Help to rebuild and strengthen a Malagasy tradition
A project instigated by Hanitrarivo Rasoanaivo, leader of the Malagasy group Tarika
Whilst working in Madagascar recording our last album, I was saddened and appalled by the way a lot of Malagasy youth now spend their time when they are not in school or working. Every little street corner has private video viewings which show mostly pornographic or violent crime videos which are too popular amongst youngsters. This incidentally has resulted in completely ruining the cinema business in town and so there is not a single cinema open in Antananarivo any more.
There is no way I can undo the violence which is thriving in Madagascar, partly as a result of this, but an idea sprang into my mind while I was watching yet another trailer for a violent film on the TV. Now I am trying to help make it possible for children aged from 8 to 15 to be taught the most famous traditional musical instrument of Madagascar, the Valiha, a bamboo zither with historical roots right back to Indonesia. Not only does this teach them a useful skill and give an enjoyable leisure activity, it also revives a pride in Malagasy culture to help combat the many unsuitable imported influences.
Lessons are free of charge, and the aim is that pupils are given a valiha each on which to practice at home and create their own music. There are eventually competitions and prizes are also given. The example of Tarika as a famous group touring around the world hopefully encourages further concentration since a lot of school leavers and artists do not even know what are they going to do next.
Initially, the members of Tarika have launched the project in villages around the capital, teaching nearly 60 children in the first year and over 80 in the second. We have involved important people in the community to secure the free use of premises where lessons can be held, and to publicise the scheme in local schools, shops and even video places! As the project develops, it should be able to move beyond the capital: it has already been enthusiastically recorded by the BBC World Service, and several performing ensembles have been formed from among the students. The concentration on community involvement is an important element of the scheme, helping to bring local people and generations together again.
We welcome donations to help us buy valiha, employ young valiha teachers, prepare publicity, leaflets, prizes and make things go smoothly. Every £1, $1, 1FF or 1000fmg makes a difference! If you would like to contribute, please print out the form and send it along with your donation to Hanitrarivo Rasoanaivo, c/o F.M.S., PO Box 337, London N4 1TW, UK. Please make any cheques/IMOs payable to "Valiha High".
In the second year, we raised a further £2048 to continue the scheme and have expanded in the to teach more than 80 new children in 4 new villages of Morarano (3 times), Mandriseza, Androndra (twice) and Ambatoroka . Andrianiaina Rasandimanana continued to be our local organiser, and Rakotozafy Jules is now our dedicated and permanent teacher.
We can still only afford to run the scheme in one village at a time, but have also been able to give follow-up lessons to earlier pupils from the first villages in which we ran the scheme. Some of the better students have now formed their own groups, one of five girls and another of five boys, who we really look forward to seeing perform in the future. We have had a number of really good end-of-term party/concerts in which the standard of performance by individuals and groups has been surprisingly good for the short time in which the musicians have been studying the instrument. It obviously makes a really big difference that they get given their own valiha to take home and practise with in their own time.
In March 1998 the BBC World Service Outlook programme came to see the work of the children, interviewed them and recorded one of the end of term concerts. They were really impressed by the dedication of the children in spite of the situation they are in. There were 15 specially invited VIP guests and 50 children taking part. As usual, prizes were given to the best players including cassettes of the late legendary marovany player Rakotozafy (and by coincidence, in one of the villages we discovered a valiha maker, Rason, who produces small metal instruments much like a baby version of Rakotozafy's famous giant creation). On our organiser's last report he said that during this party, with the BBC recording 50 children, it really brought home to him how Valiha High was succeeding in its aim to reinstate the value of the tradition and the instrument among young Malagasy people.
Another surprise this August was that whereas we would usually expect to see a drop in pupils during the holiday season, this year we gained a whole party more from Antsirabe (4 hours to the south of Tana) who had come to the capital on holiday and were really keen to participate in Valiha High. So no rest for the organiser and teacher!
By the way, another welcome development in the footsteps of Valiha High is that a regular valiha school called Top Valiha has now started in a permanent location in Tana for pupils of all ages who can afford to pay. We hope that at a later date that we will all be able to work together and perhaps organise some joint events to demonstrate the strength of this growing revival. Also, since there has been a small "café boom" in Tana because of increasing tourism, there are now some jobs available for traditional musicians in these places.
Of course, there is bound to be a little sad news. Because the valiha is such a fragile instrument, some of the earliest young pupils have found that they now really need replacements because they have played them so much, but they can't afford to buy and we can't afford to keep giving instruments to the same people. It's a problem which we haven't yet resolved, but it gives some heartache!
As I mentioned in my first year's report, we are still blessed by the spirit of the ancestors, for all the church halls which we have been allowed to use to teach this sacred instrument came free of charge! Again, huge thanks must go to those who were so kind as to permit their use. I am also pleased to tell you that Mr. Randrianarivo, the best valiha maker in Madagascar who is now very old, is still the sole provider of our valiha. Thus, the instruments we give to all our pupils are of the best quality that our funds can buy, although the price has risen to 40,000 Malagasy Francs. This may only be £5 ($8), but in Madagascar it would feed a whole family for 4 days.
For anybody actually travelling to Madagascar, Valiha High would always welcome you to come and see our classes in action. If you'd like to do that, please let me know ahead of time so that I can put you in touch with our local organisers to locate where the scheme is operating at the time you are visiting. Email me at raitra@aol.com