A new collection of field recordings from Tanzania, titled Asili ya Mama (Origin of Mother), showcases the vibrant musical traditions of women from the Wagogo, Waluguru and Wasambaa communities. Compiled by documentarian Ruth Ndeto and musician Msafiri Zawose, the album features ten tracks that highlight the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic inventiveness of these women, whose songs are rarely heard beyond their indigenous communities.
The album opens with 'Baba Mwenda', a storytelling song warning against greed, performed by a brisk female singer with a croaking bird backdrop. Other women join in unison, accompanied by traditional shakers and tin drums, creating a playful defiance. 'Chamsola', a wedding song, follows with the resonant ring of a mheme drum and shimmering harmonies, while 'Chamwiloa' races towards its conclusion with percussive intensity, telling of the formal union of families after marriage.
Recorded in courtyards, homes and open village spaces, the call-and-response singing is infectious, punctuated by trilling vocal solos and blasts on the ngangafirimbi flute. The songs' themes are expressed powerfully through performance: in 'Kuku Mnywa Maji', about love and companionship, voices and instruments are woven in tight repetitions; in 'Mlembwe', about understanding others' life experiences, deeper-pitched harmonies are built up like foundational stones. The final track, 'Sunyunize', features shakers and women leading men, extending the beautiful power of these expressions now recorded and archived.
