Bongo Stars...

I feel strangely compelled to make poorly informed comparisons of and generalizations about popular culture. I can’t help it, I’m admit I derived a strange pleasure from watching Bongo Star Search, the Tanzanian equivalent of American Idol, minus a goodly portion of the slick Hollywood production. It even has a Randy Jackson look-alike, complete with the wire-rim glasses. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t watch much TV, but I admit I enjoy the first week or so of each season of American Idol, simply because the performances are so bad that they’re incredibly entertaining. Everyone remembers William Hong’s “She Bangs,” right? I’m happy to report that the story is no different in the tryouts stage of Bongo Star Search, which is a recognizable copycat of American Idol, complete with behind-the-scenes female equivalent of Ryan Seacrest, but with a number of other features that render it uniquely Tanzanian.



First, dancing skill – of both the Britney Spears/Janet Jackson variety and traditional Maasai herdsman style – seems to be much more highly valued on Bongo Star Search than on American Idol. Tanzanians are incredibly good dancers and have an amazing ability to dance and sing simultaneously, which makes the dancing a real talent show, regardless of the style. Second, while many of the contestants are in Western dress (jeans, T-shirts, etc), the round I was just watching featured a guy in traditional Maasai dress (like Yona our guard is wearing in my blog). Maybe he will be the next Bongo Star.

The language difference might make it even more entertaining. First, fully half the tryout songs are in Swahili, and reflect a healthy range of hip-hoppish bongo flava style, romantic ballads, and traditional tribal songs. Most Tanzanians, especially in Dar, speak some English because it is taught in schools, but sung English seems to render some words indiscernible to a ear attuned to Swahili, which means that sometimes it takes me a few bars to realize the song actually has English lyrics! To my utter delight, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston are particular favorites.

I rarely had the opportunity to watch television while I was in Mtwara, as we don’t have a TV at home in Dar, and while I had one in my hostel room for the last week, most places in Mtwara have only one satellite or cable feed for the whole complex, meaning that I watched in my room what everyone else watched in theirs, or at least what the guy at the reception desk wanted to watch. Which, in an evangelical Lutheran hostel, means that 80% of the last week I have been exclusively watching Swahili gospel TV on the Agape Television Network. It also means that several times I have been happily enjoying a program, only to have the channel change midstream. Argh.