On this page 4 sections
Twarab
Arriving from Zanzibar in the early 20th century, twarab (a cousin of Swahili taarab) blends Arab melodies, African rhythms and a variety of instruments: oud, violin, qanun, percussion, and later electronic keyboards. It livens up wedding evenings, when singers and orchestras take turns until late into the night, and its love songs are known to everyone.
Men's dances
- Chigoma: a prestige dance performed during the grand marriage on Grande Comore, to the sound of drums and brass.
- Sambé: a highly rhythmic group dance, often performed with canes or sabres.
- Religious chants (maoulida, daïra): recited or sung in groups during religious festivals, sometimes with coordinated movements.
Women's dances
- Wadaha: the pestle dance, in which women set the rhythm of their movements by pounding rice in a mortar, somewhere between a game and a display of skill.
- Debaa: a religious chant danced by women in Mayotte, dressed in bright colours and jewellery, in honour of the Prophet.
- M'biwi: a Mahoran dance to the sound of bamboo sticks struck against each other.
- Mgodro: a popular rhythm from Mayotte, danced at village festivities.
Instruments
Drums of all sizes (ngoma), frame drums, gongs, flutes, bamboo zithers and the gabusi, a plucked lute of Arab origin, make up the traditional instruments. Today's music, from reggae to rap in Comorian, continues to draw on these rhythms.
