the present-day Amhara region) had a well established Muslim population. The introduction of Sufi brotherhoods in Eastern Wollo in the 18th century led to centers of Muslim scholarship and to the introduction of Manzuma.
Manzuma are religious poems/songs recited by Muslims during religious and social occasions in praise of Allah, the prophet, and his companions. The term Manzuma refers to all genres of Ethiopian Muslim song, including styles that are elsewhere in the Muslim world called Zhikr and Medh. The best introduction to Manzuma I have found on our worldwide web is this piece by Andreas Wetter (the piece features some lovely recordings).
Mohammed is our neighbor. He spends his day behind the counter of his dry-goods shop, supplying the neighborhood with onions, injera, phone credit, cigarettes, eggs, matches, and soap. Most afternoons he staves off boredom with a steady supply of khat and hours of Manzuma. These selections are copied from the flash drive Mohammed plugs into his radio. All six of these selections are in the əngurguro style, a cappella vocals with a dash of auto-tune and some celestial reverb. Unfortunately, none of the tracks are named and I have yet to identify the artists.
If you still want more Manzuma, here is another nice collection.
Enjoy!!
This is gorgeous, Matthew - thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing. i've been meaning to ask you if you have any more noisy guitar stuff? stuff like early ali farka toure: https://wrldsrv.blogspot.com/2008/10/john-lee-hooker-of-africa.html & https://wrldsrv.blogspot.com/2009/03/farka-2.html . binta laaly saran: https://youtu.be/URDIOsT2bWE & https://www.awesometapes.com/binta-laly-et-son-ensemble/ . the jawkar cassettes are really nice (especially cassette #2), but im looking for more singing as well. anyways, hope you have more noisy guitar stuff. thanks
ReplyDeleteforgot to link this one: https://www.awesometapes.com/mama-yergue-barry/ and with a different (but still incredible guitar sound) petit moussa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfWYnOqaNwE . thanks
DeleteYes. I have a lot more noisy guitar, stuff from Mauritania, Niger, and Mali. I will eventually get around to posting the best of it. My apologies for taking so long. The Binta Laaly Saran cassette is one of the best Guinean recordings I've heard. It is fantastic.
Deletethanks for the reply! i cant wait to hear the noisy guitar tapes you have. they're my all time favorites. the binta laaly saran cassette is absolutely incredible. so raw. i also really love the petit moussa cassette. truly magical. thanks, and cant wait to hear the tapes you have.
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