Visibility for mbira players & makers in rural Mozambique

[Stefan Franke]

Dear SR users,

of all the times of the year, the one after Christmas is probably the worst for another hit on people's wallets. But bad timing has always been my forte, so here comes our..

Fundraiser: Visibility for mbira players & makers in rural Mozambique

Tatenda Lenade Cangola is a student at Pungwe University in Chimoio/Mozambique, mbira player, and activist for the preservation of local mbira culture. About two months ago we started a project with the aim of finding mbira players and makers in the Mozambican borderlands next to Zimbabwe. We want to give them media visibility so that they're able to make contacts and sell instruments nationwide and internationally - e.g. via pages on SR (inspired by Erica Azim's biographical pages about nhare players and builders on mbira.org).

       

Picture: Tatenda transporting mupepe wood for soundboards to a kalimba maker

Historically, Tatenda's homeland (Manica and Tete provinces) is probably the region of greatest mbira diversity. It's been a dream of mine for a long time to find out how much of it stills exists. Like the Matepe/Karimba culture in Zimbabwe's rural north-east, this too is rapidly disappearing - not least due to fierce intolerance on the part of the popular local pentecostal churches. For outsiders, the borderlands on the Mozambique side are more difficult to access, certainly more dangerous, and from the perspective of the capital and its mbira scene, significantly more remote than in Zimbabwe. On today's media map it is practically a blank spot.

Tatenda is doing an excellent job. So far has met players and makers of the kalimba nkulu and kalimba mudoko (large and small karimba), and heard from other matepe, nyonganyonga, njari, mana embudzi, and bangwe players - all the variety heard on old ILAM recordings, and partly considered extinct. Versions of a large overlapping repertoire exist on all of these instruments, which probably developed from the contact of many musical cultures from the lower Zambezi Valley in the ancient trading center of Tete.

       

Picture: Sr. Macequessa playing a kalimba nkulu/karimba with left index manual, thought to be extinct (click on picture for video)

At the start of their fieldwork in the Zimbabwean borderlands in 2016/17, Jocelyn Mory and Zack Moon had compiled a collection of over 400 Hugh & Andrew Tracey recordings as well as photographs from the ILAM archives - many from Mozambique. The ILAM has a repatriation agenda to make their audio and visual documents available to the families and descendants of the original musicians, most of whom have passed away meanwhile. Unfortunately, the funds for this are often lacking. On their travels, Jocelyn and Zack always had a handful of SD memory cards with copies of the files to pass on - a suitable mobile phone from a family member or friend can usually always be found. With the support of ILAM, we are continuing this practice in Mozambique.

         

Left: Tatenda handing SD card to Sekuru Kapampanta.  Right: Kapampanta's kalimba mudoko (click on picture for video)

So far, Tatenda and I have managed the project with our own resources. He invests his time off from university in traveling for weeks, and I support him with the travel expenses and equipment. I'm happy to give the savings for my next trip to Zimbabwe, because Tatenda, speaking all the local dialects, visits places that outsiders don't get to at all, or only with significantly greater financial and time effort - and does so with a minimal budget. Unfortunately, these funds are already practically exhausted, and in addition to further trips, we would like to finance better equipment: a mobile recorder, phone with good camera, laptop/keyboard tablet, storage media, tripod, solar charger and power banks.

Therefore, I would like to appeal for donations. I think a constellation like this will not occur any time soon, the economic circumstances in Mozambique are simply too difficult. And also Tatenda will have to dedicate himself to his professional and family future soon.

Even small amounts help, e.g. for the purchase of memory cards. For larger amounts we can offer to bring our own focal points and questions into the field research, we are happy to share our documentary videos, and we will make the budget (Google Sheet) transparent.

Here's our Paypal fundraiser: https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8QeRWj63z2

For more details, please get in touch!

Stefan