: The Zawose family is important for Tanzanian music. What does it mean for you to now carry on the family’s heritage as lead singer together with Leah Zawose?
Pendo Zawose: In general, women in Tanzania’s music scene tend to stay in the background, and that has long been the case in our family as well. So I am of course very proud, as a woman and central figure on stage, to express myself and to carry on my father Hukwe Zawose’s heritage.
: How did this “permission” come about?
Zawose: According to traditional belief, Wagogo women were not allowed to touch certain instruments at all. Women were only allowed to play a specific drum placed between the thighs. For all other instruments, it was said that they could be detuned by a woman’s menstruation. That was, of course, a preconceived argument, since a woman does not menstruate constantly. We secretly played our father’s and our brothers’ instruments and got better and better. We simply took the “permission” to make our music for ourselves.
In Interview: Pendo Zawose
Singer and multi-instrumentalist from the Tanzanian port city of Bagamoyo.
: What is your view of the situation of women in the East African music industry today, compared to the western part of the continent?
Zawose: Women in East Africa’s music industry are still underrepresented in promotion and management. Our society remains very conservative. This starts in families: performing in the evenings or at night is regarded as risky, indeed dangerous, for young women and is not supported. This attitude is further reinforced by the mainstream industry, where women worldwide are sometimes very sexualized.
The Zawose Queens, Fri, 17 Oct, 9:00 PM, Theater Bremen, Goetheplatz 1-3
: But changes are slowly taking place?
Zawose: Even in East Africa, more and more young women are organizing themselves better and becoming professional artists and musicians. We, the Zawose Queens, had to fight on a personal level for greater recognition. And our recognition through international tours shows that changes are possible. But we still have a long way to go.
: When people speak of African music, the Democratic Republic of Congo is seen as the giant. Where do you see Tanzania’s role in this picture?
Zawose: From the Congo comes the most popular music across Africa. With rumba, they occupy a special musical niche there that is very successful. Tanzania has a lot of musical potential, also commercially, as with Bongo Flava. But compared to Congo, the country still has a long way to go.
: What role does tradition play for the Zawose Queens? You also use electronic elements.
Zawose: As women, we could not perform the traditional songs of the Zawose family; we had to compose our own pieces. With our instruments, such as the thumb piano, the Chizeze fiddle, and the Ngoma drums, we carry forward our family’s heritage. But we live in a modern world, and the electronic elements do not compromise the authenticity of the music. And they allow us to reach a new audience.
