Imzad

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Imzad from Libya

Imzad ( Tuareg , Pl. Imzaden , "hair"), also angad, anghad , is a single- stringed string instrument used by the Tuareg in the western Sahara and Sahel . The loud shell skewer , played only by women, has been used less often since the beginning of the 20th century. Their appreciation as an aristocratic symbol of power and the most revered musical instrument in this nomadic society has remained.

Cultural meaning

In West Africa south of the Sahara , the imzad belongs to a group of one or two-string fiddles that are played solo, to accompany singing and often in a ritual context. The Songhai in Niger have the fiddle godje , the Zarma a little further south the Ggje , the Dagomba in northern Ghana call the string instrument gonje , the Hausa goge and in Mali the njarka is played. The gugay described for Tunisia at the beginning of the 20th century has practically disappeared.

The imzad is widespread throughout the Tuareg region. With the three-string plucked lute tahardent and the mortar drum tendé, it is one of the three most important traditional musical instruments of the Tuareg, whose music is essentially vocal. Each of the three instruments has its own style of music and its own form of poetry. In the various dialects of Tamascheq it is called imzad in the north , anzad in the south and anzhad in the west . The name means "hair" and is derived from the material of the string. Every musician has her own instrument.

The pre-colonial Tuareg society was structured hierarchically in classes, the highest of which, the aristocratic stratum, exercised political and economic power. Black slaves ( Iklan ) and blacksmiths (including all craftsmen, Inads ) enjoyed the lowest esteem from the Sudan region . The imzad was played by women of all social classes, but most often by aristocratic women. It is from them that the power attributed to the instrument is derived. Women sang songs accompanied by the imzad evoking the heroic deeds of the warriors. Fighting songs served to mobilize the men before they marched against hostile tribes; In anticipation of Imzad melodies on their victorious return, they drew courage to fight.

By 1900 the French advancing from the north had also conquered the Tuareg habitat in the Sahara. Due to colonial rule and the abolition of slavery, the Tuareg aristocratic society lost its dominant position at the beginning of the 20th century, and with the end of the tribal wars, the imzad lost their intended purpose.

Aside from its symbolism of power, imzad is also associated with youth and romantic love. At the ahal , gatherings of male and female youth on the edge of the tent camp, which take place on special holidays, the girls from the imzad recite love songs and the young men recite poems. The festival, which rarely takes place any more, is used to establish relationships, take positions in society and cultivate traditional culture. Social norms in dealing with the sexes have been relaxed for a transitional period. The youth meeting is treated discreetly, the word ahal should not be mentioned in front of the older generation. For this reason, imzad is spoken of with caution. The instrument, which originates from sub-Saharan Africa, is sometimes ascribed magical abilities that go back to pre-Islamic roots. In certain areas, all these connections were reason enough for Orthodox Muslims to forbid the imzad .

Design

The Inaden women are responsible for making the imzad . The body consists of half the shell of a calabash with a diameter of 25 to 40 centimeters, which is covered with goat skin. The skin is stretched on the underside by cords and painted with red and green ornaments. These finger-applied paints are more common on instruments in the north than in the south. A wooden stick ( taborit ) runs parallel below the ceiling and protrudes 30 to 36 centimeters as a neck on one side. Therefore, the imzad is counted as an inland skewer , similar to the three-stringed plucked tahardent , the corresponding four -stringed Mauritanian tidinit , the Malian ngoni or the Gnawa plucked gimbri . There are two sound holes in the skin covering on both sides of the middle at the neck exit.

One string consists of about 40 horse hairs and runs over a bridge made of two thin, V-shaped wooden sticks ( tizewen , Sg.tezewt ). It is fastened on both sides with leather straps ( tasayit ). The string is tuned by moving the leather strap on the neck to roughly the key c , often also e . The range is about an octave plus a third . The arch consists of a rod bent in a semicircle. Its horse hair cover is coated with resin like the string.

Style of play

The musicians play while seated, holding the instrument with their necks at an angle away from their bodies. You set the pitch by pressing the strings with your thumb and the other fingers of your left hand; the neck does not act as a fingerboard. The second harmonic can be created with the stretched little finger that lightly touches the string. The sound is soft and rich in overtones .

Like the entire Tuareg culture, the musical tradition is preserved regardless of its lost context and promoted internationally within the framework of cultural tourism projects. The regionally different ways of playing practiced today go back to the 1920s. Short melodies are combined with longer, repetitive phrases. The singing can be interspersed with Youyous , the yodelling joys typical of women all over North Africa . In the Algerian region of Ahaggar on the northern edge of the Sahara and in Niger , in the central region of Aïr , the melody is in the foreground over the rhythm and bars can hardly be heard. In contrast, the Imzad music west of Aïr and south of Ahaggar in the Azawagh region , on the border with Mali , is emphasized by a strong rhythm. The recurring melodic phrases in this region are organized metrically .

A tesawit ( tesaweyt ) is a genre of poetry that is highly valued and in which heroic deeds and love are sung about. The texts in local dialects that are difficult to understand elsewhere are presented solo or with Imzad accompaniment. Men sing, according to the preferences of the Tuareg nomads, with the highest possible voice and richly ornamented.

In Tuareg music groups like Tartit , which produce a mix of Malian “desert blues” and traditional music for the international market, an imzad can also be used in a larger line-up together with other Tuareg instruments and electric guitar .

literature

  • Hans Ritter: Dictionary on the language and culture of the Twareg. Volume II: German - Twareg . Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009, p. 269 f.
  • Eric Schmidt: Ishumar. The Guitar and the Revolution of Tuareg Culture. (Paper) Honors Program, American University, Washington DC, Spring 2009, pp. 20-26
  • Caroline Card Wendt: Tuareg Music. In: Ruth M. Stone (Ed.): The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music . Volume 1: Africa . Garland Publishing, New York / London 1998, pp. 574-595, here pp. 575-582

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geoffrey Holiday: The Tuareg of the Ahaggar. In: African Music , Vol. 1, No. 3, International Library of African Music, 1956, pp. 48–52, here p. 50