Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tausi Women’s Taarab have been playing traditional Taarab since 2009. All the songs are about lost and found love. Their music is entirely secular. The group is from Rahaleo and usually performs in Kisawandui.
Taarab is a fascinating combination of many musical styles: predominantly African beats, with Egyptian, Indian and even Cuban influences. This rich global influence on a single genre owes to Zanzibar’s history as an important commerce hub. The Dhow Countries Musical Academy calls this the ‘dhow effect’. The dhow is a traditional sailing vessel that originated in the Middle East and spread over the Indian Ocean region. The ‘Dhow countries’ are all the countries that sailed to Zanzibar throughout history, blowing onto the island, leaving their instruments, their styles and blending them with what was already on the island. The result of this confluence is the unique sound of Taarab. Taarab roughly translates in Arabic as ‘having joy with music’.
The group normally have 28 members but brought nine for these recorded performances. Tausi Women’s Taarab is led by Mariam Hamdiani, who is the chair of the Arts and Censorship Council in Zanzibar. She also plays the qanun, a zither with a thin trapezoidal soundboard, producing emotional melodies.
Recorded: Feb 2020
Location: Zanzibar
Tausi Women’s Taarab have been playing traditional Taarab since 2009. All the songs are about lost and found love. Their music is entirely secular. The group is from Rahaleo and usually performs in Kisawandui.
Taarab is a fascinating combination of many musical styles: predominantly African beats, with Egyptian, Indian and even Cuban influences. This rich global influence on a single genre owes to Zanzibar’s history as an important commerce hub. The Dhow Countries Musical Academy calls this the ‘dhow effect’. The dhow is a traditional sailing vessel that originated in the Middle East and spread over the Indian Ocean region. The ‘Dhow countries’ are all the countries that sailed to Zanzibar throughout history, blowing onto the island, leaving their instruments, their styles and blending them with what was already on the island. The result of this confluence is the unique sound of Taarab. Taarab roughly translates in Arabic as ‘having joy with music’.
The group normally have 28 members but brought nine for these recorded performances. Tausi Women’s Taarab is led by Mariam Hamdiani, who is the chair of the Arts and Censorship Council in Zanzibar. She also plays the qanun, a zither with a thin trapezoidal soundboard, producing emotional melodies.
Recorded: Feb 2020
Location: Zanzibar
