The name Mawaca is inspired by the singer-shamans (mawaka) of the Hausa ethnic group from northern Nigeria, who resorts to the magical power of the sung word to attract the power of the spirits. The group researches and recreates music of diverse ethnicities around the globe seeking connections with Brazilian music. They are seven female singers, interpreting songs in more than ten languages: Brazilian indigenous languages, Spanish, Bulgarian, Finnish, Japanese, Hungarian, Swahili, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Yoruba and Portuguese. Their music features a variety of instruments: accordion, violoncello, flute, violin and soprano sax, bass, in addition to percussion instruments like the Indian tablas, Arab derbak, African djembés, berimbau, vibraphone, marimba and pandeirões of Maranhão. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.