On this page 4 sections
From the spoken to the written word
Comorian literature is first and foremost oral: tales, sung poems, village epics and proverbs. Manuscripts in Comorian and Arabic, written in Arabic script, also preserve religious poems and chronicles. Literature written in French developed from the 1980s onwards.
A few writers
- Mohamed Toihiri: La République des Imberbes (1985), a political satire considered the first Comorian novel in French.
- Salim Hatubou: storyteller and prolific author, a transmitter of the archipelago's oral heritage.
- Ali Zamir: Anguille sous roche (2016), a single-sentence novel acclaimed by critics.
- Nassur Attoumani: Mahoran novelist and playwright.
- Soeuf Elbadawi: poet, playwright and artist.
Music today
Artists such as Maalesh, Nawal and Salim Ali Amir have made Comorian music known beyond the archipelago by blending twarab, traditional rhythms, folk and world music. Rap, reggae and electronic music in Comorian are now very popular with young people, in the archipelago as in the diaspora.
Visual arts, cinema and heritage
Painters, photographers and filmmakers explore the themes of island life, exile and memory. Institutions such as the National Centre for Documentation and Scientific Research (CNDRS) in Moroni and the Museum of Mayotte in Dzaoudzi preserve and present the heritage of the archipelago.
