Kidumbak
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Kidumbaki or kidumbak is a
Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
i musical genre. It is closely related to
taarab Taarab is a music genre popular in both Tanzania and Kenya. It has been influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Taarab rose to prominence in 1928 with the adv ...
(with
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
- and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n-influenced music and singing in
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
) but it is played by smaller ensembles. The typical kidumbaki band comprises a
fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
, a sanduku (a kind of
washtub bass The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses ha ...
), a
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, 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 ...
s. Traditional
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
s 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 word obtained by modifying a root word 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, and sometimes to belittle s ...
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– August 1950) was a pioneering Tanzanian musician in the taarab musical style. Through her music she was also an anti-colonial, anti-colonial activist, Feminism, feminist and Swahili cultural icon of 20th century. She prod ...
, 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 of musical ensemble Sina Chuki Kidumbak is one of today's most popular kidumbaki singers.History of Kidumbaki


Footnotes

{{swahili-stub Swahili culture Tanzanian styles of music