Music of Djibouti
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The music of Djibouti includes various styles which are the product of a number of musical influences. Djibouti is a small African country on the Horn of Africa, which has had contributing to the development of local music styles and preferences. The population is largely concentrated in an important port city, also called Djibouti, and the country has historically been part of several states, most recently including France. Djibouti was France's last African colony to gain independence.
Djibouti is made up of two main ethnic groups: the Afar and the Somalis, along with French and Arab citizens. Afar music is similar to the music of Ethiopia with elements of Arab music. The history of Djibouti is recorded in poetry and in songs of its nomadic people and goes back thousands of years to a time when Djiboutians traded hides and skins for the perfumes and spices of ancient Egypt, India, and China. The Somali oral traditions include an array of poetry and proverbs, much of it devoted to the lives of Sufi saints. Afar oral literature is more musical, and comes in many varieties, including songs for weddings, war, praise and boasting.[1]
The national anthem of Djibouti is "Djibouti", adopted in 1977 with words by Aden Elmi and music by Abdi Robleh.[2] "Miniature poetry", invented by a truck driver named Abdi Deeqsi, is well known in Djibouti; these are short poems (balwo), mostly concerning love and passion.[1] Balwo is also a style of Somali popular music.
Djiboutian instruments include the tanbura, a bowl lyre.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Djibouti - Culture Overview". Expedition Earth. http://web.archive.org/web/20040227041820/http://expedition.bensenville.lib.il.us/Africa/Djibouti/culture.htm. Retrieved September 28 2005. - Website no longer exists; link is to Internet Archive
- ^ "Djibouti". National Anthem Reference Page. http://david.national-anthems.net/dj.htm. Retrieved September 28 2005.
- ^ Poché, Christian. "Tanbūra", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001), xxv, pp. 62-63.
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