Imachina

Group Information

They call themselves after the village where they live.   As with many groups over the last two days, most of their songs are for processions, like weddings, funerals, bullfights or rites of passage. So they tend to play 3-4 songs in a row to match the procession. We asked them to pick their favourite processions and then play a couple songs within these.

They played:

1. The Shirembe procession, which is a special funeral for a very big local hero, where you might even stage a bullfight on the grave. The songs included:
   1. Kutaywa: Literally means a ‘cock’ and is to let you know that this is a great man, who ‘rules the roost’ so to be speak.   The singer mourns that a great man is lost and there might be no one to take care of the singer anymore.
   2. Mulele Kwiname: This is the name of a tree that is very popular and big and the song is about when a great beloved tree falls and dies.
   3. Bukundu: This is about the smell of a decaying body and the song tells people to come toward the smell and honour the man. Don’t run from this, confront it and honour his memory.
2. The Mayo Procession – this is about bullfighting. The songs include:
   1. Lukumili: This is about the moment the horns lock between the two fighting bulls and the context really begins.
   2. Ing’ombe: This is about the bulls (I can’t read my handwriting here!)
   3. Iminyi: This is a type of bird that hides in roofs and is difficult to find, but is a strong bird. The song tells the story that the best fighting bulls are not the ones preening around the village, but rather they keep to themselves until the fight. And then they win.
3. The Shiselelo procession – this is for weddings. The songs include:
   1. Hoya: This is encouraging the groom to forward and be welcome.
   2. Mbabo: This is about everyone coming together for the wedding.
   3. Khuchende Pole: This song is telling everyone to walk slowly to and from the wedding so all the people can gather and honour the bride and groom.
4. The Shishebo process – this is about rites of passage, and specifically male circumcision. The songs include:
   1. Bikubanda: This is a song that mocks other tribes and peoples that don’t carry out these rituals and ‘are afraid of the knife.’
   2. Nuli Musata: This is a song that is encouraging the young men to be brave and go forward.
5. Magic Moment: We then did a magic moment isolating the percussion.