Djama

DJAMA (jah-ma) is the paternal family name of Aya Clappis, a multidisciplinary afro-indigenous artist of somali and nuu-chah-nulth (huu-ay aht/huuʕiiʔaḥt) ancestry who began exploring their love for musical expression in the summer of 2022. since, they have become a member of the emergent underground and sonic events collective–  Resonance (@resonance.vic). playing predominantly across the island and mainland, they hope to carve out space for underplayed sounds for crowds that crave new experiences on the dancefloor. as a DJ undefined by genre, their goal is to bring drum-focused, energetic and diasporic music into every space they play. intertwining their abundance of cultural influences, bops, and elements of surprise is their signature.

Aya’s specific ancient familial ties to huuʕiiʔaḥt peoples, lies within the Clappis (anglicized, ƛapisim) and Williams families. They belong to the house of kukʷiis, and the head of their family is, c̓i č̓ha čhis tuuł (Andy Clappis). Their Somali ties are to the Puntland region of Somalia (Galkayo, Burtinle, Bacadewyn). Their clan ties are to the peoples of Darood, Kablalax, Majerteen, Mohamud Saleban, Omar Mahmud, and Xersi.

DJAMA is a community made artist whose work in language revitalization, Indigenous food sovereignty, film, visual art, and music is driven by an undying love for their peoples both here and displaced across the world.