As France’s national celebration took place on Friday 14 July 2023, a traditional music called “twarab” was played by an orchestra from Itsandra Mdjini at the French cultural center located in Moroni, the capital city of Comoros. Sankoule Twarab Music d’Itsandra Mdjini is a concert band whose aim is to promote and safeguard a Comorian cultural heritage commonly called “twarab”. Twarab is an Arabic loanword which means concert. According to historians, it is a classical Arabic music that comes from Egypt via the island of Zanzibar where an important community of Comorian citizens used to live in the last centuries. The group was formed in 2022 and gave its first concert at CNDRS (centre national de documentation et de recherche scientifique) for the 43rd anniversary the state institution.
Chabane Mohamed is the oldest man and singer who first appeared on stage. He is well known for his magnificent voice in his younger days. He sang “zinu ndja zi ombeya”, a successful song from the 1960-70s. He always performs the same old refrain during the djaliko, a traditional folk dance in Grande Comore. Another doyen who preferred to sing an Arabic song is Mohamed andhwimuddine, a fiddler who works as a security agent at the town council of Itsandra Mpbagaani. Ibrahim Mohamed, alias mtsounga, performed “na ri ombe rahamani” a song by Shababi El Watwani group of Itsandra Mdjini in the 1970s. The musical group was replaced by SAMUCO (Sankoule Music Comores) in the 1980s.
The new orchestra is run by Boinaidi Ahmed Ben, an aeronautics engineer who used to work for ASECNA (agence pour la sécurité de la navigation aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar). The band has also some young crooners. Ahamada mshangama, alias mashababi sang “fitina” which means the friction that can be caused in a lovely couple.
A musical slam performance was also put on stage by some young students of ACEJIM (association culturelle et estudiantine des jeunes d’Itsandra Mdjini). The text was written by Housseine Hadji, a disabled young student from the city. Last but not least, abubakar known as ‘Gili’ performed “trama” a hit love song from the 1970s. It talks about a girl who dumped her boyfriend. Gili was also the presenter and master of ceremonies during that night.
Despite the numerous wedding ceremonies of July and August in Comoros, about a hundred of people attended the concert. The event was honored by his Excellency Sylvain Riquier, the French ambassador in the Union of Comoros.
