Hawa Moore

Princess Hawa Daisy Moore, a sweet-voiced singer/song writer of royal lineage, was born and raised in the West African country of Liberia. At three months, Hawa was given to her father by her mother. Being the daughter of a traditional chief, Hawa's mother couldn't leave her region to go live with her husband’s family because she had to lead in her own village as "Queen Mother." As is the traditional custom, she gave custody to Hawa's father. He later married an American Liberian woman who raised Hawa as her own child. When Hawa was seventeen, she met her birth mother in her mother's town. In an elaborate ceremony with music and dance, Hawa was laden with symbols of royalty, and celebrated as the next "Queen Mother," the one who would later secede her mother.

Musical Upbringing
As a young child, Hawa was strongly influenced and encouraged by her father who, having grown up among missionaries, learned to play the grand piano, tenor saxophone, and guitar. In the 1950s, he was a member of the Greenwood Singers dance band which played American popular music, traditional Vai music, and popular Liberian music for Liberian diplomats at special government events. One of these popular Liberian songs, "Jebah Nafasah" (Come and Please Me) written by Sylvester Thomas (the late director of the military band), is still played today.

Hawa's father taught her and her siblings many songs, some of which Hawa still performs. At age eight, Hawa began creating compositions of her own, thinking up melodies with Vai words that usually referred to "everyday happenings." She taught these songs to her friends, who then taught them to other children. Eventually, they became part of the local children's repertoire.

Raised Between Two Cultures
Raised "between two cultures," among the people of her Vai father, and in the Western culture of her Americo Liberian stepmother, Hawa's musical knowledge reflects this varied cultural background. In rural Bopolu, Hawa witnessed many musical ceremonies in honor of her great uncle, Honorable Boinahcinnah (a Representative in the Liberian government and the son of the late King Bothswehn). Every morning, she awoke to people singing praise songs to him. While the Honorable Boinahcinnah was carried to work in a hammock, women and children sang and danced along the way, in a musical entourage in honor of his royal status.

While attending grade school in Bopolu, Hawa lead a forty member chorus composed of "native" girls. They sang traditional songs and some of Hawa's own compositions. The Christian and national radio and television stations recorded and played the group's music constantly. Hawa credits Mr. Sherman Brown (now with the Voice of America in Washington, D.C.) for helping her with her radio and television career.

Religious Christian music of various ethnic groups is also an important part of Hawa's musical background. Hawa's father often took his children to visit family and friends in rural areas so that they would learn about different ethnic groups in Liberia. Hawa attended "native" churches in these rural areas, learning Christian songs in the various languages.

Hawa also lived extensively in Liberia's capital city of Monrovia, and in nearby Cape Mount, where her father had family members in the traditional ruling class. In these urban areas, she was exposed to a mix of cultures and music, particularly Americo Liberian church music, and popular music from Africa and America.

As a young adult, Hawa began to make professional studio recordings of popular Liberian songs and her own compositions. She also performed at concerts and on television, and soon became a well-known artist in Liberia. In 1977, through contacts in the recording studio, Hawa was introduced to Miriam Makeba, a popular South African singer. Hawa then toured with Miriam Makeba throughout Africa as a back-up singer, and sometimes sang her own compositions, as well. Hawa has made three recordings in Liberia. Her last recorded composition, "Children of the World," was released just as Liberia's civil war erupted in 1989.

Leaving Liberia
Hawa fled Liberia with her five children during the early years of Liberia's civil war. Her husband, who had been working in the United States when the war broke out, sent money to bring his family to the United States. After being stranded in Liberia for over a year after the war had begun, she finally managed to escape. The journey was long and difficult. Using all the professional and family contacts she had, she and her family walked for six months from town to town, surviving threats to her and her children's lives, and relying on strangers for food and shelter. With the help of Catholic missionaries, she finally crossed the border to Côte d'Ivoire, where she was lucky to get visas for herself and her children. They arrived in New York in 1991 with nothing but overnight bags. In New York City, she found a large community of Liberians on Staten Island. When they discovered a popular singer from home had arrived, they asked her to perform at fund raising concerts to help the people left in the Liberian war zone. In 1993, her husband's work as an engineer took them to Philadelphia.

In Philadelphia, Hawa has begun to come in contact with other musicians from Africa, performing with them in a variety of groups. On this recording, Hawa is joined by one of these talented musicians. Die "Jess" Sah Bi from Côte d'Ivoire sings backup vocals, plays percussion and guitar, and plays the klon, a mouth bow from his Gouro ethnic group. Hawa also is teaching her children Liberian songs and dance. On this recording, three of her children, her son Jonathan Toomey, and her two daughters, Mariama and Hawa Mana Toomey, sing and play percussion (conga drums, the saa saa gourd shaker, and cow bell). Hawa continues to pass on her unique knowledge of Liberian music and culture to the larger American community, as well. She performs Liberian songs and dances at local community events and in her church, conducts workshops on African music for school age children and adults, and has performed in concerts featuring African musicians in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Philadelphia Folklore Project.