| Born 25 Dec 1964 in the village
of Shikapwasha,
Zambia, she was named Ndalama
by her mother,
Yeni Fulaulo, and father, Marko Kopekope. She would grow to be
initiated
into the Lenje
tribe, raised by her aunt who lived a modern life in the city of
Lusaka.
Zambia
itself had been born as an independent nation only months before, after
an unarmed revolution, the
Cha-cha-cha,
convinced
England to give up the colony of Northern Rhodesia.
Her ten siblings called her Edesi. Her colonial-style education ended after grade 3 for want of books, fees, uniform & shoes, but her traditional education continued. She has always loved to dance. As a youngster she was caught hiding in a drum so she could watch the adult ceremony and celebration. She was spared from punishment by a grandfather who declared “Let her dance! Someone must remember our traditions!” By age nine she had won a televised dance contest and was studying the traditional song and dance of Zambia’s 73 tribes with the National Dance Troupe. She would grow up in the role of cultural ambassador, traveling the world with President Kenneth Kaunda and performing for heads of state in foreign capitals. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles have watched her dance, as have audiences in Red Square, Moscow; Pyongyang, Korea; and Tripoli, Libya at international cultural festivals. Her passport bears the name Marjorie Funka (from the uncle who accompanied her in securing documents), as well as the wrong height and birth date. It also bears stamps from countries across Africa, Europe and Asia. And now a permanent resident visa for the USA. This worldly woman is fluent in a dozen languages and definitely knows her way around the block. |
Majo worked at the University of Zambia
with ethnomusicologist Mapopa Mtonga teaching the UNZA Dance Troupe.
She
also spent two years at London’s Africa
Center, leading workshops on African dance and children’s songs and
games. She still frequently teaches workshops, often working with Lora
Chiora of Zimbabwe and Mohammed Shaibu of Ghana.
In Zambia, she fronted the popular performance ensemble, Amayenge. After participating in WOMAD, the World of Music, Arts and Dance festival, this group bridged Zambian traditions with modern instruments to explore entertainment. The group was led by her boyfriend, guitarist Darius Mwelwa, who left a cultural legacy when he died young. Majo worked in London with the Zambian group Julesia and later in the USA with the pan-African group Shakata. It was with the latter group that she developed her signature Pot Dance, depicting the gathering of water. Audiences thrill to her shaking with the heavy clay pot balanced on her head. Today, under the stage name, Moye Kashimbi, she sings lead vocals on her own compositions with Maya Soleil. The seven member Afro-fusion jazz group frequently spins off smaller ensembles, many of which concentrate on more traditional material. Majori has been employed caring for children since shortly after arriving in the USA in 1991. She plans to get her degree in early childhood education and continue along this career path. |
Contact us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Return home.