Traditional music and dance
With its Bantu, Persian and Arab influences, but also those brought by Indian immigrants or Western settlers, the music and dances of Mayotte tell the history of the archipelago better than anything else. Precious testimonies of the past that Mayotte keeps intact thanks to the talent of its musicians and the passion of its public.
If you are looking for the most famous music and dance of Mayotte, don't go any further, it is the m'godro. Practiced today by all the bangs of the population, without age limit, its history is deeply rooted in the archipelago and undoubtedly stems from the Malagasy era. With time, instruments and influences from overseas have been mixed in. Now the feverish rhythms of the m'godro are played with purely Mahorese instruments such as the gaboussa or the m'kayamba, and also the tam-tam. The great names of the genre are Mikidache who, although very eclectic, has composed some very good ones, Baco Ali, leader of the group Tama Music and part of the inescapable artists of the musical landscape of Mauretania, Bob Kira, a great defender of m'godro alongside his big brother Lathéral (who mixes it with reggae), the singer Lima Wild who has some in her repertoire, or Jean-Raymond Cudza, who is famous for having modernized m'godro
with electric guitar and synth. Today, the young guard offers a new breath to the genre under the impulse of artists like M'Toro Chamou.If it is very popular and therefore particularly visible, the m'godro is far, very far from being the only musical and choreographic tradition that the island cultivates. Emblematic of Mayotte are the m'biwis, small bamboo sticks (claves) struck against each other, played exclusively by women in groups, while dancing and singing. The m'biwis accompany many ceremonies. The debaa
, also reserved exclusively for women, combines traditional dance, music and song. Religious or not, this practice sees a choir take up the melody of a soloist while performing a choreography and being accompanied by timpani.Exclusively for men this time, shigoma is an island practice (also visible in Comoros) where the dancers in a circle obey the drums giving rhythm to the dance while murengué (or moringue) is a particularly brutal combat dance, reserved for men where the combatants duel with fists and feet to the rhythm of percussions. Among the mixed dances, one of the most remarkable is the biyaya. Performed in a circle where people follow each other, the participants take steps forward and backward to the rhythm of a set of percussions.
Ofcourse, the archipelago has its own instruments such as the gaboussa (or gaboussi) and the dzindzé. The first one is a small guitar typically mahoraise, of which an excellent ambassador is Langa, atypical and talented character, inseparable from the instrument. The second, the dzindzé,
is also a stringed instrument, more original, sometimes built around a long resonance box. Colo Hassani is a renowned player. One of the tools that Mayotte has given itself to preserve and enhance its culture and traditions - while at the same time promoting dialogue with others - is the Intercultural Festival of Mayotte (FIM). Based in Mamoudzou and supported by the General Council, the event invites great names from various disciplines, from Mayotte as well as from the Indian Ocean basin, thus becoming one of the important events of the region. On the program: songs, music, dances without forgetting the crafts and gastronomy. A good opportunity to hear the m'godro. Another major event in the area, the festival of traditional arts of Mayotte (the "FatMa") is coupled with the commemoration of the abolition of slavery, and therefore takes place every year at the end of April. It is an opportunity to attend exhibitions, concerts, conferences and dance performances. A promotion of the culture and traditions of the island and a dive into the soul of the island.Current music
From one island to another, Mayotte shares a passion with Jamaica: reggae. For decades, the genre has been omnipresent, maintained by a few local figures. Starting with Bob Dahilou. Some will agree that he imported reggae here and he is so popular that a street is named after him. Another very important pillar of the local music, Baco has, during more than twenty years of career, played a lot of reggae where afro-jazz and m'godjo are also mixed. Still reggae, let's also mention Wubani Spirit who is one of the most often touring local artists as well as Babadi. Comorian revelation in 1997, the latter has imposed himself over time as a defender of a modern m'godro
, combining committed lyrics and reggae influences.Still a pillar - or not far from it - Del Zid is a more exploratory figure in the musical landscape of Mauritania. In perpetual research, he takes with him the sounds of Mayotte towards jazz, groove, afro-blues or pop, always installed in an approach of homage to the cultural diversity of his island. In the same spirit, it is impossible to spend a moment in Mayotte without hearing a piece of Chakires. A multi-instrumentalist singer, he has been composing sweet melodies since the 1980s, where styles are mixed. A perfect example is his second album Baswa
, a meeting place of Bantu, Swahili and Arabic rhythms, punctuated with European harmonies.Let's not forget to mention Mikidache, a very important name on the island whose music blends local traditions and Indian Ocean rhythms, Diho, a Mahorese based in Marseille, and the inventor of Afro-chigoma, or M'toro Chamou, a committed artist, mentioned above and an important actor in the renewal of Maoran music.
Mayotte may be modest in size but it sees things in a big way in terms of concerts. One only has to look at the program of its Milatsika Festival to be convinced. Meaning " our culture " in Shimaoré, it is since 2007, the great meeting of the Indian Ocean where is invited the cream of the artists of Mayotte, Madagascar or Reunion - without forgetting metropolitan France. Throughout the year, a few places contribute largely to the ebullience of the island such as the M'biwi, a lively and institutional address of Mayotte, the Barakili, a restaurant-bar known for its festive evenings and its regular concerts, and finally the Faré, a restaurant and local institution.
