To the beats of tradition

Musician and poet, Danyel Waro is known for his traditional music genre called Maloya which he sings in the Creole language. Waro is currently in Goa to perform at the 10th edition of the world music peace festival, Sur Jahan. In conversation with NT BUZZ, Waro opens up about his love for Maloya and more

ANNOUSHKA FERNANDES | NT BUZZ

Music is often linked to different traditions and cultures, and each country usually has its own type of traditional music which tells us their story.

And musician and poet, Danyel Waro who hails from the Reunion Island situated in the Indian Ocean and who will be performing at the ongoing Sur Jahan festival is known to be a proponent and singer of traditional Maloya music. The acoustic Maloya is also known as the blues of La Reunion Islands.

“Maloya was considered as music for the poor since it originated in Africa from the chants of the slaves there,” says Waro, who has always loved singing.

In fact, he recalls that he used to sing ‘Sega’ (another music genre) while working in his family’s fields. However, he never considered making it a profession. “My father specifically got a radio for us to listen to the news but we would listen to music. And later the television arrived and we discovered more music from different places,” states Waro adding that it was during this time that he discovered Maloya.

“When I heard Maloya I fell in love with its words and poetry,” says Waro. “When I discovered Maloya you could say I didn’t choose it, it chose me.”

However, there was a time in the Reunion Islands when music from other countries was looked down upon, especially Maloya, by the Communist Party due to religious and cultural discriminations. “There were religious discriminations that didn’t allow music from other people and the party thought music coming from other religions and cultures isn’t good. Since Maloya is played during the ancestral ceremony, the Africans played it to remember the dead, the Communist Party forbade the music,” says Waro.

In the 1970’s when Maloya music resurfaced again Waro began to fight in order to get this music recognised. “Creole is our language and we sing Maloya, Sega, and all sorts of music in Creole, but people don’t value it in Reunion Island. They speak Creole but they don’t appreciate it as French is given more importance,” he says. He adds that in order for the language to be real in the mind one must fight for it. “We must fight for our identity the way we fight for Maloya,” states Waro, who apart from singing also composes and writes his own Maloyan music and uses his poetry, ideology and philosophy to do so. “I like songs and poetry and so I wanted to write my own Maloya. I write my songs and I find melodies to sing that and I find ways to make it work,” he says. Waro adds that when he finds something beautiful he uses that as an inspiration to write something with the help of his emotions. He also uses his songs to write about identity. He however considers himself to be a mix of different communities. “I do not see myself as a member of a particular community or colour. I am a Malagasy, Mozambique, French, Chinese and Indian. “I call myself ‘batariste’ it’s a new word I coined by myself to depict my mixture and I feel my music is a mixture too,” he says.

Waro however admits that in his fight to get more recognition for Maloya music, he was criticised by his fellow contemporary musicians for playing the traditional music and urged that he move ahead with times and not backwards. But that changed when Waro was invited to play in different countries in Europe, Japan, France, etc.

Today Waro’s band includes Gilles Lauret, Mickael Tony, Bino Natanael and Philippe Conrath whom he considers as friends. “It is a pleasure to play with them as it’s not business and we know music is not about the money. We must be free when we play as music is not scientific. We want our music to be emotional, personal and be ourselves,” he states.

But Waro’s talents do not end with playing and composing of music. He is also skilled at crafting traditional musical instruments from the Reunion Island such as the kayanm, the bobre, and the rouler. He states that he learned to make these instruments around the same time he discovered Maloya. “I began to make the kayanm with sugarcane flowers, the stem of the plant, etc. I wasn’t taught to make it, I saw how it was done and learned to do it by myself,” he admits.

Waro adds that he does not find making traditional instruments a challenge as it is his passion. “I do not like to depend on the commercial system or another person I want to do as much of the work by myself,” he says.

And it is Waro’s mission to pass on his talent to the young by introducing them to traditional music.

“I invite children and introduce them to this music, I teach them not to be ashamed of it. I tell their parents that children should be taught Creole and be proud of the language,” says Waro. In fact, he teaches the young to also make traditional instruments, while also teaching them how music sets one free.