Bringing authentic spiritual sounds back

When Jacaranda Cultural Centre announced that Afro-spiritual artist Nyago was going to perform at its Malawi Sounds stage, expectations were high.

By 7pm on Thursday, the venue was filled to capacity with patrons waiting to see the queen of vimbuza sounds on stage.

Majestically, she went on stage at around 7.30pm wearing a long chitenje dress and a traditional crown.

“Good evening everyone. My name is Nyago and I am here to give you African music. I hope I will not disappoint,” she said in her opening statement.

She started her set with a song titled Mizimu.

“Our ancestors are crying. They are crying because as Africans we have abandoned our true traditional way of life,” she explained afterwards. Then she performed Kamzanga which she said is a song about true friendship.

“This song celebrates friendship. A true friend is the one who tells you the truth no matter what. A true friend is always there for you,” she added.

Other songs she performed included Mwana Akalira, Nyasa, Chikuwawe and Mdoko which condemns arranged marriages, Chabagha Uli and others.

“Chibagha Uli is a question asking how ‘would you feel if someone did the evil things that you do to others’,” she said, adding that in her life she has had several unfortunate incidents that necessitated her to write the song.

After performing for an hour, she announced the end of her set to which patrons protested, saying they were not ready to leave.

“We are not going anywhere. We have all the time,” said the patrons in unison, forcing the songstress to perform one more track before taking a few questions from the audience.

Speaking during question time Eric Trinta praised Nyago for staying true to her roots.

“You are doing this right. This is what we call maintaining the African roots through music. Keep it up,” he said.

Another patron, gospel musician Estiner Katengeza said Nyago is in a class of her own such that watching her perform was a joy.

“Looking at you perform made me realise that we have such a rare gem among us. I am pleased to have had this opportunity. Your music is unique,” she said.

Nyago’s performance was flawless, punctuated with interactions with her audience. She also exhibited a masterly on voice control and an ability to dance the spiritual vimbuza dance with ease.

She told the audience some personal experiences that made her write some of the songs she performed.

Said Nyago: “I was raped as a girl and that made me question certain things in life. I was also let down by people who should have been there for me. So, I basically use music as a medium to express my frustrations and feelings. When an artist is singing, pay attention to the lyrics, they might just be telling the world about their pain.”

Before her performance, Jacaranda Cultural Centre executive director Luc Dechamps said they launched the Sounds of Malawi weekly programme to promote local authentic traditional music.

“We have been hosting a diverse of artists. The talent and diversity gracing our stage is amazing,” he said.