Contemporary Currents Dimi Mint Abba One of the most famous and successful Mauritanian musicians to have emerged from the Iggawin/ Griot tradition is the female singer and ardin player Dimi Mint Abba. Known as the “Diva of the desert,” Dimi was born in 1958 to musical parents, accompanying them on tbal from an early age and later adopting the ardin. In 1976 she was invited to sing on Mauritanian radio, where she solidified her musical reputation as one of the world’s greatest Muslim singers. Dimi’s songs were influenced by North and West Africa, mixing Arabic scales and improvisation with traditional West African instruments. She died in June 2011, in Morocco, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Safekeeping and Updating Traditions In the Saharawi Refugee Camps A crucial part of modern Mauritanian history is the war fought with the Polisario Front of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Saharawi, descendents of Mauritania’s black African, Berber and Arab people, share Mauritania’s command of the ways and modes, but with less rigidity. Forced from their land by an annexation attempt by Morocco, these highly educated bands of people have developed an exiled refugee state in southern Algeria. Awaiting their return to Western Sahara, refugee life has brought about a diverse integration of the rules and instrumentation available to the people. In Mauritania, where the Iggawin musicians are born into their caste, the Saharawi are a diverse group, playing music from many backgrounds. They play a particular style of music they call “Hawl,” where their expression of lyricism is open to interpretation in a democratic way. As a displaced people, the traditional instruments of Mauritania do not have as much an influence on Saharawi music, and the tidnit is being replaced by acoustic and electric guitar for a more contemporary edge. Modern Saharawi artists such as Aziz Brahim are fusing traditional and contemporary instruments with sub-Saharan African rhythms, to create a unique sound that expresses their years of suffering.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 22:06:20 +0000
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