Chiwoniso (Zimbabwe)
- May 10
- 1 min read
Chiwoniso Maraire was a Zimbabwean singer, songwriter, and mbira player who broke ancient taboos by mastering an instrument traditionally reserved for male musicians. The mbira, a thumb piano with metal tines attached to a wooden board, is believed in Shona culture to have the power to communicate with ancestral spirits. Born in Washington State
to mbira master and teacher Dumisani Maraire, she made her first recordings at age nine
and was performing with her family by eleven. Her debut album Ancient Voices (1998)
found audiences across Europe and America, and her final album Rebel Woman (2008), released on the Cumbancha label, was a defiant set addressing social inequality, political oppression, and human rights in Zimbabwe. Chiwoniso passed away prematurely in 2013 at just 37 years old.
Featured Song:
“Pamuromo” (The Cheekiness of One Who Has Nothing) is a traditional Shona song warning against speaking too much and choosing words carefully. It was also recorded by Thomas Mapfumo, theZimbabwean music icon who was a significant influence on Chiwoniso. Performed here with mbira, ngoma drum, and backing vocals, the song distills a proverb into two spare, repeating lines: “Having nothing / The cheekiness of one who has nothing.”
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