Music Therapy: A Conversation with Musician Mua’wiya Musa

Voices of Darfur talked with Mr. Mua’wiya Musa, a noted El Fasher musician, about the music he creates, about the influence of music on peace and about this art form in Darfur.

By Ala Mayyahi
 

Born in 1975 in El Fasher, North Darfur, Mr. Mua’wiya Musa is a Darfuri musician. Although his academic studies were not in music—they focused instead on Arabic calligraphy—his passion for music won out over his other interests, and occupy a significant amount of his spare time.

Mr. Musa’s love for music did not stop him from completing his education. He finished high school in El Fasher, then studied in the Social Development Institute in the College of Fine Arts at the University of El Fasher. Today, while he works in a field in which he earned his degree, he dedicates time each day to composing and playing music.

In this conflict-torn region of the world, Mr. Musa says, music plays a critical role as a survival tool that can help people cope with life’s hardships.  In this sense, this El Fasher musician considers the music here to be a kind of ad hoc therapy, useful for helping struggling Darfuris not merely endure, but also look to a future filled with peace, and prevail in the end against the forces of conflict.

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On 21 July 2013 in El Fasher, North Darfur, Mr. Mua’wiya Musa is pictured in the sound studio at his home. Mr. Musa is a composer who supports his work with a day job in graphic design, a field in which he received a university degree. Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID.