< you can order this cd here >

1. introduction

2. chitsidzo listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

this song is about a woman who is not very trustworthy to her husband. during her husband's absence she fell in love with another man simply because he was more rich. chitsidzo means 'a promise given'.

3. hondo listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

this is how i decided to honour all those who fought for the liberation of the country. i have a message for the authorities to look after the widows, children, disabled and all those disadvantaged by the war (hondo) of liberation, to look after and remember those who missed out on education and progress, when they took up arms to liberate the country and to honour those who died in the process.

4. mazurazura

that's a type of song that we play when we are communicating with our ancestors through the medium spirits.

5. shirikadzi listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

it's a song of honouring my mother for the hard job she did after my father's death, by spending sleepless nights and sometimes to spend days without eating, struggling for her young children to have a better tomorrow. especially myself, i was still very young and on a very bad education level. shirikadzi means 'widow'.

6. nhamo yamakandipa listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

in my culture, if anything bad happens to you, you might call out "amai!", meaning "mother!". this song is about a woman who got married far away from her parents to a vicious husband who is always beating her and giving her hard times for no special reason. everytime when this happens, she starts crying and calling out "amai!", wishing if her mother was near to console her.

7. kugara nehama

it's a hard thing to miss a father especially to shona people, there are times you really fall into problems. but if you don't have your own father who can feel pity for you there is nothing you can do except to go to your father's brothers or sisters to represent your father's position. but then it depends on how they feel on you; some of the relatives might want you to feel that you don't have a father anymore so they want you to pray them, i.e. you must have more problems than you already have.

8. bangidza

bangidza means 'a reminder'.

9. varaidzai listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

this is a song about people who are fighting to maintain their culture in a very big community where a large number of people in the centre are turning to forget their own culture and liking foreign culture, especially young people.

the musicians on shirikadzi are:

benita tarupiwa: mbira, lead vocals
edwin chaendera: mbira, backing vocals
lovette mapuranga paradzai: mbira, backing vocals
brighton mhavasha: hosho, backing vocals
angeline gwirizeni: dancing, backing vocals
rosa sande: dancing, backing vocals

top of page
 

< you can order this cd here >

Benita is one of the few female mbira players in Zimbabwe and considering her age and experience in music she has crossed many bridges in one stride by going into the studio to record a considerably sweet if not beautiful album Ndotamba Ndega all by herself. Benita did all the instruments and voices on all the seven tracks which is a first in the mbira music fraternity in Zimbabwe. Isn't she indeed a brave woman? This instrumental piece tells about this bravery.

2. Hama yakaipa (A bad relative) listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

In this song Benita sings about common witchcraft perpetrated by a relative who is supposed to look after the innocent children left to him by a deceased brother. Benita denounces the use of a 'chikwambo' a tailsman in Shona culture believed to bring luck and prosperity to the user while bringing misfortune and death to others because it feeds on human blood particularly of those related to the user who are in this case the innocent children who have noone else to turn to besides the culprit himself.

3. Nherera (Orphans) listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

With the growing number of orphans the world over, mainly because of disease, famine and war, Benita once again put herself in the capacitiy of one of the orphans, telling the world of her plight. She envies those who have their parents alive to give them all the love and advice.

4. Gara ndichauya (Wait I will come)

In this piece Benita sings about the plight of a woman abandoned by her husband. In poverty and anticipation she waits in vain for a husband enjoying urban life while she toils with hungry children in their rural home with only a promise by the husband to 'wait I will come back next year' in their minds. What a broken promise! In the song Benita puts herself in the capacity of the wife to speak for all women in this predicament who often suffer silently.

5. Ndotamba ndega (I will play alone) listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

Dissatisfaction reigned most when Benita was playing behind big names in the mbira music field. She used to get little or nothing for her efforts mainly because she is a woman. Although she tried by all means to uplift her master's music at the time, the masters were either too greedy to give her what she is worth or just took her for granted. They even tried by all means to avoid her soon after performance, before paying her, of course. In this song she says her piece of mind after finally deciding to try it on her own without the so called 'big names'. She built her own group which, according to every member, is very much satisfied by her running of the affairs of the group. Long live Negombwe Mbira Group!

6. Ndangariro (Meditation) listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

This piece builds a special relationship between mbira and player. When Benita plays this piece, she says it deepens her thought and opens her mind to reality. It reminds her of the past and the present and opens her mind to the future through meditation. That is why she made an instrumental piece in the first place.

7. Ndinosara nani (With whom will I be left)

Benita can never forget the difference brought about by the passing away of her father. In this particular piece she is comparing her life before and after the death of the man responsible for all her happiness. Here she is asking the world if she could have an exact replica of her adviser. She also asks the world if she could find a replacement for her beloved grandmother who passed away when she needed her most.

Conclusion:
Benita and her group are working on some more songs that will bring out the true and once exploited talent of one of arguably the best mbira players in Zimbabwe.

< you can order this cd here >

1. doctor listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

the members of ethnic posse are:

andrew mamvura: mbira, lead vocals
ian bakke: mbira, backing and lead vocals
christopher kamowa: keyboards, backing vocals

our special thanks to:
kennedy mwanza (for his sweet guitar melodies)
kuda henry matimba (thank you brother for the keyboards)
noel bakke (your backing vocals are just mighty)

recorded, mixed and mastered by clancy mbirimi, noel zembe
and kuda henry matimba in 1997 at hi-density studios, harare, zimbabwe
remastered by flavio vigne in 1998 at dynamo-tonstudio, zürich, switzerland

top of page

< you can order this cd here >

1. Njari Nemakonde; Marenje listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

This song of welcome is played in a forest of wild loquats (japanese medlar) where beer is brewed for a ceremony to bring rain. We sing "Mauya-mauya" (You have come! Welcome!).

2. Masongano

"Our spirits blend together when we play mbira music." In ceremonies, we call on the wisdom of ancestral and other spirits by playing mbira, hosho, singing, whistling and dancing. As we play in this way, our spirits blend together. Likewise, when spirits want to hear mbira music, they guide us together to play with one another.

3. Bembero

"A gift presented by a guest at a wedding ceremony." A song of happiness and celebration.

4. Shumba Huru listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

"The great lion." Each year, Shona communities call upon ancestral spirits known as mhondoro, or lion spirits, to bring the rain necessary for a good harvest.

5. Ngozi Yemuroora

"The vengeful spirit of the daughter-in-law." Don't hurt the woman who has married into your family, or she will come back to take her revenge.

6. Nyatwa

A hunter's song about the troubles a young buck faces during the hunt.

7. Shumba Yatubwete

"The cowardly lion."

8. Mutenda Mambo

A song of thanks to the chief.

9. Pasi Mupindu listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

"The world is changing." Not too long ago white people destroyed mbira and did not let anyone play them. Now white people are coming to Zimbabwe to learn how to play mbira music.

10. Nyuchi

"Bees." I will sting like a bee if you attack me.

11. Danga Mvura

"First rain." A song for the beginning of the rainy season.

12. Nyamaropa Chipembere

"The bloody rhinoceros." If you treat me badly, I will come back after death as vengeful spirit and make a blood bath like a rhinoceros would.

13. Mukai Tiende

"Wake up, let's go."

14. Dandemutande listen to sample mp3 (472 K)

"Spiderweb." This music is spreading all over the world.

the musicians on Mhembero Mbira Ensemble are:

Tute Wencil Chigamba: mbira, backing vocals
Irene Chigamba: mbira, lead vocals
Garidziva Chigamba: mbira, backing vocals
Wiriranai Chigonga: mbira, backing vocals
Peter Mapuranga: hosho, backing vocals

top of page