Chopi Timbila

Latest revision as of 06:53, 30 April 2022

The Chopi communities live mainly in the southern part of Inhambane province in southern Mozambique and are known for their orchestral music. Their orchestras are composed of five to thirty wooden xylophones, or timbila, with varying sizes and pitches.

Chopi people from Mozambique, are mainly based in the southern part of the province of Inhambane and live in separate communities. The Chopi people are very well known for their orchestra music. As a result, their orchestras are composed of five to thirty wooden xylophones, called timbila, which vary in size and pitch in accordance with the instrument's size and pitch range.

The timbila, a type of African instrument, is crafted from the highly resonant wood of the mwenje tree which is slow-growing and grows only very slowly in the region. In the middle of each wooden slat is a resonator made of calabashes. The resonator is tightly sealed with beeswax and tempered with the oil of the nkuso fruit, giving each timbila its rich nasal sound and characteristic vibration.

There are orchestras with timbila masters and apprentices of all ages playing with the children in their grandfathers' arms while they play. Throughout the year, the orchestra composes a number of new pieces and presents them at weddings and other large community events.

The rhythms within each theme are complex, so a player's left hand often follows a completely different rhythm than that of the right hand. This performance lasts about an hour and includes solo and orchestral themes accompanied by varying tempi. Closely related to the music are the timbila dances, which are performed by dancers from two to twelve, in the presence of the orchestra.

Timbila performances include the solemn m'zeno song, sung by the dancers, accompanied by soft and slow musical accompaniment. The humorous and sarcastic texts in this collection depict contemporary social issues and chronicle the events of the community through the lens of humour and sarcasm.

Most experienced timbila performers are older people. Although several timbila masters have begun to train young musicians, as well as to include girls in their orchestras and dance groups, it seems that younger people are increasingly losing touch with this cultural heritage. In addition, the deforestation of the forest has resulted in a scarcity of the kind of wood required to produce the distinctive sound of the timbila instruments.

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-|Body=An entertainment style native to the Réunion Islands, Maloya is a form of music, song and dance made of mixed racial origins. It was originally created by Malagasy and African slaves on sugar plantations and was later adopted by the island's entire population.
+|Body=The Chopi communities live mainly in the southern part of Inhambane province in southern Mozambique and are known for their orchestral music. Their orchestras are composed of five to thirty wooden xylophones, or timbila, with varying sizes and pitches.
-Maloya was presented as a purely African style, linked to ancestral rituals from Africa, and as such was passed along from the early slaves of the island. The drumming of Tamil religious rituals is however likely to have played a role, emphasizing Maloya's mixture of African Malagasy and Indian influences.
+Chopi people from Mozambique, are mainly based in the southern part of the province of Inhambane and live in separate communities. The Chopi people are very well known for their orchestra music. As a result, their orchestras are composed of five to thirty wooden xylophones, called timbila, which vary in size and pitch in accordance with the instrument's size and pitch range.
-When Maloya was created in the late 1960s, it was originally conceived as a dialogue between a choir and a soloist accompanied by percussion instruments. Today, it now exists in an increasing variety of forms, with the introduction of djembes, synthesizers, and drums. it has influences from rock, reggae, and jazz. It inspires poetry and slam poetry, and is sung by professional or semi-professional artists.
+The timbila, a type of African instrument, is crafted from the highly resonant wood of the mwenje tree which is slow-growing and grows only very slowly in the region. In the middle of each wooden slat is a resonator made of calabashes. The resonator is tightly sealed with beeswax and tempered with the oil of the nkuso fruit, giving each timbila its rich nasal sound and characteristic vibration.
-Maloya, which was at first dedicated to ancestral worship as part of a ritual, has gradually evolved over time into a lament against slavery, representing the island's identity for the past thirty years.
+There are orchestras with timbila masters and apprentices of all ages playing with the children in their grandfathers' arms while they play. Throughout the year, the orchestra composes a number of new pieces and presents them at weddings and other large community events.
-Maloya was banned until the 1960s because it was so closely linked to Creole culture, and performances by some Maloya groups were prohibited until the 1980s, partly because of their autonomist views and association with the Communist Party of Réunion.
+The rhythms within each theme are complex, so a player's left hand often follows a completely different rhythm than that of the right hand. This performance lasts about an hour and includes solo and orchestral themes accompanied by varying tempi. Closely related to the music are the timbila dances, which are performed by dancers from two to twelve, in the presence of the orchestra.
-One of today's most famous Maloya musicians is Danyèl Waro. His mentor, Firmin Viry, is credited with saving the culture from extinction. According to Françoise Vergès, Maloya was performed for the first time by Viry at the founding of the Communist Party in 1959. Later, it was used by Creole poets such as Waro and Ziskakan to protest political and social issues.
+Timbila performances include the solemn m'zeno song, sung by the dancers, accompanied by soft and slow musical accompaniment. The humorous and sarcastic texts in this collection depict contemporary social issues and chronicle the events of the community through the lens of humour and sarcasm.
-Maloya groups such as Baster, Ziskakan, Granmoun Baba, Firmin Viry, and Ti Fock have achieved recognition outside the island since the 1980s, often mixing Maloya with other genres such as zouk, séga, afrobeat, reggae, samba, rock and jazz.
+Most experienced timbila performers are older people. Although several timbila masters have begun to train young musicians, as well as to include girls in their orchestras and dance groups, it seems that younger people are increasingly losing touch with this cultural heritage. In addition, the deforestation of the forest has resulted in a scarcity of the kind of wood required to produce the distinctive sound of the timbila instruments.
-Maloya music is always part of every cultural, political, and social event on the island, and thus has become a means of asserting political rights. In addition to specialized music teaching at the Conservatoire de la Réunion, a total of 300 documented groups, including many world-famous artists, are also joining hands to keep the tradition alive.
-Despite its importance as part of nationalism, cultural integration, a moral guide, and a model for racial integration, Maloya is at risk of decline as a result of social changes along with the disappearance of its principal exponents and the practice of glorifying the dead.
 |Subject=Music
 |Country=Mozambique
 }}