Ardin (harp)

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Ardin ( hassania , DMG ardīn, Pl .: irdīwān ) is an angle harp that is traditionally played by women of the Bidhan (ethnic group of Moors ) in the West African Sahara in Mauritania . It is the only angle harp still played in Africa whose shape can be traced back to ancient Egyptian roots.

origin

Ancient Egyptian angle harp

The oldest harps in Africa are in their basic form as bow harps on wall paintings in burial chambers from the Egyptian Old Kingdom around 2500 BC. To see. Bow harps consisting of a single stick have survived on the African continent mainly in Uganda and Central Africa , in Asia they have practically disappeared apart from the Burmese saung gauk and the Afghan waji .

In the Middle Kingdom (from the 16th century BC) the angular harp , which had long been known in Mesopotamia, was added. In this shape, two wooden sticks are connected to one another at an obtuse angle on the resonance body, which means that the number of strings in the triangular area between them can be increased compared to the bow harp. Instead of a resonance body, the rods can be hollowed out and serve as a sound reinforcement.

On a Sahara expedition in 1956 , Henri Lhote discovered a rock painting in the Tassili n'Ajjer mountain range in southern Algeria that shows an angle harp with six strings, the player of which is perched on a low African stool with three legs. The scene in brown against a yellowish background shows the musician in profile with the instrument in a vertical position, whose thin neck (as in the Egyptian angle harp shown) is turned towards his upper body. Opposite to the right is a second person who has been interpreted on various occasions as the king being played. The only known rock painting of this type is only preserved in one copy, which is why its authenticity has already been questioned. They are roughly dated to the "period of the horse", ie 1500–500 BC. Chr.

From the 3rd or 4th century AD, the first tribal groups of the Sanhajah came to the western Sahara from the east or northeast and, in addition to camels, probably also brought with them the pre-forms of today's musical instruments. Until the Arab conquest and Islamization from the 8th century onwards, the culture of various Berber tribes had spread south to the black kingdom of Gana .

The ardin has survived as the only angle harp in Africa with ancient Egyptian origins. Like some other musical instruments from the Sahel and Western Sahara, it is not related to the instruments used in later Arab music . The ardin was first mentioned in writing in 1685 in the report of the French traveler Sieur de la Courbe.

Design

Noura Mint Seymali at the TFF Rudolstadt 2015

The body of the ardin consists of a calabash ( laġšāša ) cut open in half lengthways , at one end of which a wooden stick over 100 centimeters long protrudes approximately perpendicular to the cut surface. This neck ( ʿamud ) stands up on the bottom of the calabash and presses against the inner wall. A thinner transverse web ( tāmunānt ) runs approximately at right angles to it lengthways to the opposite edge of the calabash bowl. The soundboard forms a degreased but untanned animal skin. When placed in water, the skin expands and can be pulled up in its soft state and pressed firmly at the edges. In contrast to tanned leather, this raw hide shrinks when it dries and becomes hard and firm. Skin strips also serve to tighten the crosspiece at both ends on the calabash. Only the tensile forces of the tensioned strings keep the overall construction of the two rods at an angle. At the most stressed areas, the edges of the skin are reinforced with additional braided bands.

The 10 to 16, on average 12 strings ( la ʿṣab ) used to consist of sheep intestines , today they are mainly made of nylon (fishing line). They are tied to the transverse web and on the long neck by wooden pegs or modern fluidized ( debbūs attached) of metal, stuck in the drilled holes. A buzzing plate ( ḥarba ) is placed between the soundboard and the crossbar , which ensures a slightly clattering sound. This sheet metal, pushed symmetrically under the crossbar, consists of two round metal plates that are connected to one another by a strip. Geometric and floral ornaments are often cut into the two discs. The edges are pierced and hung with a wreath of small wire rings. The skin of the ardin can be painted with geometric motifs, as is the case with the rarely heard single-stringed spike violin rbāb (similar to the Moroccan ribab ) and as they are common in leather work.

In the black African cultures of the Sahel zone , jetty harps like the kora are widespread. These instruments are also called “harp lutes” because the double row of strings means that two are parallel to the soundboard. They are not related to the ancient Egyptian called angular harps and make its own development of the Internal spit sounds from the ngoni - represents type; its neck does not emerge at right angles from the body, but runs lengthways within it, as with these lute instruments. The ardin has most of its resemblance to a type of African bow harp known as a "spoon in a cup". The neck lies on the edge of the bowl and protrudes to the bottom inside. One example is the ennanga in Uganda .

Style of play

The ardin is depicted on the 100
ouguiya banknote together with the single-stringed spit violin rbāb

The bearers of the Mauritanian musical tradition are the Iggāwen ( Sing. Iggīw , generally griots ), professional musicians who used to be in the service of the ruling aristocratic class (warrior caste) and who sang price songs for them. The music theory is passed on orally , the internal skewer tidinit played by men forms the practical framework for this. The tidinit offers a wider range of musical variations than the ardin .

At weddings and other festive events, singers usually accompany each other on the tidinit and female singers on the ardin . There is also the kettle drum t'bal played by women and the occasional calabash rattle daghumma as a further rhythmic accompaniment . The ardin can also be used as a rhythm instrument by hitting the soundboard with your hands. In addition to the music of the Iggāwen, there is private music in Mauritania that women of the upper class maintain for their own entertainment. The simpler and constantly repeated melody sections are usually only rhythmized by the t'bal .

The best-known Mauritanian ardin player and singer is Dimi Mint Abba , who gained fame outside the country when she won the 1977 Umm Kulthum singing competition in Tunis . In 1990 she recorded the first international studio CD with the music of her country. Several CD releases and concert tours also made Malouma and Ooleya Mint Amartichitt internationally known.

literature

  • Wolfgang Creyaufmüller: Nomad culture in the Western Sahara. The material culture of the Moors, their handicraft techniques and basic ornamental structures. Burgfried-Verlag, Hallein (Austria) 1983, pp. 130-134, 441
  • Kenneth A. Gourlay: Ardin. In: Laurence Libin (Ed.): The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2014, pp. 127f

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roger Blench: Reconstructing African music history: methods and results. (PDF; 2.3 MB) Safa Conference, Tucson, May 17-21, 2002, Chapter: The arched harp and its history , pp. 2–6
  2. ^ Gerhard Kubik : Theory of African Music. Vol. I. (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology). University Press of Chicago, Chicago 2010, pp. 23-25, ISBN 978-0226456911 , also shown in cubic form: To understand African music. LIT Verlag, Vienna 2004, Fig. 39. Basil Davidson dated 800–700 BC. Chr.
  3. West Africa. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Sachteil 9, 1998, Col. 1955
  4. ^ Ulrich Wegner: African string instruments. (New episode 41. Department of Music Ethnology V.) Museum für Völkerkunde Berlin 1984, p. 163f
  5. ^ Jürgen Elsner : North Africa. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Sachteil 7, 1997, Col. 225f
  6. ^ Khalifa Ould Eide & Dimi Mint Abba: Moorish Music from Mauretania. World Circuit 1990, WCD 019
  7. Rosa Skelton: Mauritania's fiery singing senator. BBC News, April 30, 2007
  8. Ooleya Mint Amartichitt: Louanges / Praise Songs. CD from Long Distance, Montreuil (France) 1998