EL BARAMKA

"In the small town of El-Matariyya on the shores of Lake Manzalla live the Baramka, where they are famous for enlivening the nights and the festivities of the people of the town with their varied songs and their very unusual rhythms.

The name Baramka goes back in Islamic history to the family of that name that, coming originally from Iran, that rose to prominence under the ‘Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad because of their role in government and the caliphs’ dependence on them for the organization and administration of the empire. These Baramka were famed for their generosity and patronage of song, music, poetry and other arts. The fall of the Baramka came about in the reign of Harun al-Rashid, when the caliph ordered the execution of Jaafar al-Barmaki, followed by an assault on the rest of the family, most of whom fled Baghdad and the caliph’s brutality.

Today, the word barmaki has a number of meanings. In Upper Egypt, it means an itinerant singer, or someone of obscure family. In Sudan, the same name means noble, and of sterling qualities. This difference may go back to the fact that, along with the family described above as famous for their generosity and patronage of the arts, and especially music and singing, there were many individuals who specialized in praising the latter, and who became known as the “freedmen” (i.e., the followers) of the Baramka. With the passing of time, these became known simply as Baramka. I believe that this served to increase greatly the number of those called Baramka, most of whom are involved in music and once lived by praising the original Baramka and seeking their largesse.

However this may be, no-one knows to which group the Baramka of Matariyya belong. What is important is that they may be the only case in Egypt of a group of popular musicians who are also a family, since all of them belong to a single male line and trace themselves back to a single ancestor, strangers being forbidden to join them in learning or singing their songs.

The songs of the Baramka are of a number of kinds. Some have clear, or even totally, religious themes, while others are songs of love and passion or fishermen’s songs (most of the Baramka work as fishermen on Lake Manzalla) or have a rural character. Their music relies on percussion instruments, of which they use a variety, among them the goblet drum (tabla), the bass drum (duhulla),clapping and the small tambourine with jingles (riqq)."

(This biography has been prepared by El Mastaba. For more information contact them at 010 3171 762 or write to info@elmastaba.org )