By LouiseFenner
WASHINGTON
Audiences usually do not dance during concerts at Washington’s Kennedy Centre, but by the time Ounongo Pamwe – an ensemble of some of Namibia’s finest musicians – played its final number, about 100 people, joyfully swaying to the music, filled the space in front of the stage.
“It was a beautiful crowd,” said ensemble member, Jackson Kaujeua, following the October 6 concert. “I just didn’t know what to expect. It was amazing.”
A standing-room crowd of about 400 heard the group perform on the Kennedy Centre’s Millennium Stage. Perhaps a third of those in the audience were Namibians, many in traditional dress, and some had travelled from New York, Boston and elsewhere for the event.
The musicians were on the first leg of a 10-day State Department-sponsored visit to Washington, Baltimore and New York City. They were in the United States to promote Namibian traditional music and learn how American institutions preserve traditional music and foster new talent. They also wanted to meet American artists and musicians, particularly those involved in the fight against AIDS.
Kaujeua and Papa (Ndasuunje) Shikongeni are the band’s coordinators. The other musicians are Tunakie (Maria Uushona), Set-son Wahengo, Axue (Sebulon Gomachab) – all Namibians – and Manda Saize, a Zimbabwean. They sing in several Namibian languages including Otjiherero, Damara/Nama and Oshiwambo.
“It’s what I call the melting pot of cultures,” Kaujeua said of the various regions, cultures and musical forms represented by the band, which came together specifically for this tour. “It’s like a pot you put on the fire; it’s up to us to add different spices to the meat … We are not from the same band, but we came together backing each other, and it’s just beautiful.”
Namibian Ambassador Patrick Nandago, who hosted a luncheon at the embassy for the band, told the concert audience the musicians “show our culture in all its diversities”.???_?_’???_?’???_???