Menwar
Encyclopedia
Stéphano Honoré, better known as Menwar, is a Mauritian
percussionist
and singer. He was one of the pioneers of modern sega music
, forming the group Sagaï in the 1980s. Honoré is a player of the ravanne, for which he has begun to develop a written technique, something that has not been done previously.
Honoré was born in Cassis, Port-Louis. He did not attend school frequently, but attempted to play numerous sports and worked several jobs. He often listened to recordings of traditional Mauritian music, particularly sega (or séga) as a child. In 1977 he released two 45
rpm
records on the Madagascar
label Green Turtle and two more in 1978. Honoré was known as Lélou before his first cassette
, Souvenir le port, was released in 1980, credited as Menwar. Honoré went back to Mauritius in 1993, but still traveled to and from the island of Réunion
while producing and performing music. During the 1990s, he participated in a Marseille musical comedy entitled Mokko and was featured on another artist's album.
He was named Artist of the Year by French radio station Radio France Internationale
and stated that he "took the distinction as an honor for a Mauritian artist" .
Honoré holds strong views about the Mauritian Creole community and believes that the Catholic Church
is responsible for the issues that have occurred within it. His songs contain references to the problems that have affected this community. Despite these ideas he is not politically active, in contrast with the musicians of seggae
, a Mauritian musical genre which was very popular in the early 1990s.
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
percussionist
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
and singer. He was one of the pioneers of modern sega music
Sega music
Sega music or Séga is the major music of the Mascarene Islands: Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues as well as of the Seychelles. Sega is similar to the Réunionnais music genre maloya. Another form of dance similar to the sega is the Seychellois moutya. Sega music originated among the slave...
, forming the group Sagaï in the 1980s. Honoré is a player of the ravanne, for which he has begun to develop a written technique, something that has not been done previously.
Honoré was born in Cassis, Port-Louis. He did not attend school frequently, but attempted to play numerous sports and worked several jobs. He often listened to recordings of traditional Mauritian music, particularly sega (or séga) as a child. In 1977 he released two 45
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
records on the Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
label Green Turtle and two more in 1978. Honoré was known as Lélou before his first cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
, Souvenir le port, was released in 1980, credited as Menwar. Honoré went back to Mauritius in 1993, but still traveled to and from the island of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
while producing and performing music. During the 1990s, he participated in a Marseille musical comedy entitled Mokko and was featured on another artist's album.
He was named Artist of the Year by French radio station Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...
and stated that he "took the distinction as an honor for a Mauritian artist" .
Honoré holds strong views about the Mauritian Creole community and believes that the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
is responsible for the issues that have occurred within it. His songs contain references to the problems that have affected this community. Despite these ideas he is not politically active, in contrast with the musicians of seggae
Seggae
Seggae is a fusion genre of sega, the traditional music of the Mascarene Islands, and reggae. Seggae is one of the most popular music genres in Mauritius.-Origin:...
, a Mauritian musical genre which was very popular in the early 1990s.
Discography
- 1980: Souvenir le port
- 1982: Létan l'enfer
- 1984: Kiltir dé zi
- 2006: Ay ay lolo