ABOUT
Description
The Sidis of Gujarat are a tribal Sufi community of East African origin who came to India eight centuries ago and made Gujarat their home. They carried with them their exceptionally rich musical tradition and have kept it alive and flourishing through the generations, unknown to the rest of the world. A traditional occupation of African-Indian Sufis in Gujarat has been to perform sacred music and dance as wandering faqirs, singing songs to their black Sufi saint, Bava Gor. Sidi men and women perform sacred music and dance during rituals in the shrines to Bava Gor and have lived on accepting alms for touring these devotional genres from villages to shrines for centuries. Their native African music styles, melodic and rhythmic structures, lyrics, and musical instruments have mingled with local influences to form this final symbolic representation of African-Indianness. Sidi Goma perform in a group of twelve: four lead musicians (drummers and singers) and eight dancers. The program presents an overview of Sidi ritual performance, from the traditional muezzin call to prayer to a staged ritual performance. It centers around a danced zikr (prayer), consisting of joyful, satirical praise dances to their Saint, who is attributed with giving them the joy they express in their dances. Intoxicating drum patterns that "speak" the zikr prayers in rhythm support the dancers who perform virtuosic feats of agility and strength, gradually reaching an ecstatic climax. While the music gradually gets more rapid and excited, the dances unfold with constantly evolving individual and small-group acts of animal imitations, climaxing in a coconut-breaking feat. The program also features solos on the malunga, an instrument resembling the Brazilian berimbau, as well as prayer calls and seated ritual songs (baithi, dhamal, and qawwali).
The Sidis of Gujarat are a tribal Sufi community of East African origin who came to India eight centuries ago and made Gujarat their home. They carried with them their exceptionally rich musical tradition and have kept it alive and flourishing through the generations, unknown to the rest of the world. A traditional occupation of African-Indian Sufis in Gujarat has been to perform sacred music and dance as wandering faqirs, singing songs to their black Sufi saint, Bava Gor. Sidi men and women perform sacred music and dance during rituals in the shrines to Bava Gor and have lived on accepting alms for touring these devotional genres from villages to shrines for centuries. Their native African music styles, melodic and rhythmic structures, lyrics, and musical instruments have mingled with local influences to form this final symbolic representation of African-Indianness. Sidi Goma perform in a group of twelve: four lead musicians (drummers and singers) and eight dancers. The program presents an overview of Sidi ritual performance, from the traditional muezzin call to prayer to a staged ritual performance. It centers around a danced zikr (prayer), consisting of joyful, satirical praise dances to their Saint, who is attributed with giving them the joy they express in their dances. Intoxicating drum patterns that "speak" the zikr prayers in rhythm support the dancers who perform virtuosic feats of agility and strength, gradually reaching an ecstatic climax. While the music gradually gets more rapid and excited, the dances unfold with constantly evolving individual and small-group acts of animal imitations, climaxing in a coconut-breaking feat. The program also features solos on the malunga, an instrument resembling the Brazilian berimbau, as well as prayer calls and seated ritual songs (baithi, dhamal, and qawwali).
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