Shamitu
Shamitu | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 |
| Died | January 2002 (aged 59–60) |
Nuria Ahmed Shami Kalid (1942 – January 2002), nicknamed Shamitu, was a traditional Harari wāli (singer) and songwriter, the most famed and respected wāli during her life.[1][2][3]
Shamitu was born in 1942 in the Badro Bari neighborhood in Harar, Ethiopia. She lost her sight due to glaucoma at the age of seven.[4] During her childhood she learned traditional Harari music while weaving baskets and attending weddings. As a teenager she decided to become a singer despite strong opposition from friends and family. (In some Muslim communities, women are discouraged or prohibited from singing in public.) For the next 45 years, Shamitu toured the world performing, often with her musical partner Amina Adam, nicknamed Gini. She travelled on UN sponsored trips in Africa, Europe, and Asia and performed at weddings, world music festivals, and for expatriate Harari communities worldwide.[5]
Shamitu died in January 2002.[4] Shortly before her passing, Shamitu expressed dismay that Harari traditional music was in decline.[6]
Personal life
Shamitu married at the age of seventeen and had four children.[4][5]
References
- ^ Sartori, Ilaria (2007). "Gey fäqär, the songs of the City ? Voices of tradition and transition in Harar". Annales d'Ethiopie. 23 (1): 135–151. doi:10.3406/ethio.2007.1502. ISSN 0066-2127.
- ^ Shinn, David. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 298.
- ^ Guignard, Michel Guignard. Les musiques dans le monde de l’islam. Cahiers d'ethnomusicologie.
- ^ a b c "Harari Artist Dies" (PDF). The Herald (25). Ethiopia & Eritrea Returned Peace Corps Volunteers: 24. Summer 2002.
- ^ a b Kimberlin, Cynthia Tse (1997). "Four Contemporary Ethiopian Composers and Their Music: Asnaketch Worku, Nuria Ahmed Shami Kalid A.K.A. Shamitu, Ezra Abate Yimam, and Ashenafi Kebede". Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the XIIIth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Kyoto: Shokado Book Sellers. pp. 96–117.
- ^ Bröcker, Marianne. The Traditional Secular Music of the Harari: Its State in History and Present Day (PDF). International Council for Traditional Music.