Dan Maraya
Hausa griot who sang for common people.
Adamu Wayya, better known as Ɗanmaraya Jos, was a Hausa griot from Nigeria who accompanied himself on the kuntigi. He was notable for praising not only the wealthy but also ordinary people. A prolific musician, he had recorded at least 150 LPs and singles and composed 500 songs by 1986. His honors included membership in the Order of the Niger, Officer of the Order of the Niger, and the Nigerian Federal Republic Medal, 1st class. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Jos. He died on 20 June 2015.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Adamu Wayya
- Also known as
- Adamu Danmaraya Jos
- Born
- 1946
- Birthplace
- Bukuru, Nigeria
- Died
- 20 June 2015
- Place of death
- Jos, Nigeria
- Occupation
- Griot
- recording artist
- poet
- philosopher
- philanthropist
- Instrument
- Kuntigi
Facts from the source article.
Life
Danmaraya Jos was born in 1946 in Bukuru, near Jos in Plateau State, Nigeria, with the birth name Adamu Wayya. His father died shortly after his birth and his mother died while he was still an infant, hence the name Danmaraya, meaning "The Orphan of Jos." His father had been a court musician for the Sarkin Hausawa of Bukuru. After the father's death, the Emir (or Sarkin Hausawa) took Danmaraya under his care.
Danmaraya showed an early interest in music and came under the influence of local professional musicians. During a trip to Maiduguri while he was still a pre-teen, he was impressed by musicians playing the kuntigi instrument; upon his return to Jos, he made a kuntigi, with which he accompanied himself ever since. Danmaraya was a vocalist, singing while accompanying himself on a small Nigerian lute called a kuntigi. He also was skilled with the kotso drum and kalungu drum (Hausa talking drum), the garaya 2-stringed lute or guitar, the molo 3-stringed lute or guitar, and the goge Nigerian violin, having learned them in training for his profession as a griot.
The kuntigi is a small, single-stringed lute which Danmaraya plucked, and also drummed the skin soundboard with his fingers. The body of his instrument was made from an oval-shaped sardine can covered with goatskin. Danmaraya and other kuntigi players are solo performers who accompany themselves with a rapid ostinato on the kuntigi. During instrumental interludes they repeat a fixed pattern for the song they are playing, but while singing, they will often change the notes of the pattern to parallel the melody they are singing.
Griot profession
Danmaraya chose the griot profession when he was seven years old, having been told that his deceased father was a royal drummer. By the end of his life he had toured internationally, performing in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Cuba, Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, and Ethiopia. He was also a performer at Festac 77 (the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture) in Lagos, Nigeria. He was of such prominence that he was performing in national events for Nigeria; his last concert before he fell sick was at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fund-raising dinner.
The mainstay of Danmaraya's repertoire was praise singing, but he singled out his personal heroes rather than the rich and famous. His first song was "Wak'ar Karen Mota" ("Song of the Driver's Mate") in praise of the young men who get passengers in and out of minivan buses and do the dirty work of changing tires, pushing broken-down vans, and the like. His repertoire also included songs about natural phenomena such as death, luck, and wealth, as well as songs about anti-societal acts, flavored by his perception as a Hausa.
As a griot, he sang songs of both praise and satirical criticism. During the Nigerian Civil War, he composed numerous songs in praise of soldiers of the federal army and incorporated vivid accounts of scenes from the war in his songs. When the civil war ended with the victory of the federal government, Danmaraya sang "Munafukan Yaki..." ("The Hypocrites of War") lampooning governments and international figures that sided with Biafra.
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