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The Moon Has Risen: A Sufi Performance From Zanzibar

The Mtendeni Maulid Ensemble, founded in the 1960s, expresses itself in a visually and acoustically impressive style typical of Sufi religious devotion called Maulidi ya Homu. This form has its roots in the ancient Arab world, but currently only survives in Zanzibar. During each section of the Sufi (dahal) a session, praise poems (qasidas) are sung in an intricate fashion, each of them mingling with the next. The qasidas are in Arabic or Swahili and have as their themes the praise of God and Muhammad, the description of the duties of Muslims, they describe heaven and hell, and celebrate life. Maulidi ya Homu songs are not fixed and unified entities but rather resemble medley or mosaics. The group warms up by starting with a slow dahala, where only two ruwasi type drums are present. The full set of percussion can be heard in the following two faster dahalas. As we approach the end, the drum is played more and more vigorously to bring us to the climax. In the local context, each performance or repetition ends with a common recitation of short suras from the Quran and implorations (dua), which are supposed to bring blessing (baraka) to all who are present. This ending also allows the group to relax after the excitement and energy demanded by drumming, singing and dancing. In the local context, each performance or repetition ends with a common recitation of short suras from the Quran and implorations (dua), which are supposed to bring blessing (baraka) to all who are present. This ending also allows the group to relax after the excitement and energy demanded by drumming, singing and dancing. In the local context, each performance or repetition ends with a common recitation of short suras from the Quran and implorations (dua), which are supposed to bring blessing (baraka) to all who are present. This ending also allows the group to relax after the excitement and energy demanded by drumming, singing and dancing.