Dan Maraya
Ɗan Maraya Jos ⓘ (also known as Adamu Ɗan Maraya Jos ⓘ; born Adamu Wayyaⓘ in 1946 – 20 June 2015)[1] was a Nigerian Hausa griot known for playing the kontigi.[3] He was also remembered as a man who did not limit his praise singing to the rich and famous, but sang praises for common people as well.[3]
Dan Maraya | |
|---|---|
Adamu Danmaraya Jos, holding a kontigi, an African lute from Niger and Nigeria and used by the Hausa people. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Adamu Wayya[1] |
| Also known as | Adamu Danmaraya Jos |
| Born | 1946 Jos or Bukuru, Nigeria[2] |
| Died | 20 June 2015[1][3] Bukuru, Nigeria[3] |
| Occupation(s) | Griot, recording artist, poet, philosopher, philanthropist |
| Instrument(s) | Kontigi |
He was a Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), an Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and a recipient of the Nigerian Federal Republic Medal, 1st class.[4][2] A recording artist, by 1986 he had recorded at least 150 LPs and singles and composed 500 songs.[4]
Life edit
Dan Maraya Jos, whose name means "The Orphan of Jos", was born in 1946 in Bukuru, near Jos in Plateau State, Nigeria.[3] His birth name is Adamu Wayya, but his father died shortly after his birth and his mother died while he was still an infant, hence the name by which everyone knows him.[3] Dan Maraya's father had been a court musician for the Sarkin Hausawa of Bukuru. After the father's death, the Emir (or Sarkin Hausawa) took Dan Maraya under his care when his parents died.[3]
Dan Maraya showed an early interest in music and came under the influence of local professional musicians. During a trip to Maiduguri while he was still a pre-teen, he was impressed by musicians some playing with the Kuntigi instrument, upon his return to Jos,[5] he made a kuntigi, with which he has accompanied himself ever since.[6]
Maraya was a vocalist, singing while accompanying himself on a small Nigerian lute called a kontigi.[4] He also was skilled with the Kotsu drum and Kalungu drum (Hausa talking drum), the garaya 2-stringed lute or guitar, the molo 3-stringed lute or guitar, and the goge Nigerian violin, having learned them in training for his profession as a griot.[4]
The kuntigi is a small, single-stringed lute which Maraya plucked, and also drumed the skin soundboard with his fingers.[4] The body of his instrument was made from an oval-shaped sardine can covered with goatskin.[3] Dan Maraya and other kuntigi players are solo performers who accompany themselves with a rapid ostinato (a continually repeated musical phrase or rhythm) on the kuntigi. During instrumental interludes they repeat a fixed pattern for the song they are playing, but while singing, they will often change the notes of the pattern to parallel the melody they are singing.
Griot profession edit
Dan Maraya chose the griot profession when he was seven-years old, having been told that his decreased father was a royal drummer.[4] By the end of his life he had toured internationally, performing in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, and Ethiopia.[4] He was also a performer at Festac 77 (the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture) in Lagos, Nigeria.[4] He was of such prominence that he was performing in national events for Nigeria; his last concert before he fell sick was at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fund-raising dinner.[7]
Like most griot professional musicians, the mainstay of Dan Maraya's repertoire was praise singing, but Dan Maraya singled out his personal heroes rather than the rich and famous. His first, and perhaps still his most famous song was "Wak'ar Karen Mota" ["Song of the Driver's Mate"] in praise of the young men who get passengers in and out of minivan buses and do the dirty work of changing tires, pushing broken-down vans, and the like.[8]
His repertoire also included "songs about natural phenomena such as death, luck, wealth etc" as well as socially critical songs about "anti-societal acts."[4] The songs were flavored by his perception as a Hausa.[4]
As a griot, he sang songs of both praise and satirical criticism.[4] During the Nigerian Civil War, he composed numerous songs in praise of soldiers of the federal army and incorporated vivid accounts of scenes from the war in his songs.[9] When the civil war ended with the victory of the federal government, Dan Maraya sang "Munafukan Yaki..." ("The Hypocrites of War") lampooning governments and international figures that sided with Biafra.[10][11]
Many of his songs incorporate social commentary.[4] These include the songs on marriage, which probably date from the early 1970s. One might argue that they are really one large song, and in performance, Dan Maraya incorporates lines from each of them. However, the recordings that serve as the basis for this study have three distinct musical settings, and the songs themselves have three different themes: "Jawabin Aure" ["Discourse on Marriage"] lists the problems attendant in divorce and admonishes married couples to try to patch up their differences. "Auren Dole" ["Forced Marriage"][12] decries the practice of families arranging marriages for their daughters rather than letting them decide on their own mates. "Gulma-Wuya" ["The Busybody"][13] describes a neighborhood gossip who works in collusion with a boka (a practitioner in casting spells, removing evil spirits, etc.) to disrupt marriages by sowing dissension between women and their husbands. The latter song is amusing in that Dan Maraya performs it as a drama, imitating the voices of the different characters as they speak, a technique that he has used in other songs as well.
Recordings edit
Individual songs edit
- Auren Dole [Forced Marriage][12]
- Gulma-Wuya [The Busybody][13]
- Jawabin Aure [Discourse on Marriage]
- Kidan Kashewa and Wakar Keren Mota III [Killing Music and Car Music III][14]
- Munafukan Yaki (Wallahi Kun Tabe) [translation: War Hypocrites (By God You Are Gone)][11][10]
- Wak'ar Karen Mota [Song of the Driver's Mate][8]
Albums edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Sotubo, 'Jola. "Dan Maraya Jos: Hausa music legend dies at 69". Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ a b "OBITUARY: Dan Maraya Jos, iconic Hausa singer and Nigeria's 'best-known' orphan". The Cable. Nigeria. 20 June 2015.
He received the member of the order of the Nigeria (MON) and officer of the order of the Nigeria (OON) as well as United Nations peace medals.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos; Adamu Abu, Abuja (21 June 2015). "Dan Maraya Jos dies at 69". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Kudi Masu Gida Rana (album cover). Polydor Records. 1986. pp. back cover. POLP 151.
- ^ Adebayo, Moshood (June 19, 1988). "An Orphan Who Made it to Stardom". Sunday Concord (Lagos).
- ^ "Tambayoyi Game da Siriya da kuma Tarihin Rayuwar Ɗan Maraya Jos". rfi.fr. Radio France International Hausa. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos: Commentary on Hausa life and society". Business Hallmark. Nigeria. 24 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Wak'ar karen mota".
[note: this seems to be the song referred to. It is from the right area and time period, has the right subject matter and title, and the right instrument is played. The song is sung in Hausa.] Description: A Hausa song wak'ar nasha'di (entertainment song) about lorry drivers' assistants, sung by an unidentified musician who accompanies themselves on kuntigi, and also accompanied by other male singers. The kuntigi is a single-stringed plucked spike lute. The body of the kuntigi can be made from gourd, wood or other material such as food cans....Full title: Wak'ar karen mota Creators: unidentified (singer, male / kuntigi); unidentified (singers, male); Carnochan, Jack, 1918-2004 (sound recordist) Date: 1957 (recorded) Places of recording: Zaria; Northern Region; Nigeria (recorded); Nigeria (place of origin)
- ^ Ayo Olukotun (April 2002). "Traditional Protest Media and Anti-Military Struggle in Nigeria 1988-1999". African Affairs. 101 (403): 208.
What we see...is the willingness of poets, musicians and theatre practitioners to take on the military during the inept and tyrannical regimes of successive military rulers, in particular those of Generals Bab...entertainers mobilized to sing the glories of Abacha...Outside the Yoruba-speaking area, an impressive array of musicians and comedians were on hand to construct legitimizing lyrics...included... Dan Maraya Jos...
- ^ a b "Dan Maraya Filato, Munafukan Yaki - 3:25". Voice of America.
[Note: this is the song Munafukan Yaki sung in the Hausa language.]
- ^ a b "Munafukan Yaki (Wallahi Kun Tabe) - Adamu Dan Maraya Filato - 3'25". VOA (in Hausa). Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ a b "Dan Maraya Jos Aure Dole". YouTube.
Mynmaster Productions
- ^ a b "Gulma Wuya By Dan Maraya Jos". lyricsahel.com.
[note: Lyrics to Gulma-Wuya, in Hausa]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos "Kidan Kashewa" and "Wakar Keren Mota III"".
- ^ "The Little Orphan of Jos". likembe.com. 22 July 2018.
[Note: Blog has a photo of the album cover and a list of the songs. Album cover shows a picture of Dan Maraya holding his kontigi.]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos - Kudi Masu Gida Rana : NIGERIAN Hausa Traditional Kuntigi Folk Music ALBUM Songs LP". youtube.com.
[song: Kudi Masu Gida Rana]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos - Kudi Masu Gida Rana : NIGERIAN Hausa Traditional Kuntigi Folk Music ALBUM Songs LP". youtube.com.
[song:Wakar Shari'a]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos - Kudi Masu Gida Rana : NIGERIAN Hausa Traditional Kuntigi Folk Music ALBUM Songs LP". youtube.com.
[song:Alhaji Shaaibu Jagaf]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos - Kudi Masu Gida Rana : NIGERIAN Hausa Traditional Kuntigi Folk Music ALBUM Songs LP". youtube.com.
[song:Wakar Hankali]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos - Kudi Masu Gida Rana : NIGERIAN Hausa Traditional Kuntigi Folk Music ALBUM Songs LP". youtube.com.
[song: Alhaji Bako Doma]
- ^ "Dan Maraya Jos - Kudi Masu Gida Rana : NIGERIAN Hausa Traditional Kuntigi Folk Music ALBUM Songs LP". youtube.com.
[song: Wakar PolyGram]