JAWAP
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Mansoor Joseph in a red fez and white kurta, playing mandolin and singing

Cape Malay qasidas, thikr and Nederlandsliedjies, led by Mansoor Joseph

جَوَاب jawāb, an answer

Jawap is how the Cape says jawab, the Arabic for an answer. Old-school madrasah teachers called it out to get children reciting properly. Mansoor took the word to the stage.

When he sings, the room answers.

Mansoor Joseph in a pale blue suit, one hand on his red fez
A painting of a sailing ship crossing the Indian Ocean at dusk

These songs crossed an ocean. From Java and Makassar, from India and Ceylon, from Madagascar and Mozambique, people were brought to the Cape in chains or sent here in exile, and they came with the music of the Indian Ocean in their ears.

Mansoor with the Vos Street Bilals in white kurtas and kufiyas, in front of Arabic calligraphy
Mansoor with the Vos Street Bilals

Far from home, they sang. Qasidas and thikr carried their grief and their quiet defiance, and Islam gave the words their beauty. Over three centuries those melodies met Dutch folk song and the streets of Cape Town, and became a sound you only hear here.

JAWAP was founded by Mansoor Joseph to keep that sound alive, in the room, with people singing along.

Walk the street

Three hundred years, one house at a time.

1694

An exile arrives

The Dutch East India Company banishes Shaykh Yusuf of Makassar to the Cape. He is remembered as a founder of Islam here, and his kramat still stands at Macassar.

1790s

A first masjid

Tuan Guru, freed after years on Robben Island, founds the Auwal Masjid in Bo-Kaap. Thikr and qasidas have a home, and the community grows around it.

Generations

Dutch songs, Cape voices

Old Dutch melodies are taken up and reshaped with the ornament of the Cape Malay voice. The Nederlandsliedjies are born, and the Malay choirs that carry them.

Every wedding

Passed down by ear

Banjo, guitar and the ghoema drum. Songs learnt at nikahs, in the choir hall and at the family table, from one generation to the next.

Today

JAWAP

Mansoor Joseph and the band bring it to your celebration. The red fez on stage is worn with pride, a sign of Cape Malay identity that goes back generations.

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The sound of the Cape

  1. Mansoor smiling as he plays banjo

    Banjo

    The bright, ringing voice of the Malay choir band. It carries the tune when the singers take a breath.

  2. A drummer in a red fez plays the ghoema

    Ghoema

    A small barrel drum, played with the hands. Its beat gave Cape music its name and its swing.

  3. Mansoor on mandolin in a green choir waistcoat

    Mandolin

    Mansoor's instrument for the qasidas. Quick and delicate, and it sits right next to the voice.

  4. Mansoor on electric guitar

    Guitar and bass

    Keep time and fill out the chords under the voices, so the whole room can sing along.

Hear it in the room

“Mansoor delivered beyond our expectations. The JAWAP experience was filled with nostalgic tunes.”

Raghma Hartley

On the programme

Songs we carry

Have a song your family loves? Ask for it when you book.

A Cape Malay Identity Mansoor, solo on mandolin
Salaahtullah Mansoor, solo on mandolin
Mansoor on guitar at WOMAD South Africa, V&A Waterfront
Mansoor on mandolin in front of a Malay choir in green blazers
An evening audience on picnic blankets under the trees
Mansoor smiling on banjo beside the ghoema drummer
Two musicians in fezzes playing mandolins
Mansoor on stage at night with phone lights in the crowd
The five members of JAWAP in black shirts and red fezzes, the centre member holding a mandolin

The ensemble

Mansoor performs solo and with the JAWAP band. Five musicians, one stage, and a red fez each.

  • Mansoor JosephBand leader, vocals, banjo, guitar, mandolin. Performer, writer and composer.
  • Ali SamsodienMusic director. Banjo, guitar, backing vocals.
  • Shameer IsaacsDrums, backing vocals.
  • Abdu FlorisBass, backing vocals.
  • Junaid IsaacsPercussion, vocals.

Mansoor has played WOMAD South Africa at the V&A Waterfront, Suidoosterfees at Artscape, KKNK in Oudtshoorn, the Seychelles International Carnival and the Durban Rugby Festival.

Bring JAWAP to your celebration

Weddings and nikahs, community evenings, festivals, corporate events and tours. Tell us a little about yours and Mansoor will come back to you with availability and a quote.

Rather email? info@jawap.co.za

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