Maloya
Maloya creole music
This music is more African and Malagasy words, accompanied by onomatopoeia for calling the spirits. Music in tribute to ancestors. This music is also a way to mock the masters are few words in French. The settlers fear kabaré these services to the outlaw in their properties.
These songs, dances and laments are practiced in secret masters after work, usually at night in the camps or outside the current factory. These songs and dances also mark the end of the sugar harvest. They were sung by a chorus laments and taken up by a chorus in which appear the words of their ancient dialects. They sang and cried their sorrows and evils, or by accelerating the languid pace.
Maloya descend songs sung by slaves uprooted from Madagascar and East Africa, to resist and exist, and later, as practiced by the “Malbars”, that is to say, Malabar (engaged Indian Malabar coast), and the “ti blan” or small white (small Creole condition).
Maloya historical and cultural role
Music from the suffering and enslavement of men by men, not content to convey a musical tradition, maloya also tends, by the names of groups, to revive a fact about a historical figure ignored the general public or historic site as Simangavol group, whose name refers to the first slave woman arrived on the island, who, refusing slavery, despite the risks preferred to flee to the mountains to find freedom.
Maloya Reunion is representative of the people who play and dance, mixed and open to the world. It is the spearhead of kabars at the feast of 20 December, commemorating the abolition of slavery on the island in 1848, promulgated by Napoleon Sebastien Sarda Garriga Joseph.
It is a little, for reunionese, what the blues is to Americans. It can express the nostalgia, but also the joy of living, freedom.
The different styles of maloya
Maloya traditional.
There are several styles of maloya, with their different rhythms and the context in which they are practiced, as Maloya-Pike, which is quite popular with songs in Creole. Maloya kabaré, played in ritual Afro-Malagasy (served kabaré or kabar) paying tribute to the spirit of the ancestors, with songs sometimes Malagasy and onomatopoeia.
Maloya Moderne.
In recent years, the maloya embellished with Western instruments (guitar, bass, synth …) to deploy new sounds. In the late 70′s “The Chameleon” (composed by Alain Peters, René Lacaille, Loy Ehrlich, Bernard stretcher, Hervé Imara, Joel Gonthier) do not hesitate to mix American and British rock sound such as that of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, and gives a Maloya Funk Rock.
In the 1990 merger with the Reggae is to create the Maloggae, with groups like Naéssayé and Progression. There is also the Maloyaz (mixture of Jazz and Maloya) with Sabouk and Meddy Gerville. In 2000 Davy Sicard gave a Maloya “Kabos” where there are sounds of Africa. Electronics in the hands of Dj Jako Maron, and Alex Atepelaz Sorres rap mix at Maloya.
Kaf Malbar collaboration with DJ Dan (Ker Maron), participates in the development of Maloya Dancehall in the title “Mesaz”. Maloya Celtic Renésens since 1998 is a remarkable originality by merging the rhythms and themes of maloya with Celtic instruments (bagpipes and bombards). This diversity shows how the root maloya fed fruit on the tree.
Where is played maloya.
Maloya is sung in a place called Kabar, it takes its origin from the “Service Kabaré” of Malagasy origin, where the properties, it happened to slaves during events important to make these services were doomed to ancestors or harvesting.
They were sung by a chorus laments and taken up by a chorus in which appear the words of their ancient dialects. They sang and cried their sorrows and evils, or by accelerating the languid pace.
The kabar can be done anywhere: there is no place to sing maloya. It can be in the street, when musicians get together. The Kabar is a living tradition in the family, for celebrations, ceremonies.
Maloya instruments.
The music is mainly based on traditional percussion instruments: drive (Wheeler), Bob (bobre) and kayanm (kayamb). The roll is formed by a barrel on which is stretched an ox-hide, the percussionist sits astride the barrel and hit with both hands.
The bob (bobre) resembles the Brazilian berimbau, a bow line on which the player strikes with a stick of metal: sati, or bamboo: the piker. The Kayanm (kayamb) is made of poles shocks, cane stalks of flowers filled with seeds cana.
Throughout its evolution have been added the triangle, djembe, guitar etc … Today we also played with instruments less traditional and more modern such as the electric guitar, bass, keyboard, and even the computer.
Enjoy the maloya.