Mufaro Marimba-Music of Joy
Tradtional Shona Music
Mufaro Marimba is a Victoria, BC-based African marimba ensemble. For over 25 years now, we’ve had the privilege of playing this joyous music to audiences in and around southern Vancouver Island. The music we play originally comes from the Shona people of Zimbabwe and South Africa. As a way to honour the roots of this amazing music, Mufaro Marimba donates part of its proceeds to help educate and empower young women and girls in Zimbabwean communities affected by HIV/AIDS. You can find out more about that below.
Welcome!
The word Mufaro is Shona for the word JOY and it is joy that is at the heart of the music of Mufaro Marimba.
We mainly performs songs which originally comes from the Shona people of Zimbabwe and South Africa. The music is joyous, infectious, fun to play and fun to dance to and to clap along with. There are smiles all around! The musical parts fit together like a puzzle into one wonderful incredible sound.
THE MUSIC
The vibrant and polyrhythmic music we play has is deeply rooted in African culture and tradition mentioned above. Many are like the folk songs that we grew up here and we know them almost unconsciously… music is part of everyone's language, community, souls and culture.
Our instruments are handmade wooden marimbas fashioned after those first made and refined in Zimbabwe around 1960. The Maranka gourd shakers we use are called "hoshos" and are an essential part of this music from Zimbabwe. We also play with drums, guitar and various percussion instruments.
Dr. Dumisani Maraire introduced this music to the west coast of North America in the 1970's. A musical tradition of its own was born in the Pacific Northwest and that tradition has spread around the world. We give blessings and thanks to Dumi.
Mufaro honours and acknowledges our teachers. We have been very lucky to have had wonderful teachers in the past and we send our thanks and deepest respect to Sandy Okenden, Ted Wright, Garadziva Chigamba, Ona Connon, Dean Samuel, Musekiwa Chingodza and Sula Sigurdson.
Performance Schedule
April
Dates of gigs
May
Dates of Gigs
June
Dates of gigs
July
Dates of gigs
August
Dates of gigs
September
Dates of gigs
How we pay it forward…
Founded in 2003, Tariro is dedicated to empowering and educating young women and girls in the high-density neighborhoods of Harare, Zimbabwe. Over the years, we have supported more than 300 girls through secondary education by providing all-inclusive tuition sponsorships that cover school fees, exam fees, uniforms, and school supplies. A significant number of Tariro’s students have gone on to enrol at various university or post-secondary institutions.
According to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey 2015, 70% of new HIV infections are found in adolescent girls. Young women in communities affected by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe are in extreme jeopardy of dropping out of school due to extreme poverty and an inability to pay school fees. Leaving school puts young women at high risk of contracting HIV in large part because many young women leaving school are turning to prostitution, exposing them to HIV infection.
When you purchase one of Mufaro’s CD/s or tip us when we are busking, part of the proceeds are forwarded to Tariro. In the Shona language, Tariro means hope. Thank you for helping support this important cause.
You can also make a donation directly to Tariro by clicking on the link below.
Find out more below…
Want to contact us?
Whether you have a question, want to book us for a gig, would like to purchase a physical copy of our latest CD, or would like to know more about our music, simply fill out our contact form.