Firmin Viry

Biography

Firmin Viry is one of the great torchbearers of Réunion maloya, the song of resistance and memory born on the slave plantations of Bourbon. Born in the early decades of the 20th century in the Hauts (uplands) of Réunion, he grew up in a world where maloya was still played in secret or on the fringes, long sidelined by colonial authorities who saw it as a risk of social unrest.

As a musician, singer and teacher, Firmin Viry kept alive the songs, rhythms and craft of making maloya's traditional instruments, the roulèr (barrel drum), kayamb (flat rattle) and pikèr (bamboo percussion), at a time when this music was in danger of disappearing. His role in the chain of transmission is confirmed by Danyèl Waro himself, who cites Firmin Viry as one of the major figures who introduced him to maloya. This direct line between the old guardians of musical memory and the generation that would take maloya onto the international stage is one of the essential links behind the music's inscription in 2009 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Contribution

Guardian and teacher of Réunion maloya at a time when this music was marginalised; Danyèl Waro's mentor; an essential figure in the chain of transmission between the elders and the revival generation.

Legacy

His role in passing maloya directly on to Danyèl Waro and other artists is an essential link in the history of maloya, inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.