ABSTRACT
In this section we will investigate the local and international social and political forces that have brought about the recent changes within the taarab music complex as existed in Zanzibar during the twentieth century. One might interpret these changes as the death of taarab – at least in its traditional organisation based within social clubs. However, once again we note a multifaceted genre operating on the one hand within the tourist market, capitalising on the genre's capacity to conjure up romantic images of a culture steeped in the history of the Indian Ocean, and on the other, we see a taarab continuing to develop with local relevance, serving its primarily female audience as a means of public expression and social criticism, continuing to use ‘gossip and song to undermine the status and reputation of the wayward’ (Fair 2012:184). In all arenas, for the musicians, we see taarab develop from the mid-1990s into a highly professional enterprise. While it can be argued that taarab has existed both as a social, non-professional genre with the larger orchestras and women's taarab being centred on social clubs, it should be recognised that Siti binti Saad and her group operated as professional musicians: she was recorded for commercial purposes and she was paid handsomely for her performances. Likewise, kidumbak emerged as innovative young musicians in Ng'ambo organised themselves into informal groups to be hired to play for weddings, many of these same musicians being employed also to play for women's groups. This professional activity can be seen as a parallel but entangled strand, alongside the clubs, in the development of taarab. However, it was not until the 1990s with the opportunities presented through the development of tourism, the style's entrance into the world music market and the emergence of a local music industry, that commerce (biashara) became the primary driver.
