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MUSA DIENG KALA (Senegal)
« The exile
of Sheik Amadou Bamba »
Throughout
the course of history and to this day,
Senegal stands at the crossroads of
the Arabian-Islamic Maghreb and black
Africa , as the point of contact and
meeting place between the two.
Widely
Islamicised , Senegal has retained
its own traditional culture and values
and remains a country of tolerance
where Christianity is still practised.
Sufism was mostly brought to west Africa
by the Qaddiriya Brotherhood (descended
from Sheikh Abdelqader Jilani) and
the Tidjanya Brotherhood (descended
from Sheikh Ahmed Tidjani). A third
brotherhood is particularly widespread
in Senegal : the Mouridiyya Brotherhood
(Mouridiyya meaning ‘those
who aspire to God’). This brotherhood
was founded in the nineteenth century
by Sheikh Amadou Bamba (1855-1927).
Musa
Dieng Kala is a member of this tradition
and describes himself as ‘a
humble disciple following the example
of my sheikh in my life and work’.
Having worked alongside Youssou N'Dour,
whose Dakar recording studio he managed
from 1991 to 1993, this multi-talented
artist has produced many video clips.
In 1993 he emigrated to Montreal ,
Canada . Here he discovered hidden
talents as a singer, and the desire
grew to spread the word of Sheikh Amadou
Bamba through his songs. Sanctioned
by the highest authorities of the brotherhood,
Kala released his first CD, Shawkantu – Faith,
to unanimous acclaim.
Now in 2005,
his second CD is about to be released,
which springs from the same source
of spiritual inspiration and fuses
such influences as jazz, soul, blues
and even Indian music …
African
music is known worldwide more for its
rhythmical invitation to joyful dance
rather than its meditative qualities.
Musa Dieng Kala breaks this pattern,
however, and has composed a programme
completely oriented towards religion
in its profoundest sense. Singing in
Arabic and Wolof, Kala has set to music
the poems of his master, Sheikh Amadou
Bamba.
For the Fez Festival, Musa Dieng
Kala has returned to traditional instrumentation
to complement spirit and faith, shunning
electric instruments and the modern harmonies
of his CDs. It is therefore to sounds
of tokoros (Peuhl flutes), the xalam
(Senegalese zither) and other Xines percussion
instruments used in the ritual Dikhrs
of the Baï Fall, that the soft voice
of Musa Dieng Kala will lead us on a
musical meditation. Kala, who has graced
many stages across the world with the
likes of Miriam Makeba, Cheb Mami, Noa
and Manu Dibango, presents a privileged
moment where the roots of Mandingue tradition
merge with the spirit of Islam.
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