Asian Music Circuit is proud to debut to the UK the Black Sufis of Gujarat. The Black Sidis from Gujarat are a community of East African origin who came to India seven centuries ago and made Gujarat their home. The carried with them their exceptionally rich musical tradition and kept it alive and flourishing through the generations, unknown to the rest of the world. This programme features rarely heard devotional and ritual music from Indian for the first time in Europe.

Once traditional occupation of African-Indian Sufis in Gujarat has been to perform sacred music and dance as wandering faqirs, singing songs to their black Sufi saint, Bava Gor (Sidi Mobarak Nobi). While these same genres are also performed during rituals in their shrines to Bava Gor, Sidi men and women have accepted alms for touring these devotional genres from villages to shrines for centuries. Their native African music styles, melodic and rhythmic structures, lyrics and musical instruments have mingled with local influences to form this final symbolic representation of African-Indian ness.

The programme will present parts of ritual performance, centring around a danced zikr (prayer), mainly consisting of joyful, satirical praise dances to their Saint, who is attributed with giving them the joy they express in their dances. Intoxicating drum patterns that "speak" their zikr prayers in rhythm support the dancers who perform virtuosic feats of agility and strength, gradually reaching an ecstatic climax. While the music gradually gets more rapid and excited, the dances unfold with constantly evolving individual and small-group acts (mostly animal imitations, climaxing in a coconut-breaking feat), which is set to captivate the audience. The programme will also feature solos on drums and the malunga, an instrument resembling the African musical blow, as well as prayer calls and ritual songs (baithi, khari dhamal and Qawwali).

Tour Schedule

Friday 27th September
7.30pm
Theatre Mwldan, Bath House Road
Cardigan
Dyfed
SA43 1JY
Tel: 01239 621 200

Saturday 28th September
8.00pm
Arts Centre, Penglais,
Aberystwyth
Dyfed
SY23 3DE
Tel: 01970 623 232

Sunday 29th September
6.00pm
Phoenix Arts Centre, 21 Upper Brown Street
Leicester
Leicestershire
LE1 5TE
Tel: 0116 255 4854

Wednesday 2nd October
7.30pm
Michael Tippet Centre, Bath Spa University College
Newton St Loe
Bath
BA2 9BG
Tel: 01225 463 362

Thursday 3rd October
7.30pm
National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret's Church
Walmgate
York
Y01 9TL
Tel: 01904 658 338

Saturday 5th October
7.30pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London
SE1 8XT
Tel: 020 7960 4242

Sunday 6th October
7.30pm
The Playhouse
Oxford
Tel: 01865 305 305