theworld.org, Feature >>
(Includes a streamed link of the interview.)
Her name is Nawal. She left the Comoros Islands with her family when she was 11. They settled in France. But, Nawal ansd her family spoke Comorian. Her mother cooked Comorian food. Her father talked Comorian politics. And politics is a dominant theme in Nawal's songs. First though, a brief history lesson.
The four islands of the Comoros used to be a French colony. Three gained independence in 1975. One remains under French rule. Last year, independent Comoros elected a new President. And like many Comorians, Nawal has great hope for him.
NAWAL: "We have now a new President who speaks about non-corruption, non-violence, equality for women. Really speaking out about how important the citizens are. And my song says that it's a hope that what he says will be true. That it's not just blah, blah, blah. I hope it's not just to have the power."
The song Nawal wrote is called "Leo Ni Leo," or Winds of Hope. It's on her new CD, "Aman." France is not the only country that's influenced Comorian politics and culture. Yemen and Turkey have as well. And that has lent the Comoros a strong Islamic influence, particularly the culture of Sufism, the mystic and musical side of Islam.
NAWAL: "I use a lot of a rhythm that we don't find in the other islands in the Indian Ocean. We find it in the Comoros. We find it in Turkey, in Iran, it's more the Sufi, the mystics of Islam."
Nawal herself is a Sufi. She brings those traditions into songs like "Ode to Maarouf." She wrote it in honor of her great grandfather. He was one of the Comoros' prominent Sufi marabouts, or spiritual leaders.
NAWAL: "This one is really like a prayer. I composed it, it's not a traditional song. I composed like a prayer you would find in a mosque, a temple for Sufi."
Nawal returns often to the Comoros. This album, she says, is her tribute to the islands where she spent the first 11 years of her life.
08/22/07 >> go there
