\t\tby<\/span> rilm<\/a><\/span> | <\/span>July 7, 2024 \u00b7 6:00 am\t<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Immediately after World War II, taarab orchestras and music clubs proliferated in coastal Kenya and Tanganyika, and on Zanzibar. They were formed by Waswahili, residents of the region who spoke the Kiswahili<\/a> (Swahili) language. Through taarab music clubs, the Swahili people<\/a> developed and paid homage to their language and traditions, providing the cultural basis from which political nationalism might operate.<\/p>\n The Swahili word\u00a0mpasho<\/em>\u00a0is related to the verb\u00a0-pasha<\/em>, \u201cto cause to get\u201d, and it refers to someone \u201cgetting the message\u201d. In the popular genre\u00a0taarab<\/a>,\u00a0mpasho<\/em>\u00a0performances involve sending and receiving powerful communications\u2013often competitive and antagonistic in nature\u2013through song texts. The subject may be an individual, an organization, or social group, any of which may respond with their own\u00a0mpasho<\/em>\u00a0performance.<\/p>\n This according to \u201cHot\u00a0kabisa<\/em>! The\u00a0mpasho<\/em>\u00a0phenomenon and taarab in Zanzibar\u201d by Janet Topp Fargion,\u00a0Mashindano! Competitive music performance in East Africa<\/em>, ed. by Frank D. Gunderson, Gregory F. Barz, and Terence O. Ranger\u00a0(Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota, 2000; 39\u201353; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, <\/em>2000-8778) and \u201cTaarab clubs and Swahili music culture\u201d by Henry Douglas Daniels (Social identities<\/em> 2\/3 [1996] 413\u2013438; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature,<\/em> 1996-39500).<\/p>\n July 7 is international Kiswahili Language Day! Below is a performance of taarab music by the group Bi Kidude Zanzibar.<\/p>\n \n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bibliolore.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/TarabShow_SLIDESHOW.jpg?resize=500%2C269&ssl=1\")
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