Chiwoniso Maraire: Famous Zimbabwe Singer Dies At Age 37

Chiwoniso was the daughter of famous musician Dumisani Maraire

Chiwoniso's album Ancient Voices made her a star of the World Music scene in the 1990s.
She played the mbira, or thumb piano, which only men were traditionally supposed to play in Zimbabwe.

She died of suspected pneumonia, just a year after the death of her ex-husband, Andy Brown, also a prominent musician. The pair leave two children.

Continue after the cut to see another photos and listen to her music...

Chiwoniso was the daughter of renowned Zimbabwean mbira player Dumisani Maraire, who taught at the University of Zimbabwe.

The BBC's Brian Hungwe in the capital, Harare, says Zimbabweans are shocked at the news of her death.

She not only broke a taboo by playing the mbira, she also successfully fused the traditional sound with modern instruments.

She was born in the US in 1976, before moving back to Zimbabwe at the age of seven.

"She has been in hospital for the past 10 days suffering from chest pains," her manager, Cosmas Zamangwe, told Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper.

"We are however still to ascertain the disease she was suffering from but we suspect it is pneumonia."