Beni
(from English 'band') is a popular wedding entertainment with a strong
focus on rhythm & dance, and audience participation. Beni borrows choruses
from the latest taarab hits and arranges them in extended medleys with the
female wedding audience joining in for the chorus and as dancers. In
Zanzibar Beni is performed both as a street parade and stationary for a
wedding dance. Beni originated around the turn of the century as a mockery
of colonial style military bands. It was soon incorporated in the
competitive song and dance exchanges so popular on the Swahili Coast and
spread from here all over East Africa.