Chiwoniso Maraire (Born in 1976 in Olympia, Washington, USA) is an accomplished young singer, songwriter, exponent of East African and Zimbabwean mbira music. Mbira Dzavadzimu in deze (top), Mbira Nyunga Nyunga (bottom), Hosho (bottom left). ...

On the album Ancient Voices (produced 1995) she melds the conventional and modern, sings in English and African languages, and uses contemporary instruments and traditional African instruments such as the mbira. She learned how to play the instrument despite the fact that traditionally, women in Zimbabwe were not permitted to play the instrument. The mbira, she says, "Is like a large xylophone. It is everywhere in Africa under different names: sanza, kalimba, etc. For us in Zimbabwe it is the name for many string instruments. They are many kind of mbiras. The one that I play is called the knuwga-knuwga, which means brilliance-brilliance." ^[1] Mbira Dzavadzimu in deze (top), Mbira Nyunga Nyunga (bottom), Hosho (bottom left). ... The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia (Nettl 1956, p. ...

Chiwoniso has been fronting her acoustic group Chiwoniso & Vibe Culture for the past four years. From 2001 to 2004, she was also a core member of the multinational all-women band Women’s Voice, whose original members hailed from Norway, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, America, Israel and Algeria. Chiwoniso has also been busy in film, having worked on the soundtracks for movies and documentaries by an array of Zimbabwean writers and film producers in the last ten years. ^[2]

In February 2006, she joined Busi Ncube, Adam Chisvo, Peter "Mashasha" Mujuru and many others Zimbabwean artists in an ad-hoc band called The Collaboration and recorded Hupenyu Kumusha, Life at Home, Impilo Ekhaya. The band performed in Zanzibar's Sauti za Busara 2007 Festival. Map of Zanzibars main island Zanzibar (IPA pronunciation: ) is the collective name for two islands in Tanzania: Unguja and Pemba. ...

Discography

Ancient Voices (released 2001)

Timeless (released 2004)

Hupenyu Kumusha, Life at Home, Impilo Ekhaya. The Collaboration: Volume 1. (2006)

References

External links

• Chiwoniso Official Website
• Sauti za Busara 2007
• Women's voice
• Thulani Promotions Zimbabwe