Zephania Kikumbo and the Nzega Arts Center
Zephania Kikumbo was born and raised in Nzega, Tanzania. He currently works for Habari Maalum in Arusha, Tanzania, which is where we met. Along the way, he started to see value in the traditional music and arts of his home, the ngoma of his people, the Nyamwezi of Nzega, Tabora. This year he, along with a small team of others, produced the 2nd Nyamwezi-Sukuma Tradition Music Festival. His dream is to build an arts center dedicated to raising up Nyamwezi ngoma in many different ways, including professional quality studio facilities to produce high quality albums of this music.
He's actually a pretty skilled studio producer, so this is well within his grasp. Technically, anyway. :-) We still have a long road ahead, but the more steps we take, the more advances we make towards bringing this dream into reality. That's what creative people do, right? Make the intangible, tangible?
Some of the neighborhood Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania leadership are also interested in bringing Nyamwezi-Sukuma ngoma into their churches, in Christ glorifying ways, of course. Since church people and ngoma 'performers' are often in opposition to each other, this might be more difficult than establishing a professional studio in the barely urban cross-roads that is Nzega. It will bring light into darkness though, and that's a pursuit more worthy than even quality ngoma tracks.
These pictures of me and Zephania were taken on the field at dusk after the 2nd Nyamwezi/Sukuma Tradition Music Festival in June this year. They say something about our growing partnership-friendship. What do you think?
Zephania Kikumbo alizaliwa na kukua Nzega, Tanzania. Kwa sasa anafanya kazi kwa Habari Maalum Arusha, Tanzania, ambako tulikutana. Tulipokuwa njiani, alianza kuona thamani katika muziki wa asili, sanaa za nyumba yake, ngoma ya watu wake, Nyamwezi wa Nzega, Tabora. Mwaka huu yeye, pamoja na timu ndogo ya wengine, alizalisha tamasha la 2 la Muziki wa Asili wa Wanyamwezi na Wasukuma. Ndoto yake ni kujenga kituo cha sanaa cha kujitolea kwa kuongeza Nyamwezi ngoma kwa njia nyingi tofauti, iwapo studio ya kitaaluma ya kuzalisha albamu za ubora wa muziki huu.
Yeye kweli ni mzalishaji mwenye ujuzi mzuri, hivyo hii ndio ni ndani ya kufahamu kwake. Kitaalam, hata hivyo. :-) Bado tuna njia ya muda mrefu, lakini hatua zaidi tunayochukua, maendeleo zaidi tunayofanya ili kuleta ndoto hii kwa kweli. Hiyo watu wa ubunifu wanavyofanya, si ndio? Je, kufanya haijulikani, inayoonekana?
Baadhi ya jirani Nzega ya Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania pia wana nia ya kuleta ngoma ya Nyamwezi-Sukuma ndani ya makanisa yao, kwa Kristo kuinua njia, bila shaka. Kwa kuwa watu wa kanisa na wasanii wa ngoma mara nyingi hupinga kila upande, hii inaweza kuwa vigumu zaidi kuliko kuanzisha studio ya kitaalamu katika Nzega. Italeta mwanga katika giza ingawa, na hiyo ni ya kustahili zaidi kuliko nyimbo za ngoma za ubora.
Picha hizi zangu na Zephania zilichukuliwa uwanjani wakati wa jioni baada ya tamasha la 2 la Muziki wa Asili wa Wanyamwezi na Wasukuma Juni mwaka huu. Wanasema kitu kuhusu ushirika wetu wa ushirika wa kukua. Nini unadhani; unafikiria nini?
