Mamane Barka – the last Master of the Biram

bristol | media and culture | event notice Tuesday October 13, 2009 11:35 by Nick Thomas - The Pierian Centre info at pieriancentre dot com The Pierian Centre, 27 Portland Square, St Pauls, Bristol BS2 8SA 0117 924 4512

Mamane Barka of Niger is now the only known master of the Biram, the ancient stringed instrument of the Boudouma tribe. He and percussionist Oumarou Adamou bring this haunting West African music to the Pierian Centre in St Pauls on Sunday 18th October.

The Biram is a five-stringed instrument shaped like a huge boat, and sacred to the nomadic fishing Boudouma people on the shores of Lake Chad. The Biram is protected from the east by the spirit of the lake Kargila, and from the south, west and north by the spirits of the desert. Only initiates can play it – and after long rituals of purification Mamane Barka was taught the instrument and its traditions by the last surviving master, who has since died. The sounds of the Biram evoke the rippling waters and rustling reed beds of Lake Chad – and when combined with Oumarou’s percussion, the results are “a hypnotic triumph of last-ditch musicology” (Lucid Culture).

Mamane Barka was born into the desert Toubou people, becoming an applauded master of their indigenous lute, the gurumi. It was a UNESCO scholarship in 2002 that enabled him to travel across Niger to Lake Chad and apprentice himself to the last living biram virtuoso, Boukar Tar. Tar’s subsequent death means that Mamane is now maintaining the tradition single-handed, bringing the Biram to the attention of a wider world with his transcendent blend of desert blues. His album Introducing Mamane Barka was recorded last July with his life-long friend Oumarou on the douma (the spiritual drum), the kalangou and the calabash. It was released this April on the World Music Network – “potentially a highwater mark (pun intended) in world music recordings.” (Lucid Culture)

Their appearance at the Pierian Centre is a chance not just to hear the music, but also the story of Mamane Barka’s quest to rescue this sacred instrument from obscurity and extinction. They play at 7.30pm on Sunday 18th October. Tickets are £6 – booking essential on 0117 924 4512 or info@pieriancentre.com. The Pierian Centre is at 27 Portland Square, St Pauls, Bristol BS2 8SA.