Mama Sana

 ( 20th-century Malagasy Women Singers ) 

Mama Sana (1900–1997) was a Antandroy singer and performer of traditional airs on the valiha tube zither, the national instrument of Madagascar. She was a charismatic performer and dressed in traditional clothing with coins braided into her hair. Sana gained national and international acclaim over the course of her career, distinguished by her innovative reinvention of the valiha performance technique and her fusion of traditional Tandroy and Sakalava people musical styles.

Mama Sana recorded several solo albums before her death in 1997. Her music was sampled by French electro-pop new age band Deep Forest for their third album, Comparsa.Anderson (2000), p. 525 After her death, Sana's house was converted to a museum and a cultural association was founded in her honor to promote traditional music of the Sakalava and Tandroy people.

The legendary Mama Sana
1992
Sanachie LC
12 (43'55")
Madagascar: Anthologie des voix. Enregistrements et texte: Victor Randrianary
1997
MCM/INEDIT
12 (43'55")
Madagascar Musique des Sakalava Menabe, Hommage à Mama Sana
2000
MCM/INEDIT
12 (43'55")

     

 

 
 
  

  See also
 
 

 
 

  

Music of Madagascar
  
 

 

 
 
  

  Notes
 
 

 
 
 
 

  

   
Ian Anderson (2025). 9781843535515, Rough Guides. . ISBN 9781843535515
  
 

 
 
 
 
Categories: 20th-century Malagasy Women Singers, 1900 Births, 1997 Deaths