Malam Mamane Barka (1958/1959 – 21 November 2018) was a Nigerian musician, and one of the world's most prominent players of the biram African harp.[1] He died on 21 November 2018, aged 59.[2]
Mamane Barka | |
|---|---|
 Malam Mamane Barka playing an ngurmi African lute. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Malam Mamane Barka |
| Born | 1958/1959 Tesker, Niger |
| Died | (aged 59) Niamey, Niger |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Biram, Ngurumi |
| Labels | World Music Network |
Biography
editMalam Mamane Barka was born in 1958 or 1959 in Tesker, a town in the east of the then autonomous republic of Niger. He came from the nomadic people of Toubou. As a player of the Ngurumi, a two-string plucked instrument, he gained popularity in his homeland and neighboring Nigeria. In 2002 he decided to devote himself to the study of Biram. It is a five-stringed instrument used by the Boudouma people, a fishing community on Lake Chad, for traditional songs.[1][3]
References
edit
- ^ a b Sole, Deanne (18 May 2009). "Mamane Barka: Introducing Mamane Barka". Pop Matters. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
A biram looks like a small canoe with hide stretched and bound over the top. The instrument's five strings are attached to a point at the centre of this canoe and radiate outward like a triangular sail fastened to a 'mast' that comes out of the prow of the boat and moves up and back with a curve...this instrument belongs to, the Boudouma or Buduma, are "fishing nomads," and it likens the shape of the biram to that of the shallow, narrow boat known as the pirogue.
- ^ "Décès du musicien Mamane Mallam Barka ce mercredi à Niamey". aniamey.com (in French). Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Sadie Stanley, ed. (1984). "Yom biBagirmi". The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 3. London: MacMillan Press. p. 885.
Six-or-seven stringed arched harp of the Birom people...reputed to originate from the Bagirmi people...formerly restricted to use by men by men to accompany singing...not appears on instrumental ensembles for general entertainment
External links
edit- Bio on Mamane Barka included in his compact disc from World Music Network. Includes mention of performances on world stage at WOMAD.
- Mamane Barka discography at Discogs
- Mamane Barka at AllMusic
- Video. Mamane Barka performing with his harp.
 | This Nigerien biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article on an African musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |