Page 11 - DILMUN 9

in origin, as their names indicate, The Chapoua
tamboura is a primitive, six-stringed instru­
ment like a harp. It is attached to a wooden
bowl and the frame is bound with coloured as
cloth, coins and beads. The chapoua is a two- £v-
feet high open-ended, wooden drum skin- /Vv.
covered. Umsondo and jiganga are other in­
struments. Strangest of all is the manjour. a
small apron, worn slung over the buttocks. To
it are stitched in rows, so as to cover the cloth,
the horny outer casing of goats’ hooves, which
have been boiled out for the purpose. The g- • — ----
dancer, rotating his hips, jumping up and down, res*
shaking his body, can produce a dry, swishing
sound, louder and more coordinated than a ttV
mere rattle, which adds considerably to the
volume of sound produced by the musicians.
The individual dances last for a hour or
more and are cumulative in their effect. The !
zinzumari players have a technique of breathing
I
through their noses and expelling the air 3
through their instrument, which enables them I
to keep up the blaring thread of their music
without interruption.
This is the strange, monotonous wild music
that is heard at dusk from the palm-frond
‘ harasti ’ huts, where the poor labouring class Tabal Taviboura
still clusters.
The Zarr. or communing with spirits, has
close affinities to witch - doctoring, and is
presided over by negresses, powerful figures in This article may not be reproduced, in part
this twilight world of crude psychological mani­
pulation. Heavy, immobile, shrouded in their or in full, without the consent of the Author.
gauzy black wraps, their faces masked, gold
flickering on their chests and down the seams of
their garments, they sit like so many massive Drawings by Paddy Simpson of instruments
idols, silently observing the dancers. It is their lent by Ahmed A1 - Fardan.
stillness and aloof, cold silence, in contrast to
the noisy animation of the dancers and the
good humour of the onlookers, that give the
impression of power.

Kanoon

irwwxjWs'ny'.

I
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