Taos Amrouche (Ṭaweṣ A'meroush); the Goddess of Kabyle Song.
(4 March 1913 - 2 April 1976)
Her first album (1966) Chants berbères de Kabylie was a powerful collection of traditional songs that ignited the (Berber music) revolution.
The Mazigh word for music is "muziget",
as in "muziget Tmazight" ('Berber music'). The etymology of muziget is
still debated, but its derivation from 'music' is possible as well as questionable,
since we have other Berber terms that appear to be related to muziget,
like the Tuareg musical one-stringed instrument imzad,
and mouzgo (an occasion of fun which can be translated
to English as 'masque' and/or 'amusement'); all of which are related to one form
of expression in which song, dance and laughter played an important role in ancient
entertainment. Berber folklore is full of masquerading characters chanting obscure
and masked lore. This brings us to the amusement world of the Muses, and their mosaic work
(see below). The word 'music' is widely believed to have come from Greek mousikê,
in turn from Greek Mousai, the Muses,
the goddesses of poetry, music, laughter, song and dance. Etymologists also
derive the word "Amazon" - the ancient
Amazigh & Greek women worriers and priestesses of the Goddess,
from the same source: Muses. And since the Amazons were debatably said to have
come from Libya a number of Berberists easily lent themselves to link Amazon
with Amazigh. The word music was also identified with 'magic', which would indicate
both the evocative power of music and its divinatory nature - the true and natural
spiritual medium of expression and rite. Some music is truly pure magic.
Did Women Invent Music?
There is strong evidence to suggest that music was invented by women. As we
saw above, the most compelling evidence comes from Greek mythology, in which
women (the muses) were made the goddesses of music and song. Going back
much farther in time, to the Ancient Egyptians period, one also discovers that
music was employed by priestesses in temples and places of worship, as a powerful
medium to connect with the spiritual aspect of human existence. Berber music
is essentially social, joyful and spiritually sacred. The sistrum of
Isis wards off the unwanted apparitions of the dead, in the same way
the
Imazighen of today jingle metal jewellery and tin cans to ward off the
jinn of the night, and in the same way the Zulu pound the ground and beat the
drum to terrify the denizens of the underworld.
As Herodotus informs us, the art of ululation ('aslilu') is
a Libyan art perfected by women, and to this day still is performed only by women
in wedding jubilations and celebrations. The Tuareg musical one-stringed instrument imzad was
played only by women, since time immemorial, with the only element allowed to
join in being the voice of a male soloist. Young girls eagerly learn to perfect
the prehistoric skill from their mothers, when an imzad project was
created recently to teach young Tuareg girls the art of playing the Imzad, and
to promote Tuareg oral lore via the
"Imzad Hearers" in the Aïr
region.
[For more information, please visit "Save
the Imzad" website (http://imzadanzad.com).]
Rite or sacred music as performed by women in temples, and also probably in
caves as can be deduced from local rock art, could explain why singing was, until
recently, considered the domain of Tamazight women and girls
among the matriarchal Imazighen of North Africa. The only true Tamazight
matriarchal society left today is the Tamasheght society; but even them sadly
have been recently forced to perform a number of patriarchal con-sessions.
Hence it should not surprise us that old-fashioned (or traditional) men
in general had entertained the idea that music
and singing are effeminate arts exclusively belonging to women, as their matriarchal
origins and sacred functions came to be disremembered, but never forgotten. The
fathers and the grandfathers looked with dismay as their sons and grandchildren
took the unmanly art, in a society where old traditions still dictate the norms
of behaviour. Having said this, things have moved on, very fast, and the rise
of the Tamazight cultural revolution during the second half of the 20th
century, coinciding with Europe's 60s, saw a number of Berber men artists taking
the guitar and starting what now seems to be an explosion of MazighMusic.
On The Etymology & Origin of The Guitar:
The word "guitar" was said to have come from Spanish guitarra,
originally from the Moorish qitara, which is identifiable with Indian jantra (sitar),
Greek kithara,
Latin cithara. Whereas the first sound of the name changes variably
from one language to another, the root ending -tar is
constant regardless of language. The root TAR means
'string' in various languages, like African, Semitic, Persian and Indian languages,
as in Berber weter, Arabic water or
Persian tar, and possibly also English cord and thread,
where 'chord' was derived by etymologists from Latin chorda: ('string
of a musical instrument''). Children
in Africa still make guitar-like musical instruments using metal cans or wooden
boxes (for the body) and chords tied tightly across for stings; and therefore
the obvious etymology for the word "guitar" is: "a
stringed-instrument".
Many of the sciences and inventions introduced from North Africa to Europe
via Spain were labeled as "Arabic", "Islamic" or "Moorish" indiscriminately,
whereas history was specific about the meaning of "Moorish", from Moor,
the Berbers of North Africa, as in ancient Latin Maurus (the 'Berber
inhabitant of Mauritania') [long before the arrival of Arabs in North Africa];
and hence 'morris dance' was rightly said to mean
'Moorish dance' (the 'Berber dance'), via Old French morois ('Moor'). Check
the Berber Keska dance here. It follows then that " Moors"
is more accurate term to use, since it refers to the 'Berbers', the
original invaders of Spain. It is an undisputed fact that 100% of the army that
invaded Spain was Berber and
was commanded by the Berber general Tariq Ben Zayyad (whence Gibraltar). Most
of the scientists who were involved in the cultural revival in Spain at the time
of the Andulusian "period" were
of Amazigh origin from ancient Mauritania and Morocco.
The arrival of the guitar in Europe coincided with the Moorish invasion of Spain,
where two guitar-like instruments began to appear in medieval Europe, namely:
the Moorish Guitar (guitarra moresca) and the Latin
Guitar (guitarra latina); indicating that the Latin
guitar may have been in use before the arrival of the Moorish guitar in spain,
and that it could have been introduced to Europe from Libya via the Greeks or
the Romans (see the mosaic guitar below).
The origin of the guitar is not known. The ancient Mazighimzad, and other similar one-stringed instruments, could provide an evolutionary origin for multi-stringed instruments, like the modern violin and guitar. Having strings and of similar shape (body & neck), the guitar's origin must be related to the same evolution of stringed-instruments.
The above mosaic image comes from Qasr
Libya Museum ('Castle
of Libya'), in Eastern Libya (Cyrenaica), and dates to before the Arabs arrived
in North Africa.
It was stated that the Castle's history goes back to, at least, the 4th century.
It clearly shows a musical instrument very much like the present guitar, and
therefore a proof that the instrument was in use in North Africa by the Berbers
long before the Arabs arrived in Libya in the 7th century AD.
Following the museum link (above) leads to a bigger image in which it becomes
clear that the one-stringed instrument had by then evolved to have two strings.
Also note the right hand of the player comes from below the guitar, and not
from above as it is played today, which explains the small body the ancient guitar
had, clearly resting on the arm. This body then evolved to become much bigger
(to produce better sound), and as a result it is now played with the hand
from above the body, with the elbow resting on the body. The dog, to say the
least, is bemused by the music of his master. The liquid of music is
left to cool in a clay jar.
It is interesting to note that the word "mosaic" comes from
Latin musaicum ('mosaic work'), in reference to the
sacred and inspirational work of the matriarchal Muses; as it is also interesting
to add that the medieval mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses, and thus
the Greek word for "mosaic work" mouseion shows
the /-n/ of [the Libyan] "Amazon", rather than the /-k/ of Latin musaicum.
This means that 'music', 'mazigh', 'muses', 'amazon', 'mosaic', 'mooriske',
'masque', 'mouzgo', and 'amuse' are all amazingly
related, one way or another, to the Ancient Mediterranean Basin, and also
to one form of expression: sacred art and ritual dance. The ancient Mediterranean art. The old days of civilisation!
The Senegalese musician Nuru Kane playing the three-stringed
Moroccan bass guimbri, with the band Bayefall Gnawa. The instrument
is also called guembri, gimbri or ginbri,
and consists of three goat-skin strings, wooden body covered with camel skin
(with a small hole), and a stick for a neck. The shape of the guitar can be compared
to the following European version of the 17th century:
The three-stringed guitar, at some time in history, doubled its strings to
produce the common six-stringed guitar.
Berber Music:
The very-long suffering endured by the peaceful Imazighen of North
Africa, either due to the continuous onslaught of "exemplary political leadership" or
as a result of the "hardship of life" under the bare minimum, is a
vital component of Berber song; rich in "emotional sonority",
folklore, ancient traditions, comedy, rhythmic patterns, jubilant ululations,
and the hard pounding drums calling the ancestors from the dead; composed together
to produce a new type of entertainment that not only carries the heritage forward
but also entertains the soul and makes the mind momentarily happy.
Politically speaking,
the Imazighen until recently were denied the use of their language in most forms
of culture and expression. But traditionally, they kept their music
alive and very well for thousands of years, as it is a fundamental pillar of
Berber life, religious ceremonies and festivities, like marriage ceremonies,
seasonal festivals, agricultural calendars, and even during mourning and death;
where the ancient mourning ceremony described by Herodotus still invokes fear
in the hearts of many men, who attempted, in vain, to suppress this ancient and
unique practice; in which the earth trembles beneath the pounding feet of distressed
women, screaming with shrieking cries to compensate the loss of beloved ones
in complete trance. This ceremony is very difficult to put in words, and one
needs to see & hear it in order to realise its full magnitude. It certainly
did caught the attention of Herodotus.
In addition to being sacred, entertaining and traditionally informative,
Berber music is an emotional drama, infused with political forces to convey
the current state, where in a number of
occasions masquerades the surrounding "triviality" and "sufferings" so much
becoming "intricate
order" and "justice"; particularly the
powerfully hypnotic song of the Tuareg, extending one's
sorrows to the distant horizon of
"Mother Sahara", where reality and mirage perform in unison - the obfuscating
twilight zone of people without identity, but 'soul'.
Where no other forms of
expression were encouraged to flourish, passionate Berber poetry and music provided
the mortal soul with compassion and companionship. Music is something you hear
through your ears but the mind signals to all the organs and the senses powerful
emotional messages that heal throughout the body and the mind, that made music
where it is today: nearly in every household on the planet.
Berber’s shining star: Hamid Chereit, known worldwide as Idir:
“At a time when many epidemics were raging, new-born babies were called Idir
to ward off bad luck; I chose it as a tribute to my culture.”
I remember the 70s in Libya when we had only music tapes and records of Ṭaweṣ
A'meroush, Idir and Imazighen Imula as a source of information about
the Imazighen of Algeria and Morocco. Idir's vivid vocal imagery, evoked from
Berber mythology, made his album A Vava Inou Va (1976) a great hit in
Libya, and still stands alone among other forms of Berber song, far more complex
than the triviality popularised by common pop culture. While Ferhat's revolutionary
power had inspired many Berberists to take a more active role in the new revolution
then sweeping North Africa - the peaceful revolution.
Where the press and other media were suppressed, music conveyed the word with
ease across the borders of segmented North Africa. Hence It was illegal
to possess Tamazight music at the time in Libya, and so listening to forbidden
Berber music underground added the benefit of another dimensional excitement.
[The Imazighen group of Morocco and UK's Pink Floyd
were also popular in 70s Libya.]
Genetic music at www.geneticmusicproject.com - biologist, musicians and software designers have created a program that gives musical voice to DNA. The site links to various sites from which raw genetic data can be downloaded as the basis for further jamming.
http://www.azawan.com/ - the site’s ambition is to make you discover the rich marvels of Tamazight music. Lists Berber musicians by category: Tuareg, Kabyle, Rifi, etc. Created on 19/03/2000. A must see for those interested in Tamazight music.
Dania (Itrinny: Itri'nny, Emghnasn),
Zuwarah. Listen to Dania speaking in an interview for (http://www.tafsuit.com/).
Lead vocal: Dania; melody by: Dania & Tarek; back vocal: Arwa, Ania,
Rana, Ritaj, Tarek Amran, Aksel & Elyas; produced and arranged by Andrey
Andreyevic, Andrey Art Studio, 2011.
Kessas: Berber music group, members: Ramzi NL
Ghali, Bendeq Bendeq and
Aalin Amansouri. See Ossan (below).
Ossan: Berber music group from Zuwara, members: Ramzi NL
Ghali, Read Almansouri, Aalin Amansouri, and Ausman Ben khalifa. Ossan playing
in Benghazi's First Libyan Tamazight Song Festival : http://youtu.be/itv4fLRMKKg
Dania: neshneen d imazighen yadjitnegh d Libya.
Ghasro (Nalut).
Algerian Berber Musicians & Music Groups:
Meksa, Anz'ar ('Rain').
Meksa was a Berber activist and a singer who dominated early
70s Algeria with his unique music, rich in mythology and folklore, as
in the above rain ceremony. The artist died on the 31st of October 1988,
at the age of 34. No doubt, still remembered as one of the heroes of the Berber
Cultural Revolution in Algeria.
Amrouche, Taos.
Amrouche Chaoui
Amadiaz
Aissa Djarmouni
Aït Menguellet
Alileche Moh
Alitura
Ayen
Aziri
Belilli Malik
Cherif Kheddam
Cyvia
Debza
Dihya
Djura Djura
Fella Bellali
Ferhat Mehenni (Imazighen Imula)
Hadj Bouroga'a
Hamsi Boubeker
Idir
Iness Mezel
Izenzaren Iqvayliyen
Jamal A'ellam
Karimouche (Carimaamarouche)
Karim Ziad
Les Imazighen
Litham
Lounes Matoub
Lounis Mohand Ameziane
Malika Domrane
Markunda Aures
Massilia
Massinissa
Mazryah (Taziri) Soltani
Meksa
Merkunda
Mihoub
Numidia
Nurimas
Rachid Chalal
Takfarinas
Thaziri
Thiguyer
Thissas
Trio Gani
Samail Ferrah
Siham
Sliman Azem
Slym
Ubizar
Zohra
Ferhat Mehenni:
The unique music of Ferhat (Imazighen
Imula) is infused with strong political messages and rich in oral traditions.
*Wikipediatists say that his, "song acts like the newspaper or political
speeches in European societies". Among the Berbers he is a pioneer
and "romantic" revolutionary.
Among the albums he produced are:
Tuγac n ddkir - Songs of steel, love and liberty (1994)
Tuγac n tmes d waman - Songs of Fire and Water (1996 and 2001)
You can listen to most of the above musicians at: http://www.rifmusic.8m.com/. According to this website, Mimoun el-Walid is the king of the Rif Amazigh music, most successful, and most controversial artist of the Rif region, in Northern Morocco.
"Imazighen Music Group" (1970s):
rare Moroccan Berber music band.
The Moroccan group "Imazighen",
not to be confused with the Algerian "Les Imazighen", is one of the
best ever Berber music groups to emerge to date. They were very popular in the
1970s for their hypnotic melodies and powerful rhythms that made them truly unique.
Unfortunately, they appear to have disappeared, as no information about them
is to be found anywhere, not even in Youtube (unless they are under a different
name). The quality of the above track is not brilliant, as it comes from an old
tape, but still well worth listening to. Please let us know if you know anything
about them or about any links leading to information about them.
Berber Tuareg (Touareg) Musicians & Music Groups:
Tassili
1- Imidiwan ma tenman
2- Assuf dalwa
3- Tenere taqqim tossam
4- Ya messinagh
5- Walla illa
6- Tameyawt
(01) Tinariwen: (http://www.tinariwen.com/):
a music Tuareg group started their carrier performing at weddings and traditional
occasions, before they joined a military training camp in Gaddafi's Libya and
ended up being dragged into armed conflict. Eventually, they abandoned their
guns and instead embraced the Sahara's stars with tunes that tunnel down the
line with more devastating effects than bloodshed. Their songs carried political
messages calling for greater human rights for the nomadic people of the
Sahara; eventually leading to their music being banned in Mali and Algeria.
Even this year, 2011, the Canadian government denied them visa to perform in
one of the festivals held there. To have the courage to defeat war one
needs to fight; but the instruments of violence were however abandoned for vocal
vibrations, the ear is destined to hear, before they dissipate fear into thin
air. The powerfully hypnotic Tuareg Song, the magical imzad,
the voices of the ancestors, "Mataraden Anexant" of The
Rapid Tisdas, the transcendental tunes that put Berber music on the map.
Tinariwen: The Radio Tisdas sessions (CD, 2001)
Tinariwen: Amassakoul (CD, 2004)
Tinariwen: Aman iman (CD, 2007)
Tinariwen: Tinariwen: Festival Med. Loule Portugal (video, 2007)
Tinariwen: Malmo, Sweden (video, 2007)
Tinariwen: Welcome to the Desert (video, 2007) video
Tinariwen: From Live 8 Eden Africa Calling (video, 2007)
Tinariwen: With Vieux Farka Toure (video, 2007)
Tinariwen: Live at Lowlands (video, 2007) video
Tinariwen: Desert Rebel, Live at Paris (video, 2007)
Tinariwen: Desert Rebel, Ishumars (video, 2007)
Tinariwen: Imidiwan (CD, 2009)
Tinariwen: iTunes Live: London Festival '09 (2009)
Mataraden Anexan, Tinariwen: The Rapid Tisdas Sessions.
(07) Tartit: Tuareg female group, Tumbuktu (Tombouctou), Mali: “The band Tartit are made up of five Junoesque women with copper-sheened indigo shawls and gold-encrusted hair. They exude a sense of timeless female resilience . . . theirs is real nomad music, its measured, propulsive rhythms based on the swaying motion of the camel.” (Mark Hudson, Telegraph Magazine, 28 June 2003.)
Tartit: Amazagh (CD, 1997)
Tartit: Ichichila (CD, 2000)
Tartit: Abacabok (CD, 2007)
Tartit: Desert Blues Project (video, 2007)
Tartit: Interview with Tartit, FMM Festival (video, 2007)
Tartit: Muezzin From Tartit (video, 2007) video
Tartit: Tartit with band Afel Bocoum, Prague (video, 2007)
(08) Taghdu, female imzad player.
(09) Muntaha, female imzad player.
(10) Alghadawiat, female imzad player.
(11) Islaman
(12) Majila Ag Khamed Ahmad
(13) Abdalla Ag Umbadugu (Oumbadougou), singer, Takrist N'Akal group.
Bismilla, the BKO Sessions (CD, 2007)
Akh Issudar (CD, 2008)
Terakaft Live, Festival In the Desert (video, 2007)
(50) Miss Ténéré
(51) Etran
(52) Amanar
(53) Aminatou
(54) Amoud Tafkik
(55) Anmataf
(56) Kel Assouf (Tin Hinane: CD 2010)
(57) Kel Guefan (Fulani, Woodabe and Tuaraeg artists).
(58) Etran Finatawa, Tuareg-Wodaabe music group.
http://www.etranfinatawa.com/
The Etran Finatawa band is a unique music group from Niger, made up of five artists: three Wodaabe-Fulani musicians and two Tuareg artists, bringing together two closely-related Saharan cultures, to share the same environment, its pastures and scarce water resources. Likewise, the music styles of the two groups were fused together to create a new kind of musical style of "Nomad Blues". In 2009 Ghalitane Ghamidoune departed the group and set up another music group: Kel Guefan, also made up of Fulani, Woodabe and Tuaraeg artists.
Berber Music Festivals:
Libya's First Tamazight Song Festival: (15
December 2011, Benghazi): the festival was organised in association with Libya
Channel and Free Libya Association. Attended Libyan Berber bands include:
Ossan, Tindi,
Ghasro, and Mhamed Qlou. (See http://www.temehu.com/media/music/ghasro-nalut.htm).
The Tuareg Festival in the Desert (www.festival-au-desert.org) was
conceived in Timbuktu, following the Tuareg peace displacement, others call accord,
symbolised by burning their weapons in 1996; the French band Lo’Jo and Tuareg
Tinariwen were among those who helped hatch the notion of the festival. The
festival is a 3 day international music event, celebrating
Tuareg culture and way of life. The festival
takes place in Mali, in the oasis Essakane,
located about 70 kilometres northwest of the legendary
Timbuktu: clean sand dunes, tents,
camels, and a concrete stage built onto the
sand.
Most of the festival's attendees are Tuareg nomads who
arrive on their dignified camels from all over the Sahara. A truly
fantastic opportunity to hear and experience Berber music
at its best.
The festival comprises about 45 acts, embodying traditional
and contemporary music from all over Mali and from neighbouring
countries, like Niger and Mauritania. The first festival,
held in 2001, was interrupted by Tuareg fighters who had not accepted the peace
accord; the second one was ruined by a sandstorm; and the third festival was
attended by the Malian culture minister, the American ambassador, Robert Plant
(the former Led Zeppelin vocalist), and the Berber stars and groups Afel
Bocum, Ali Farka Toure, Oumou Sangare, Tarbiat, Tartit, Takoumbawt and
Tinariwen.
Agadir: Nomad Berber music, Agadir, Morocco.
Ghat Festival: Tuareg festival in Ghat, Fezzan, Libya.
Ghadames Festival: Ghadames International Festival, usually held in October in the oasis of Ghadames in Libya, is a colourful event in which people gather together to celebrate, sing and dance. A celebration of local Berber Tuareg culture.
See Libyan festivals for more on this.
Sabeiba Festival in Djanet, Algeria.
Takubelt Festival Tuareg Festival in Mali.
Cure Salee Festival in the oasis of In-Gall, Niger.
Shiriken Festival in Akoubounou, Niger.
Festival on the Niger (www.festivalsegou.org)
is a unique 4-day music festival, which will be held in Segou, by the banks of
the River Niger, also in Mali, at the end of January 2009. Segou is the capital
of the ancient Bambara kingdom, and is the region of traditional music and dance.
The festival program features traditional and contemporary music, dance, tales,
legends, masks, huge puppets, traditional crafts expositions, and sculpture and
jewellery.
The theme of the 2009 festival is
"Environmental Solutions".
The International Festival of the Sahara at Douz (http://www.festivaldouz.org.tn/),
in Tunisia, is a 4-day music and dance festival, celebrating
the culture of desert at the heart of the
Tunisian sahara, in the small Berber oasis town of Douz.
Sydney Festival (Australia): the fist Amazigh
Festival in Sydney was held on the 16th of May 2009, organised by Amazigh Association
of Australia.
Amzad, Imzad, Anzad, Inzad: Tuareg one-stringed violin- or guitar-like instrument, played only by women.
Mezmar: mezmar.
Fadangama: Tuareg small monocord instrument for children.
Odili: Tuareg flute made from trunk of sorghum.
Gidga: Tuareg small wooden instrument with "iron sticks to make strident sounds".
Tende: Tuareg a small drum or a tambour covered with goatskin.
Bendir: tambourine.
Taderbouket: darbuka:
Ginbri, Gimbri: Moroccan stringed instrument with long neck.
Ennay: flute.
Ajouag: flute
Taqes'bayet: flute, literally 'a cane'.
Et'bel: round drum covered with skin, placed on the sand, and hit with two sticks while sitting down.
Denget: small round drum placed under the arm while hung with a string over the shoulder, and played with one stick and one hand while dancing.
Tishekwet, Tabez'baz't: zukra: bagpipe, also played while dancing with the drummers.
Libyan Denget, hit with one stick and one hand.
Music Styles, Dance & Genre:
Ahwash: Moroccan village music.
Takamba: a musical genre characteristic for its Afro-Berber percussions.
Tisiway: poems.
Gudra: ancient dance, performed by women.
Tasikisikit: songs: sung by women.
Asak: songs accompanied by imzad.
Tahengemmit: slow songs sung by elder men
Bellulla: songs made by children playing with the lips.
Raiss: combination of poerty, song, comedy and dance.
Tagest: dance performed seated by moving the head, hands and shoulders.
Ewegh: dance performed by men in couples and groups.
Agabas: dance for modern ishumar 'guitars'.
Meddah'at: women musicians who play violin, praise and sing sacred song.
Shikhat: women singing traditional music in weddings and religious festivals and ceremonies.
Tagnawit: Gnawa trans and sufi music.
Izlan: sung poetry from the Atlas Mountains.
The Guedra is an ancient dance
performed by Berber women and accompanied by hand clasping and traditional guedra drum
beats. Nothing else is used. It was said that the ritual during which the dance
is performed ensures blessing for married couples and for the whole tribe, as
well as induces good karma and peace. There are two names for this dance: the Guedra ritualistic
dance starts with a woman covered with a black veil dancing on her knees. But
she stands up when she is performing the T'bel or T'bal dance
(which is also a name of particular 'drum'). Moving slowly with the hands gesturing
east and west, the rhythm develops to more complex compositions, expressed by
the hands as they emerge beneath the veil.
