Malouma Study Guide 11.indd - University Musical Society

Transcription

Malouma
and the Sahel Hawl Blues
TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE
creative teachers intelligent students real learning
Youth Education
04 05
About UMS
One of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, UMS serves diverse audiences through multidisciplinary performing arts programs in three distinct but
interrelated areas: presentation, creation, and education.
With a program steeped in music, dance, and theater,
UMS hosts approximately 80 performances and 150 free
educational activities each season. UMS also commissions
new work, sponsors artist residencies, and organizes
collaborative projects with local, national as well as many
international partners.
While proudly affiliated with the University of Michigan
and housed on the Ann Arbor campus, UMS is a separate
not-for-profit organization that supports itself from ticket
sales, grants, contributions, and endowment income.
UMS Education and
Audience Development
Department
UMS’s Education and Audience Development Department
seeks to deepen the relationship between audiences and
art, as well as to increase the impact that the performing arts can have on schools and community. The program seeks to create and present the highest quality arts
education experience to a broad spectrum of community
constituencies, proceeding in the spirit of partnership and
collaboration.
The Department coordinates dozens of events with over
100 partners that reach more than 50,000 people
annually. It oversees a dynamic, comprehensive program
encompassing workshops, in-school visits, master classes,
lectures, youth and family programming, teacher
professional development workshops, and “meet the
artist” opportunities, cultivating new audiences while
engaging existing ones.
UMS gratefully acknowledges the
following corporations, foundations
and government agencies for their
generous support of the UMS Youth
Education Program:
Ford Motor Company Fund
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural
Affairs
University of Michigan
Arts at Michigan
Arts Midwest
Borders Group
Chelsea Flowers
Community Foundation for
Southeastern Michigan
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Heartland Arts Fund
JazzNet
MASCO Corporation
THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION
(of R. & P. Heydon)
Margot Campos Designs
Music for Little People
National Dance Project of New England
Foundation for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Office of the Senior Vice Provost for
Academic Affairs, University of
Michigan
Pfizer Global Research and Development
(Ann Arbor Laboratories)
The Power Foundation
ProQuest Company
Schlanderer and Sons Jeweler
Savitski Design
UMS Advisory Committee
Details about educational events for the 04/05 season are
announced a few months prior to each event.
To receive information about educational events by email,
sign up for the UMS E-Mail Club at www.ums.org.
For advance notice of Youth Education events, join the
UMS Teachers email list by emailing umsyouth@umich.
edu or visit www.ums.org/education.
This Teacher Resource Guide is a product of the University Musical
Society’s Youth Education Program in collaboration with ACCESS.
All pictures are courtesy of the artist unless otherwise noted.
Researched, written and edited by Omari Rush, Michelle Lin, Erika
Nelson, Rowyn Baker and Ben Johnson. This Resource Guide is
provided for educational purposes only and may be duplicated for
use in the classroom.
04/05
UMS Youth Education
Malouma
and the Sahel Hawl Blues
Friday, April 8, 11am - 12 noon
Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor
TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE
Table of Contents
Overview
*
*
6
7
Lesson Plans
Coming to the Show
The Performance at a
Glance
All About Malouma
•
10
12
All About Malouma
In her Own Words
Mauritania
Short on Time?
We’ve starred the
most important
pages.
14
17
20
Mauritanian History
North African Culture
Mauritania: Quick Facts
Mauritanian Music
24
25
31
Mauritanian Style
Musical Instruments
Malouma’s Music
Divas of the Desert
Only Have
15 Minutes?
Try pages 63 or
83!
36
37
38
39
40
Arab Culture
44
45
46
48
49
51
53
55
56
58
60
4 | www.ums.org/education
Oum Kalthoum
Oumou Sangare
Fairuz
Najat Aatabou
Malouma’s Influences
62
63
64
66
68
69
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
Curriculum Connections
Teaching Points
Meeting Michigan
Standarts
Lesson One: Exploring
West African Folktales
Venn Diagram Chart
Lesson Two:West African
Griot Traditions
Lesson Three: African
Instrument Sounds
Coloring Map of Africa
Lesson Four: Where is
Mauritania?
Basic Facts Worksheet
Basic Facts Answer Key
Lesson Five: Decoloniza
tion
Lesson Six: Take a Trip to
the Land of the Sun
Lesson Seven: People,
Language and Culture
Lesson Eight: Lyric
Comparison
Vocabulary - Arab Music/
Culture
Arab Music Vocabulary
Malouma Word Search
Pre & Post Performance
Ideas
The Arab World
80
Arab Religions
Music and Islam
82
Language
83
The Moors
85
The Berbers
Traditional Clothing
Resources
Muslim Calendar
Islamic Holidays
*
88
UMS Permission Slip
Arab American Timeline
89
Related Videos of Interest
Arab Music Festivals
90
Internet Resources
91
Recommended Readings
92
Recommended Recordings
93
Community Resources
94
Bibliography
96
Using Multimedia
97
UMS Youth Education
Season
98
Evening Performance Info
Mauritanian singer/songwriter, Malouma.
About the
Performance
Coming to the Show
We want you to enjoy your time in the theater, so here are some tips to make your Youth
Performance experience successful and fun! Please review this page prior to attending the
performance.
Who will meet us when we arrive?
After you exit the bus, UMS Education staff and greeters will be outside to meet you. They
might have special directions for you, so be listening and follow their directions. They will
take you to the theater door where ushers will meet your group. The greeters know that your
group is coming, so there’s no need for you to have tickets.
Who will show us where to sit?
The ushers will walk your group to its seats. Please take the first seat available. (When
everybody’s seated, your teacher will decide if you can rearrange yourselves.) If you need to
make a trip to the restroom before the show starts, ask your teacher.
How will I know that the show is starting?
You will know the show is starting because the lights in the auditorium will get dim, and a
member of the UMS Education staff will come out on stage to introduce the performance.
What if I get lost?
Please ask an usher or a UMS staff member for help. You will recognize these adults because
they have name tag stickers or a name tag hanging around their neck.
What should I do during the show?
Everyone is expected to be a good audience member. This keeps the show fun for everyone.
Good audience members...
• Are good listeners
• Keep their hands and feet to themselves
• Do not talk or whisper during the performance
• Laugh only at the parts that are funny
• Do not eat gum, candy, food or drink in the theater
• Stay in their seats during the performance
• Do not disturb the people sitting nearby or other schools in attendance
How do I show that I liked what I saw and heard?
The audience shows appreciation during a performance by clapping. In a musical
performance, the musicians are often greeted with applause when they first appear. It is
traditional to applaud at the end of each musical selection, and sometimes after impressive
solos. At the end of the show, the performers will bow and be rewarded with your applause.
If you really enjoyed the show, give the performers a standing ovation by standing up and
clapping during the bows.
What do I do after the show ends?
Please stay in your seats after the performance ends, even if there are just a few of you in your
group. Someone from UMS will come onstage and announce the names of all the schools.
When you hear your school’s name called, follow your teachers out of the auditorium, out of
the theater and back to your buses.
How can I let the performers know what I thought?
We want to know what you thought of your experience at a UMS Youth Performance. After
the performance, we hope that you will be able to discuss what you saw with your class. Tell
us about your experiences in a letter or drawing. Please send your opinions, letters or artwork
to: UMS Youth Education Program, 881 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011.
The Performance at a Glance
Who is Malouma?
Malouma Mint Meidah is the first Mauritanian woman to introduce modern
Mauritanian music to the world. Malouma’s music is unique. It is anchored
in the Mauritanian musical tradition yet resolutely modern, it is inspired by
the songs of the desert and it is immersed in the rhythms of the Senegal
River, somewhere at the crossroads of West Africa, the Arab and Berber
worlds, between the Sahel and the Savannah. Moreover, Malouma is
known as a singer for the people and a spokesman for women’s rights in
Muslim countries.
What kind of music will Malouma sing?
Malouma’s music mixes traditional and modern sounds; Western styles are
melded to the Moorish music of the Sahara, for instance through the use
of both electric guitars and traditional Mauritanian instruments such as the
four-stringed, lute-like tidnit. Malouma music fuses subtle, slinky bluesedged songs with other Moorish influenced beats to create a new sound;
a new desert fusion of gospel and gently driving R&B. There are musical
passages that edge towards Western pop, yet the music always retains her
cool style of drifting desert blues.
Where is Mauritania?
Mauritania is located in northwest Africa, and is about three times the size
of Arizona. It is bordered by Western Sahara on the north, Algeria and Mali
on the east, Senegal on the south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west.
The country is mostly desert, with the exception of the fertile River Valley
in the south and grazing land in the north. The climate in Mauritania is
predominantly hot and dry.
My goal is to
bring Mauritanian
music out of its
ghetto to be heard,
accepted and
loved throughout
the world.
- Malouma (1997)
The Performance at a Glance
What instruments are in Malouma’s Band?
At the performance you will see a variety of instruments in Malouma’s 10-person
band, the Sahel Hawl Blues. Some are native to Mauritania such as the ardine,
which Malouma plays, some are traditional Arab instruments, such as the Kora,
while others are western instruments, such as the electric guitar. All of these
instruments are played together to create a new musical sound that truly blends
music for different cultures.
I wish to create a
style to compete
with modern
music from
around the
world that was
inundating
[Mauritania].
-Malouma (1997)
What are Malouma’s songs about?
Malouma is not only known for the beauty and sultry quality of her voice, but
also for the message and subject matter behind the songs she sings. Her music
addresses issues concerning inequality and oppression of women in society,
AIDS awareness, and illiteracy, to name a few. In her Muslim culture these are
controversial issues, especially those dealing with the role of women in society.
When she first spoke out, she was banned from performing and attending various
events, and many people were weary of associating with her because of the
negative consequences it would bring them. This ban has generally been lifted
and she has become loved throughout her country and the Muslim and Arab/
African world for giving a voice to the pain and desires of those in Mauritania
who have been unable to speak out.
In which language will Malouma sing?
Arabic is the official language of Mauritania, and Malouma will sing some of her
songs in the Mauritanian dialect and classic Arabic. However, she will also sing in
some other languages which are also spoken in Mauritania, such as French and
Woloff.
Malouma relased her second CD, Dunya, in February of 2004.
All About
Malouma
All About Malouma
A Biography
Below are some
of the titles by
which Malouma
is commonly
addressed:
Mermaid of the
Desert
Goddess of the
Desert
Star of National
Television
Daughter of Africa
Singer of the People
Mauritanian Diva
Malouma Mint Moktar Ould Meidah was born in the 1960s in Mederdra, into a
family of griots. A griot is a practitioner of the West African tradition of praise
singing. Her life seemed all mapped out. The daughter of Moktar Ould Meidah,
a prominent traditional musician as well as a highly skilled poet, she is also the
granddaughter of Mohamed Yahya Ould Boubane, another virtuoso of words
and the tidinit (a small traditional guitar used by griots). She grew up in Charatt (a
small town near Mederdra), where her parents taught her the basics of traditional
harp (ardine) playing.
She started to sing at a very young age, and performed for the first time at the
age of 12, an age when tradition requires that the daughters of important families
be already prepared for a ‘responsible’ life (marriage and self-sufficiency). She
started to draw from the traditional repertoire that her parents, especially her
father, had enriched. At the age of fifteen, she was already an accomplished griot,
not only accompanying her parents but performing whole concerts on her own.
At the same period, along with her father, she started to listen to songs by Oum
Kalthoum, Adbel Halim Hafez, Fairouz, Nasri Cherns, Dine, Sabah, etc. As she
grew up she also discovered another musical style that was not far from the music
she mastered: blues. She wrote small songs that were quite popular with young
girls. But the weight of tradition pushed her into the fetters of marriage and
conformism.
It took until the late eighties for her to appear on stage again in Mauritania. With
a new repertoire, she brought about a true musical revolution among singers.
Such pieces as “Habibi habeytou”, “Cyam ezzaman tijri”, and “Awdhu billah”,
disrupted the established order. Malouma was aiming to impose a style that drew
from the purest tradition and modernized it. The research she undertook was
centered on a successful blending of traditional and modern music, the latter
providing its instruments and its approach, the first its rich repertoire. Malouma
thus became a singer-songwriter, introducing a unity of theme in her songs
(oughniya) and not refraining from broaching subjects that were more or less
taboo such as love, conjugal life or inequalities.
In her commitment to encourage justice and equality in Mauritania, she
involved herself in activist songs to stir people into action, singing for the AIDS
campaigns, for the vaccination of children, for the elimination of illiteracy and for
the promotion of women, among other things. While her music soon became
extremely popular among the youth (both girls and boys), it was rejected at first
by the dominating class (a few intellectual groups, griots, and traditional leaders).
In fact, Mauritanian officials were so upset with her music, they banned Malouma
from singing in her home country beginning in 1992.
All About Malouma
While she was able to perform in other African countries, she not only was unable
to sing in Mauritania, her songs were also not allowed to be played on the radio,
or any other form of media. Malouma makes no apologies for the content of her
music, but she also does not want to get swept up in the politics. The ban on
Malouma’s controversial music lasted for over a decade, and was finally lifted in
2003. In early 2004, Malouma returned to Mauritania and performed at the first
international festival of music in the country’s capital, Nouakchott.
In all these years denouncing inequalities, oppression and injustice, she has become
“the singer of the people” (mutribatou echa’b). For all her commitment, she has
not forgotten her prime goal, her musical research, is to open Mauritanians to
the outside world and to make foreigners discover the treasures of her country’s
national heritage. “Rasm”, “Jraad”, “Tchaa’i”, “Gnâni”, “Nouka”... and many
more “achwaar” (traditional pieces) are reinterpreted and reinvented. Malouma
has gone even further, trying to harmonize traditional pentatonic Mauritanian
music with other folk music forms, notably African and American blues.
She has met a group of young Mauritanian musicians, the Sahel Hawl Blues, and
they have soon tied bonds. Driven by the same concern to be both rooted in
traditional music and open to modern western music the band, made up of ten
young musicians, has integrated all the components of modern-day Mauritania:
rich inspirational sources and multiple cultures (Moorish, Fulani, Toucouleur,
Soninke, Wolof, Haratin…).
My father and my
mother descended
from a lineage of
great Mauriatnian
artists. Our life,
our profession,
is music. When I
was a baby I was
lulled to sleep by
music.
- Malouma
Malouma is a national symbol of pride and an example, and she has many
followers. For that matter, the griot-artist community has finally acknowledged her
as the first true composer in Mauritania.
Malouma
singing
with a bass
guitar in the
background.
In Her Own Words...
Presented at the 1st World Conference on Music and Censorship
Copenhagen, Denmark
November 20-22, 1998
I was born in an artist’s family . I was taught traditional music by my father who
was known as the best musician in my country.
I was distinguished from other musicians because I was considered to be the first
“modern” musician. I sang many songs composed by myself. I was on National
TV for the first time in 1986, and since then I was given the name “The Star of
the National Television.” And from then on I became the country’s national star. I
was the first who sang for the people in a modern way and I met people’s feelings
through my music. The people welcomed my music because it touched the “real”
feelings of the public and what was going on in reality.
My songs quickly became easy to repeat and were extended to other societies
of the Middle East and North Africa. For this reason I expected much support
and encouragement from the government but unfortunately the authorities
did not understand me at all. In fact our culture gives little attention to musical
development. There is not one single academic curriculum in the country today
that teaches music or develops it.
In 1991 I sang a song about “freedom of speech” and another about the
“beloved of the people” who was about the man holding the opposition during
the electoral presidential votes in 1991. Since then the ruling party decided to
impose a sanction against me and I was soon banned from national TV and radio.
The authorities banned me from concerts and from all contact I had with
organizations. They denied me having a permanent address. Before I was always
invited by all the top embassies at all ceremonies. I have been banned out of all
these contacts, both socially as well as professionally.
I have written several songs on politics although they are not well recorded due
to the poor equipment in Mauritania. Since my sanction I have not traveled
anywhere for the progression of my career. I live in hard conditions of which I
could perhaps speak more about to you later.
Mauritania
Map of Mauritania and it’s surroundings in North Africa. By Graphic Maps.com
Mauritanian History
Mauritania is a country in Western Africa that stretches along the Atlantic coast into
the Sahara desert. For centuries, the Sahara has served as an avenue for migration
and conquest between northern and sub-Saharan Africa. Mauritania has assimilated
many waves of these migrants and conquerors. The rise of the Arabicized Berber
dynasties of the Almoravids and the Almohads led to invasions and eventual
colonization of Spain and clashes with the Ghana empire in the south.
Below: The
Mauritanian
National Flag.
The background
is green and the
symbols are gold.
The Islamization of Mauritania was a gradual process that spanned a period of 500
years. Beginning slowly with contacts with Berber and Arab merchants engaged in
caravan trade and increasing with the Almoravid conquests, Islamization eventually
took firm hold with the arrival of the Yemeni Arabs in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries and was not completed until three or four centuries later.
From the third to seventh century, the migration of Berber tribes from North Africa
displaced the Bafours, the original inhabitants of present-day Mauritania and the
ancestors of the Soninke. Continued Arab-Berber migration drove indigenous
black Africans south to the Senegal River or enslaved them. By 1076, Islamic
warrior monks ((Almoravid
Almoravid or Al Murabitun) completed the conquest of southern
Mauritania, defeating the ancient Ghana empire.
Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame
fierce Berber resistance to dominate
Mauritania. The Mauritanian Thirty-Year
War (1644-1674) was the unsuccessful
final Berber effort to repel the Maqil Arab
invaders led by the Beni Hassan tribe. The
descendants of Beni Hassan warriors became
the upper stratum of Moorish society.
Berbers retained influence by producing
the majority of the region’s Marabouts
-those who preserve and teach Islamic
tradition. Hassaniya, a mainly oral Berber
influenced Arabic dialect which derives its
name from the Beni Hassan tribe, became
the dominant language among the largely
nomadic population. Aristocrat and servant castes developed, yielding “White”
(aristocracy) and “Black” Moors (the enslaved indigenous class.)
From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, Europeans competed for the
Mauritanian gum Arabic trade. The French were present in the Senegal River and
the Mauritanian coast in the 1800s but a French protectorate was not established
until 1903. French penetration into Mauritania continued slowly. Mauritania
became a French colony in 1920. Colonial administrators relied extensively on
Islamic religious leaders and the traditional warrior groups to maintain their rule
and carry out their policies. The French policy of assimilation and direct rule was
not applied with great vigor in Mauritania and, as a result, the traditional social
structure was left largely intact through the colonial period. Very little economic
development occurred under French rule. In 1946, Mauritania became a territory of
French West Africa.
Mauritanian History
French colonization at the beginning of the twentieth century brought legal
prohibitions against slavery and an end to interclan warfare. During the colonial
period, the population remained nomadic, but sedentary Black Africans, whose
ancestors had been expelled centuries earlier by the Moors, began to trickle back
into southern Mauritania.
As the country gained independence on November 28, 1960, the capital city
Nouakchott was founded at the site of a small colonial village, the Ksar, and
90% of the population was still nomadic. Moktar Ould
Daddah was elected the country’s first president in
1961. With independence, larger numbers of ethnic SubSaharan Africans (Haalpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof entered
Mauritania, moving into the area north of the Senegal River.
Educated in French language and customs, many of these
recent arrivals became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in
the new state.
However, Morocco claimed that Mauritania was historically
Moroccan territory and did not recognize its independence until 1970. When
Spain give up its colonial administration of Western Sahara, Morocco and
Mauritania took over its administration with Morocco claiming the northern part
and Mauritania the southern part. But Algeria and an organization of people from
the Western Sahara, known as the Polisario Front, opposed these claims. Fighting
broke out between these groups.
Above:
Mauritanian
children posing
for a picture in
the desert.
Moors reacted to this change by increasing pressure to Arabicize many aspects of
Mauritanian life, such as law and language. A schism developed between those
who consider Mauritania to be an Arab country (mainly Moors) and those who
seek a dominant role for the Sub-Saharan peoples.
Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now
Western Sahara in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the
Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory.
The discord between these two conflicting visions of Mauritanian society was
evident during intercommunal violence that broke out in April 1989 (the “1989
Events”) but has since subsided. The tension between these two visions remains a
feature of the political dialogue. A significant number from both groups, however,
seek a more diverse, pluralistic society.
Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991 Two
multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as being flawed;
Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state.
Mauritanian History
The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its Black minority
population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace.
The current president of Mauritania is Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya who came
to power in 1984 as President of the Military National Salvation Army. He was
elected president in 1992, and has since been re-elected twice, the most recent
being in 2003.
Slavery
Slavery has been a part of
Mauritanian society for centuries.
800 years ago, Arab and Berber
tribes descended from the
Mediterranean peninsula and
launched slave raids against the
indigenous African population,
abducting women and children
as slaves. Those enslaved were
converted to Islam and raised to
believe that their religious duty was
to serve their masters faithfully.
Slaves were taught that because
of their impure dark skin they
were forbidden from touching the
Koran, praying in the mosque,
and attending school. The saying
“paradise under your master’s
foot” embodied the notion that the
path to salvation was through loyal
servitude.
Saudi Mosque in Nouakchott,
Mauritania. Photo: Gary Cook
While Christianity was once used in a similar manner to justify slavery to Africans
ensnared by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Mauritania’s system persists today in
the 21st century. Moors still hold “haratin” slaves, descendants of those abducted
centuries ago. Slaves are bought and sold, branded and bred, and even given to
the poor as an act of charity. Some are transported to Gulf states or even serve in
embassies around the world.
Black slavery is simply an integral part of Mauritanian society, with slaves
performing all sorts of physical labor. Mauritania has theoretically outlawed
slavery three times, most recently with a military edict in 1980. But local Islamic
courts rarely enforce anti-slavery statutes, and there is no evidence of widespread
emancipation. The U.S. State Department used to cite Mauritania for slavery each
year in its human rights reports. But, as other events unfolded through time,
the issue of Mauritanian slavery was no longer a priority, and has since been
overlooked.
General Overview
The early Berber tribes dwelled on the coast until the arrival of
Phoenician traders about 1200 B.C. Together, the Phoenicians and
Berbers built Carthage and a civilization that spread across western
North Africa and the Mediterranean, from Sicily to Spain. In 202
B.C., the Romans took Carthage. By A.D. 40, they controlled an
area from the Atlantic coast to present-day eastern Libya. About
six hundred years of Roman rule ended with the invasion of Vandals
from Scandinavia, soon followed by Christian Byzantines. In 688,
at the time of the first Muslim Arab invasion, North Africa was
widely, if superficially, Christian. Within a century, the Arabs were masters of all
Mediterranean North Africa and Spain, and though their empire
eventually receded, most of the lands and peoples they subjugated
were irreversibly changed, in language, religion, and cultures.
Subsequent European conquests hardly affected Arabic cultural
patterns.
The character that distinguished North Africa from the Arabicspeaking Muslim Near East arises in large measure from its Berber
subculture. While urban Berbers were receptive to the culture
of their conquerors, rural and nomadic Berbers were much less
so. Withdrawing into mountain villages or retreating deep into
the desert, they remained resistant and even hostile to foreign
intrusion. As a result, Berber language, culture, and tribal patterns have persisted
in the Moroccan Atlas, in the Algerian high plateaus, in desert
towns in Mauritania and Libya, and in oasis communities and
nomadic encampments across the Sahara. In remote ares, Islam
and the accompanying Arab traditions penetrated slowly, forming
a veneer of Muslim culture over pre-Islamic customs and beliefs. In
the Ahaggar region of the Algerian Sahara, long an impenetrable
mountain stronghold of warring Berber Tuareg tribes, Muslim
religion and culture had little effect until the latter part of the
1800s.
Gradually, the Arab culture of the Maghreb filtered southward to
permeate the Sahara with Islamic character. Over centuries the
trans-Saharan trade routes, mainly under control of the Berber Tuareg, carried
Mediterranean arts and technology southward. The northern
Berbers introduced methods of irrigation, fertilization, and animal
husbandry that enabled sahelian cultivators to grow crops farther
north into the arid zone. In varying degrees, many Sahelian
cultivators were incorporated in Tuareg society and culture, and
elements of sub-Saharan music became part of Tuareg traditions.
Sahelian arts and music have also moved northward. In cultivations
centers throughout the Sahara, rhythms, vocals styles, and dances
of sub-Saharan origin predominate. In the Maghreb, Black Muslim
brotherhoods perform Sahelian stlye music for exorcisms, rituals of
curing, and Muslim celebrations and festivals. Blends of northern
and southern musical practices are clear, also, in the Mauritanian bardic tradition,
which combining modal structures akin to Arab tradition with rhythmic patterns
related to those of West Africa, forms styles the musicians term White and Black
ways.
Algeria
Libya
Tunisia
General Overview, cont.
Arab Countries
in Africa
Mauritania
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Libya
Egypt
Sudan
Since the 1960s, recurring drought, increasing population, and political strife have
prompted migrations in many directions: herders drive their animals farther in
search of water and pasture, and pastoralist and cultivators abandon rural areas
for employment in towns and cities. The musical result of these migrations is
the rapid evolution of new genres from older and borrowed sources. For source
material and inspiration, composers of urban music have turned increasingly to
rural repertoires and foreign music. Radio broadcasts and cassette recordings
convey to the most remote areas a wide range of musical styles.
The music of the region, therefore, do not form ready categories. As modern
composers and arrangers adapt old traditions to new performance situations,
the distinctions among classical, folk, and popular genres are often blurred. Due
to the pervasiveness of the media, some repertories once specific to particular
villages or regions are now more widespread. Conversely, urban styles and
instrumentation, with their special appeal to youth, increasingly influence the
performance of traditional musics in rural communities. The distinctions between
religious and secular genres are equally unclear, for the texts of many songs sung
for secular purposes have religious content or sentiment, and some religious music
collectively performed exhibits folk song genre traits. Furthermore, some genres
performed exclusively by traditional specialists at folk-life celebrations straddle the
categories of folk and professional, and of religious and secular. Musical styles,
subject matter, and performances practices continually interplay with the social
contexts and histories that underly and inform the musical cultures (Stone, 189190).
Somalia
Djibouti
Mauritanian Overview
Mauritania’s name comes from its dominant ethnic group, the Moors (maures in
French), a people broadly divided into ‘“White” Bidan (who claim ancestry from
north of the Sahara) and “Black” Haratin whose physical ancestry lies in Saharan
and sub-Saharan Africa. The Haratin were traditionally vassals of the Bidan noble
class, though social status in Mauritania is considerable more than a question of
skin color. Until quite late in the twentieth century, Moorish society had a strict
hierarchical class system.
In this system, musicians, know as “iggawin,” occupied the lowest rung beneath
the warriors (hassans), merchants and others. Being a hereditary caste, their skills
were (and are) handed down from generation to generation, from father to son,
or from mother to daughter. Marriages almost always take place between people
of the same class (the men always have the work “ould” between their names,
meaning “son of”; likewise women are “mint,” or “daughter of”). Despite the
rigid social structure, women in Mauritania have more freedom than in most
Arabic-speaking countries, reflecting their mixed African and Berber heritage. The
Berbers were the indigenous people of Northwest Africa, the lords of the land
before the great westerly migration of Arabs and Arabic culture that began in the
seventh century (Broughton, 2nd ed., 563).
North African Maps
Mauritania
Above A snapshot
Above:
of North Africa.
Left: Mauritania’s
position on the African
Continent.
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and
Western Sahara
Area
Total: 1,030,700 sq km (slightly larger than three times the size of New
Mexico)
Land boundaries
Border countries: Algeria 463 km,
Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km,
Western Sahara 1,561 km
Climate
Desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
Terrain
Mostly barren, flat plains of the
Sahara; some central hills
Natural resources
Iron ore, gypsum, copper,
phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil,
fish
President of
Mauritania, Colonel
Maaouya Ould Sid’
Ahmed Taya
Land use
Arable land: 0.48%
Permanent crops: 0.01%
Other: 99.51% (2001)
Natural hazards
Hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April;
periodic droughts
Environment - current issues
Overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are
contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources
away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation
Geography - note
Most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and
Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country
Population
2,998,563 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 45.9% (male 689,371; female 686,486)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 767,551; female 788,520)
65 years and over: 2.2% (male 27,106; female 39,529) (2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 52.32 years
Male: 50.15 years
Female: 54.56 years (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.6% (2003 est.)
Nationality
Noun: Mauritanian(s)
Adjective: Mauritanian
Camels in the desert in
Mauritania
Ethnic groups
Mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%
Religions
Muslim 100%
Languages
Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof
Country name
Conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Conventional short form: Mauritania
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
Local short form: Muritaniyah
Aerial view of Mauritania
Government type
Republic
Capital
Nouakchott
National holiday
Independence Day (from France), 28 November (1960)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Marketplace in the captial city,
Nouakchott
Flag description
Green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the
closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are
traditional symbols of Islam
Economy - overview
Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even
though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities
by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits
of iron ore, and the decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to
cutbacks in production. The nation’s coastal waters are among the richest fishing
areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of
revenue.
Agriculture - products
Dates, millet, sorghum,
rice, corn, dates; cattle,
sheep
Industries
Fish processing, mining of
iron ore and gypsum
Currency
Ouguiya (MRO)
Radio broadcast
stations
AM 1, FM 14, shortwave
1 (2001)
Television broadcast
stations
1 (2002)
Right: The National
Song of Mauritania
written in Arabic.
THe words are from
a 19th-century poem
by Bab Ould Cheikh
and the melody was
written by Tolia
Nikiprowetzky.
Mauritanian
Music
Malouma playing the ardine, a traditional Mauritanian musical instrument.
Mauritanian Style
Musical Style
The largest ethnic group in Mauritania is the Moors (indigenous Berbers). In
Moorish society, musicians occupy the lowest caste, also known as iggawin, who
used song to praise successful warriors as well as their patrons. Iggawin also had
the traditional role of messengers, spreading news between villages. In modern
Mauritania, professional musicians are paid by anybody to perform; affluent
patrons sometimes record the entertainment, and they are then considered to
own the recordings, instead of the musician.
Some traditional instruments found in
Mauritania are the tidinit, an hourglass-shaped
four-stringed lute, and an ardine, which is
typically played by a woman. An ardine is
similar to the West African kora, which is a
twenty-one-string harp that uses a calabash (a
member of the gourd family) as its resonator.
Other traditional instruments include the tbal,
essentially a kettledrum, and the daghumma, a
rattle.
A group of
Mauritanian
musicians. Photo
by Gary Cook.
In the Mauritian tradition, there are three
distinct ways to play music. One way is called
Al-bayda, or the White way. This method of playing is delicate and refined, mostly
associated with the Bidan (Moors of North African lineage). There is also Al-kahla,
or the Black way. This music leans more towards roots and masculinity, and is
associated with the Haratin (Moors of Sub-Saharan lineage). The third way of
playing is l’-gnaydiya, the “spotted”, or “mixed”, method.
Music progresses through five modes, which finds its origins in Arab music: karr,
fagu (both Black), lakhal, labyad (both White, and corresponding to a period
of one’s life or an emotion) and lebtyat (White, a spiritual mode relating to the
afterlife). There are other sub-modes, making for an extremely complicated
system that is followed by nearly all male musicians; female musicians are rare and
are not bound by the same rules (Stone, 192-193).
The Iggawin
One traditional task of the iggawin was to follow warriors on campaigns and
raids, extolling their bravery and encouraging them into battle. At other times the
iggawin would entertain their patrons with praise sons about the great deeds of
their ancestors. And they would also act as social historians, poets, and jokers, in
much the same way as the griots of Mali and Guinea, and elsewhere. Before the
days of radio it was also the job of the iggawin to act as newscasters, touring the
villages and recruiting news from the outside world to musical accompaniment.
They sang epic songs which were used as teaching stories for the entertainment
of both children and adults.
Today, professional musicians can be employed by anyone in return for money or
other gifts. And since the advent of recording on tape, it has been the custom for
patrons to record the entertainment for their own use – the recordings passing
into their ownership rather than the musicians’. Many songs of the iggawin
repertoire are Middle Eastern in character and others are simple enough for the
audience to take up the chorus (Broughton, 2nd ed., 563)
Musical Instruments
The following instruments are those that a either commonly played in
Mauritanian music or specifically used by Malouma in her music.
Tidinit
The traditional male instrument; a small hourglass-shaped lute with four stingstwo long strings on which the melody is played and two short one which provide
a drone-like accompaniment. In recent years the tidinit have increasingly been
replaced or augmented by the electric guitar.
Malouma is an
expert on both
the tidinit and
the ardine.
Ardine (see page 23)
The traditional female instrument; it has a body made from a large, skin-covered
half-gourd, through which a curved wooden pole is inserted, onto which anything
from 10 to 14 strings are attached with leather thongs. It looks a lot like a backto-front kora.
Tbal
The tbal originated in Egypt
during the Old Kingdom (2850
- 2160 BC) where it was part of
the cult of Isis. The first drums
were developed in the Far East
for religious rituals and court
entertainment. The instrument
varied from one region to
another. The tbal that we find
in Tunisia even exists in Eastern
Europe, in the East and the Far
East. It belongs to the family of
membranophones and is made
from a skin stretched by cords
on each end over a cylindrical
wooden body 680 mm in diameter
and 485 mm high. The instrument
is played with two sticks. One is
quite large and slightly curved
and plays the down beat. The
other, which is thinner, produces
the weaker beats. The tbal player
almost never sits down. The tbal
is mainly used to play folk music
for weddings and circumcisions
on the Island of Jerba (in southern
Tunisia). The wonderful thing
about the Jerba tbal is the Tunisian
flag painted on the body (www.
virtualmuseum.com).
Tbal
Musical Instruments
Darbuka
The tarbouka or derbakka is a percussion instrument, commonly known as the
Arab drum.
What is the
Maghreb?
The Maghreb
(sometimes spelled
Maghrib) is the
geographical name
of a the region
of Northwest
Africa that
includes Morocco,
Mauritania, Tunisia,
Algeria, and Libya.
It is very widespread in the Arab World, especially in the Maghreb areas of North
Africa. Its appearance varies considerably from one type to another and from one
region to another. It comes in the shape of a bottomless clay or pottery jug and is
often lavishly decorated with floral or geometrically shaped designs. It is covered
with a skin membrane that may be stretched taut or more slackly depending
on the strength of the sound you want to produce. The sound is made by the
musician subtly taping his palm and ten fingers on the membrane.
The tarbouka is both a popular and serious musical instrument. It is so popular in
the Middle East that one or more can be found in every home or family. The first
opportunity, or the least piece of good news, is reason enough to hear the muted
beat of this instrument. When it is included in the traditional Arab orchestra called
a takht, the tarbouka is called a tabla. For close to a century, this instrument
has been used in orchestras, replacing the naqqareh (kettledrums), small copper
timpani that are played in pairs.
Today, we find all sorts and sizes of tarbouka from the small model designed to
entertain children to the modern orchestral tarbouka with a plexiglass membrane
as well as the traditional pottery tarbouka with a sheepskin membrane.
In North Africa, you can tell the professional darbuka player by the richness of the
sound he can produce from this drum. The skin is struck with the bare hand that
alternately taps the centre and edges of the pot according to very strict musical
forms (www.virtualmuseum.com).
Musical Instruments
Tar (small tambourine)
The tambourine is a musical instrument used in Andalusian music to maintain
rhythm. It is also used in Moroccan modern music. In fact, the tambourine used
in Moroccan cities, both old cities that celebrate traditional ceremonies including
Andalusian music festivals and modern economic and administrative cities that
have modern bands, has only one shape and form. It is possible that tambourines
used in Middle Eastern countries have different shapes but I have never seen
them. I can affirm that the tambourine is used in most Moroccan cities because
it is light, has a beautiful shape and produces a beat that attracts music fans.
Besides, the tambourine has a cultural continuity since it is a very old instrument in
Morocco, which is as exciting to look at as any other historical monument in the
country.
The tar and the darbuka are two percussion instruments with similar
characteristics. First of all, both these drums are played with the hands throughout
a musical piece, marking the time and rhythm. Technically, there is also some
resemblance between the two instruments. The dom (deep and resonant beat) of
the tar, like the beat of the darbuka, is simple and strong. The tek (light beat) is
weaker and is played to fill up the empty space of the rhythm. But there are some
well known dissimilarities as well, particularly with respect to:
What is a Griot?
Griot
A griot are musical
stroytellers and
oral historians/
minstrels of North/
West African
cultures.
1. Their shape, since the tar is smaller and includes brass jingles around the edge
of its small cylindrical frame while the darbuka is obviously larger.
2. Their weight, since the tar is very light and easy to play with the hands while
the darbuka is heavier and must be balanced on the musician’s knees.
3. The hand positions, since the tar is held in the right hand and struck with the
free left hand, thus creating a rhythmic balance between the dom and the tek.
4. The movement in musical interpretation, because it is strictly prohibited to
play the dom of the tar with the left hand at the same time between one dom
and another. The left hand also plays the tek or weaker beat and there are
no less specific rules about when it should be played. Its role is also to focus
the rhythm. The dom is produced by
hitting the centre of the darbuka and
the tek by hitting the edge.
It is difficult to determine precisely the
geographical or cultural origin of these
instruments since there are no historical
sources. We only know that they
specifically related to Andalusian music
in Morocco where they keep the beat of
songs.
The tar is essentially a short cylindrical wooden frame covered with a piece of very
thin goat skin. Around the edge of the frame are five small openings or byout
(cutouts), each with a pair of brass jingles. With its goatskin covering, the sound
of the tar is higher pitched than the tambourine while the clinking of its jingles is
deeper and thicker.
Each of these instruments can be played solo but they can also harmoniously
complement the rhythm as an integral part of an orchestra (www.virtualmuseum.
com).
Musical Instruments
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
Kora
The kora is made from a gourd sound box with a long neck and many strings.
It is an instrument that can adapt itself to all kinds of music. The kora has
gone through many transformations. Music lovers are becoming increasingly
demanding which is why it has been necessary to incorporate modern tools into
its construction.
Griots use this traditional instrument to
accompany themselves. Organologically,
the kora is classified as a harp-lute because
it possesses features of both the lute (it is
plucked with the right hand) and the harp (it
has perpendicular strings with a resonator). It
is undoubtedly the best known of all African
stringed instruments. It seems the kora has
existed since the beginning of the Middle
Ages but its expansion dates from the Mali
empire (1240s). It is used to celebrate heroes
in very rich and moving instrumental forms.
It is made from half of a large gourd covered
with goat or calf skin stretched by leather laces
(the skin is now held in place by pegs or pins).
The skin is perforated by two handles that the
player uses to hold the kora and a stick runs
through the gourd across the middle of the
skin perpendicular to the two handles and the
bridge. The strings are joined to the bridge
(formerly 7 strings but now 21) by circles of
steer-hide thongs. As the kora evolved, the
rings were gradually replaced by hardwood
keys or guitar keys. The strings were once
made from twisted skin but are now made of
nylon. The kora player, generally seated with
crossed legs with the kora in front of him,
holds the instrument by its two stick handles
leaving the thumbs and index fingers free to
pluck the strings like a harp. The Gambian
musician Djeli Madi Woulendi improved the
instrument’s range by increasing the number of
strings from 7 to 21.
There is a story that the kora was actually
invented in Gambia in Talitodembakounda. It takes at least ten years to learn how
to play the kora properly. It is very difficult to make and tune. The kora is played
in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, the Casamance area, in Gambia and in Guinea Bissau.
It originated with the Mandingo culture of Senegal and this is why its various
tunings are related to Mandingo songs. Each ethnic group adapts it to suit its own
tunes (www.virtualmuseum.com).
Musical Instruments
Oud
The ‘ud (oud
ud) is made of a
soundbox that looks a bit
like a pear cut lengthwise.
It also has a neck. The
word ‘ud means “stick”
in Arabic. It is without
doubt the most widespread
chordophone in the world.
It is such a treasure that
it can be found in various
shapes in a great many
different countries. It has
gained a lofty position
as a solo instrument and
makes an excellent voice
accompaniment. It also has
a place of honour in the
history of Arab music as the
instrument that enables us
to define its scale.
The Western lute is different
on account of its frets
and 15th century playing
technique as well as the
number of strings (13 pairs
in the 17th century). For
interpreting “modal” music,
there are several types of ‘ud: the Oriental ‘ud, the Tunisian ‘ud (played in Tunisia,
Libya and eastern Algeria) and the Algerian ‘ud (called the kouitra). Although
these ‘ud have some similarities, they are different in size, tone and specific playing
technique for each of them. The Tunisian ‘ud is very close to an 11th-century lute.
It is smaller than the Eastern lute and, like lutes of the 11th-century, has four pairs
of strings and similar proportions.
I remember that
[my first music
teacher] used to
play us Mozart,
Beethoven,
Wagner, and
Chopin...it
was fantastic!
Particularly the
Mozart. It was
so different! I
felt this music
took me a long
way away from
everything I
knew.
- Malouma
The paired strings of the Tunisian ‘ud are tuned in C 3 – G 2 – D 3 – D 2. This lute
requires a special plectrum technique to play it which can pluck the strings (thus
playing the tune) and the soundboard at the same time, with the strings keeping
the rhythm. The playing technique is difficult and takes long training to master
it to play expressively. In Tunisia, the Eastern ‘ud seems to have become popular
with the spread of Eastern music on 78 rpm records in the 1910s to 1920s. This
popularity, however, was at the expense of the Tunisian ‘ud, which was seen less
often in orchestras over the years, becoming more or less obsolete in the 1960s. In
Tunisian music circles, there are avid defenders of the Tunisian ‘ud, those who do
not care for it and even some who consider it to be a stagnant and undeveloped
instrument (www.virtualmuseum.com).
Musical Instruments
Djembe
The djembe is made and used in Mali, Senegal, Guinea and the Ivory Coast as well
as in Burkina Faso.
The djembe is best known in western Burkina Faso (Bobo-Dioulasso, Banfora, the
second and fourth largest cities in the country respectively). In Ouagadougou,
it seems likely to take over the traditional instrument scene. The djembe is an
instrument of Malinke origin.
Though the
djembe is not
a traditional
Mauritania
instrument,
Malouma uses
it often in her
music.
The name djembe is said to be an onomatopoeia and to derive from the sound
the instrument makes as it resonates with its vibrations. It is made from the
caïcedrat tree and has a cylindrical shape. The upper part is covered with a
membrane of tanned goat skin held in place by three iron rings laced with
cording.
According to tradition, the djembe must be shielded from sudden changes in
temperature and humidity. The instrument is used for popular events and can be
played by any experienced drummer either as a solo instrument or together with
other instruments.
The djembe is found in the previously mentioned places in Burkina Faso and is
played by traditional and modern musical groups and is common throughout
Western Africa (www.virtualmuseum.com).
Malouma’s Music
Malouma’s songs are usually one of the following: songs based on old
Arabic poetry, traditional Mauritanian music that Malouma has modernized,
or songs addressing social issues such as relationships between men and
women.
Traditional Sources
Malouma’s Thoughts
“I was tired of the music and the rhythms of the past and felt that it was necessary
to change everything. I believe that we should be in the world to sing for the
present, not for the past. We need to wake up people and make them do
something positive their lives today. I also think that our people should be equal
to other societies in the world. But the constraints of tradition are much stronger
than I am and I’ve had a lot of trouble breaking free. However, once I got onto
this path it was no longer possible for me to turn back. My idea was to create a
new musical form that would be a descendant of this tradition, making use of the
modes and the rhythms of the traditional music that is disappearing to establish
the basis of a new type of music.
“El Moumna” from Dunya
This classic piece, also called “Tchaii,” was arranged and transformed by Malouma,
who has succeeded in synthesizing two pieces (achwaar)
achwaar) into one modern song.
achwaar
Lyrics
Her story is an amazing story.
Time has enslaved and betrayed her.
El Moumna was a beauty among beauties
She loved a handsome young man
Who was crazy about her
But her father gave her to an old man
Of his own age.
This story has reached us over the years
The composer has perpetuated it for us
Making it a source of joy and tears
Totally worn out by time
If you add modern
instruments to
the traditional
rhythms from
where I come
from, you’ll find
not only rock
music in there,
but also funk or
rap...because our
traditinal rhythms
are at the root of
these musics.
- Malouma
You have burnt us, o murderer
You have burnt out our interest for other women
You have burnt us out
So that all that is left of us is charcoal
From here to Birigni, no other can approach us
None but you, El Moumna
Believe it if you believe.
Malouma’s Music
Songs addressing social Issues
Music is a
very serious
education
amongst
[Mauritanian]
people, it’s not
a game, and
children start
from a very
young age.
- Malouma
Malouma’s Thoughts
“In 1986 I wrote a very open song, ‘Habibi Habeytou’, which means ‘I love to
Love my Love’. In a strict Muslim society like ours, it is rare to hear a woman
express herself in such a way. It was something very new to which our society
was not accustomed, so it caused me quite a few problems in the beginning,
but I continued and followed it with a song about divorce. In our society men
often divorce their first wife to marry another. They abandon their first wife
and children, but the women are not allowed to say anything. The same things
happened to me, but I didn’t write this song for myself, I wrote it for all the
women who have to keep quiet.”
“Mahma El Houb” from Dunya
Love and men-women relationships are often broached in Malouma’s songs, and
with French being one of the languages of Mauritania, Malouma sings some of
her song in French, such as this one.
Lyrics
French - “L’amour et nous”
Quand nous parlions avec nos yeux, c’etait divin,
tout n’etait que sourires et fervents balbutiements,
Nous avons essaye l’amour, ce fut l’echec
Mais quoi qu’on fasse, il nous rattrape
English - “Love and Us”
When we spoke with our eyes, it was heavenly
All smiles and feverent beginnings
We tried love and it failed
Yet whatever we do, love catches up with us.
Album cover of Dunya, Malouma’s
latest musical release.
Malouma’s Music
Classic Arabic Poetry
try Sources
Malouma’s music and lyrics also draw from classical poetry sources like the
following:
Poet - Ahmad Ibn Huseyen Al Mutanabbi
Ahmad ibn Huseyn Al Mutanabbi was born, the son of a water carrier in Kufah in
Iraq. He was educated in Syria in Damascus. He also lived among the Bedouin of
the Banu Qalb tribe, and learnt their doctrines and Arabic dialect.
In his youth he earned the nickname “Al Mutanabbi”, which means “the one
who wants to become a Prophet”. Some say because he likened himself to the
Prophet Salih in some of his verses. Others claim it is his political activities that
won the young poet the unusual name. He was the leader of a revolutionary
movement and, claiming to be a Prophet, led a revolt in his home town in 932. He
was imprisoned after the revolt was suppressed and that is when he wrote his first
poem. But his imprisonment did not see the end of
his political ambitions. He first traveled to Aleppo in
Northern Syria, where he joined the court of Prince
Saif al Dawla.
From his arrival in 948, Al Mutanabbi enjoyed
the protection of the prince for some nine years,
before his political aspirations caused him to loose
his patron’s favours and made leaving the country
the only option on hand. From their he traveled to
Egypt where for a time he enjoyed the favours of
Abu al Misk Kafur but after writing a few satirical
poems showing the court in a bad light he had to flee from here as well. From
there he traveled to Shiraz in Iran, where he gained the protection of the Adud
ad-Dawlah and worked as court poet until 965.
Al Mutanabbi became the most renowned of all the Arab poets ever. He rose to
fame with his marvelous metaphors and Abu at-Tayyib’s ornate enhancements
of the language. More than a dozen reviews have been written to examine and
interpret the subtle, almost hidden messages in his verse. And indeed, they were in
fact less than direct to the less experienced reader. For example, in one of his most
famous paragraphs, Al Mutanabbi portrays an approaching multitude of soldiers
as a crowd so huge that “The warriors marched hidden in their dust and saw with
their ears just.” Some interpretations put it in plain words that this means that the
soldiers’ senses were mystified in the commotion, so that although they thought
they were seeing, they were in fact hearing the tumult surrounding them. It is
unfortunate that Mutanabbi’s poems lose their meanings in translation.
In 965, Mutanabbi returned to Iraq and was he was attacked and killed by bandits
in a trip in the vicinity of Baghdad.
An excerpt
from one of Al
Mutanabbi’s
poems written in
Arabic.
Passage from a poem by Al-Mutanabbi
Glory and honor were healed when you were healed, and your pain passed
on to your enemies. Light, that had left the sun, as if it was sick in its
body, came back to it. By race, the Arabs are supreme in the world, but a
foreigner will take part with the Arabs of good heart.
Malouma’s Music
Classic Arabic Poetry
try Sources, cont.
Poetry about Antarah Ibn Shaddad al Absi (Anonymous author)
Indeed, probably the most illustrious single figure in pre-Islamic Arabia was
Antara the Lion - called the “father of heroes.” Antara had an Arab father and
an Ethiopian mother, and became in time Arabia’s national hero. There was no
individual equal to the valor and strength of Antara. He has been compared to
King Arthur in the English tradition but was considerably more important because
he was a more historical figure.
The name of Antarah ibn-Shaddad al Absi (ca. 525-615), evidently a Christian,
has lived through the ages as the epitome of heroism and chivalry. Knight, poet,
warrior and lover, Antara exemplified in his life those qualities greatly cherished
by the sons of the desert. His acts of gallantry, as well as his love episodes with
his lady, Ablah, whose name he immortalized in his famous Mu allaqah, have
become a part of the literary legacy of the Arabic-speaking world. Antara was the
father of knighthood. He was the champion of the weak and oppressed and the
protector of women.
He was the impassioned lover and poet, and the irresistible and gallant knight.
Antara’s magnificent deeds spread across the Arabian Peninsula and throughout
the world. In time, these deeds, like the legends of Homer, were compiled in
literary form. They are known today as the Romance of Antar, and have taken
their place among the great national classics. The Romance of Antar, in its present
form, probably preceded the romances of chivalry so common in twelfth-century
in Italy and France (www.saxakali.com).
Exerpt from the Poem of Antar
Have the poets left in the garment a place for a patch to be patched by me; and
did you know the abode of your beloved after reflection?
The vestige of the house, which did not speak, confounded thee, until it spoke
by means of signs, like one deaf and dumb.
Verily, I kept my she-camel there long grumbling, with a yearning at the blackened stones, keeping and standing firm in their own places.
It is the abode of a friend, languishing in her glance, submissive in the embrace,
pleasant of smile.
Oh house of ‘Ablah situated at Jiwaa, talk with me about those who resided in
you. Good morning to you, O house of ‘Ablah, and be safe from ruin.
I halted my she-camel in that place; and it was as though she were a high palace; in order that I might perform the wont of the lingerer.
And ‘Ablah takes up her abode at Jiwaa; while our people went to Hazan, then
to Mutathallam.
She took up her abode in the land of my enemies; so it became difficult for me
to seek you, O daughter of Mahzam.
I was enamored of her unawares, at a time when I was killing her people, desiring her in marriage; but by your father’s life I swear, this was not the time for
desiring.
And verily you have occupied in my heart the place of the honored loved one,
so do not think otherwise than this, that you are my beloved.
And how may be the visiting of her; while her people have taken up their residence in the spring at ‘Unaizatain and our people at Ghailam?
Divas of
the Desert
Oumou Sangare. Photo by Barry Wilson, 2000
Egypt: Oum Kalthoum
Oum Kalthoum.
Hanafi, 2000.
What are
maqamat
maqamat?
Marqamat are
a sequence of
notes with rules
that define its
general melodic
developement.
Oum Kalthoum (1904-1975) is indisputably the Arab
world’s greatest singer. Stern and tragic, rigidly in
control, this was a woman who, in her heyday truly
had the Arab world in the palm of her hand. With
melancholy operettas that seemed to drift on for
hours, she encapsulated the love lives of a nation and
mesmerized millions. Her stage presence was charged
by a theatrical rapport with the audience: a slight nod
of the head or a shake of her shoulders and they were
in uproar. She learned to sing by reciting verse at cafes
in her village , and sometimes dressed as a boy to
escape the religious authorities. It was to her training
in religious chanting to which she owed her stunning
vocal agility and her masterful command of the complex
maqamat. She was educated in the secular field by the
poet Ahmed Ramy and of her total output of 286 songs,
132 were his poems. Her voice was the epitome of the Arab ideal – saturated
with ‘shaggan’, or emotional yearning, and powerful enough on occasion to
shatter a glass.
In her long career, she specialized in love songs that sometimes lasted an hour,
improvising and ornamenting on a theme that would bring the audience to a
frenzy. She was once asked to sing a line 52 times over, which she did while
developing the melody each time. Of this ability she said; “I am greatly influenced
by the music found in Arabic poetry. I improvise because my heart rejoices in the
richness of this music. If someone went over a song which I sang five times, he
would not find any one like the other. I am not a record that repeats itself, I am
a human being who is deeply touched by what I sing.” As a childless mother,
her songs were her offspring given to the people. For these gifts they returned
total adoration. Apart from Allah, they say, Oum Kalthoum is the only subject
about which all Arabs agree, a fact that has always given her special political
significance. She embraced Nasser’s pan-Arab ideals and drew Arabs together
by extending a pride to them during their most difficult period in history. Nasser
used her nationalist songs to keep the masses behind him, and times his major
political speeches carefully around her broadcasts. The less prescient Anwar Sadat
once addressed the nation on the same day as her concert, and ended up without
an audience, a mistake he only made once.
She remained a great campaigner for the traditional and classic Arab song, leaving
behind an orchestra, the Arab Music Ensemble, dedicated to maintaining the pure
heritage (al turath, from the eighth and ninth centuries). It’s worth remembering
that while Kalthoum and her fellow classical musicians are today often considered
“traditional Arab music”, they were in their day, part of a movement breaking
away from tradition. At Oum Kalthoum’s funeral in February 1975, attended by
many Arab heads of state, over three million people followed her though the
streets of Cairo. At 10 pm on the first Thursday of every month, all radio stations
still play Oum Kalthoum in memory of her momentous live radio concerts of the
1950s and 1960s (Broughton, 1st ed., 180).
Mali: Oumou Sangare
The music that Oumou is making and the work she is doing in Wassoulou youth
music directly parallel that of Malouma in Mauritania.
The best known and most successful performer of Wassoulou music is Oumou
Sangare, who burst onto the Malian scene in 1989 with her best-selling cassette
Moussolo (Women), recorded in Adifjan in 1989. Her songs carry a strong
message against female oppression. She criticizes, either overtly or in more indirect
ways, polygamy, arranged marriages, and the ideology whereby women are slaves
to their menfolk. The songs which rocketed her to local fame was “Diaraby nene”
(Love Forever), an overtly sensual piece about the shivers of passion which remains
to this date her fetish (most solicited) piece. Sangare’s subsequent albums, Ko Sira
and Worotan, have expressed increasingly overt attacks on polygamy.
“Since childhood, I’ve always hated polygamy,” she
explained. “My father had two wives. It was really a
catastrophe. From a young age I started to sings, from
nursery school, and I said the day that I take a microphone
in front of a crowd of people, the first thing I’m going to do
is deplore the people who marry four women, who engage
in forced marriage. I had a lot of problems at first. At my
concerts at the Palais de la Culture, the men used to wait in
their cars. Their wives went into the concert and the men
stayed outside. But a few men came inside and now more
come. Lots of young women understood and really agreed
with me. They had all that in their heads and were effusing
forced marriages. When their parents tried the refused, but
they could not express the pain they felt. So, now they had
someone who could help them to cry out what they felt.”
The main aural hook in Sangare’s music is the punchy,
nervous and funky sound of the kamalengoni (the youth’s
harp). Wassoulou music is youth music, a breath of fresh
air after the strict conventions of Mande society. “The jelis
direct their singing at a particular individual, “ says Sangare.
“I sing for everyone, about things that concern everyone;
not for one person to make them feel more superior. At
first we had a lot of problems with the jelimusolu, they complained that we were
not griottes, so we had no right to sing. Our answer is that all of us in Wassoulou
are artists, all our parents are artists. Before, if you weren’t a griot you couldn’t
sing in Mali. It is we, the Wassoulonke, who have turned all that around”
(Broughton, 1st ed., 258-259).
Lebanon: Fairuz
The Arab world superstar Fairuz (Huhad Haddad) was born in 1934 to a
Christian Maronite family in Beirut. While a teenager, the tender quality of
her voice brought her to the attention of the newly founded Lebanese Radio
Beirut, which she joined as a chorus singer. There she soon became a leading
solo singer, known for her interpretations of classical Arab song. There, too,
she met the brothers, Asi and Mansour Rahbani, struggling composers who at
the time were earning their living as policemen. Fairuz and the two brothers
(Fairuz and Asi married in 1954) worked together for the next thirty years. Asi
composed the music; Mansour wrote the words – which in the early part of her
career were largely nostalgic and romantic; Fairuz sung, sweeping all before her.
The Fairuz/Rahbani team was incredibly prolific and diverse. They reinterpreted
classical Arab song, bringing in Western and Eastern european styles (and keys)
to the orchestration, combining the piano, guitar, violin and accordion with the
nay and Arab percussive instruments. They even created hubrids with tango and
rumba, and produced an Arabised version of Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G
minor, K550. No Arab composer before or since has been quite so innovative. But
the trios’ most remarkable achievements were the huge musical plays that they
mounted together at the Baalbek Festivals – elaborate, operatic spectacles that
drew heavily on the folk culture of rural Lebanon.
Certainly the region has seen nothing on such
a scale, before or since, and these productions
became a recognized showcase for other emerging
Lebanese talent. During the civil war, Fairuz’s refusal
to leave Beirut even during the worst of the conflict
became a sympbol of hope, and her first peacetime
performace in the city was hailed as a landmark.
She remains hugely popluar with Lebanese diaspora
communities all over the world, and she can fill any
concert hall in Europe or the US, where there are
Lebanese or Arab communities.
Fairuz and Asi parted in the early 1980s (Asi died
in 1986) but she has continued to work with Ziad,
the son from their marriage, as her musical director.
Their 1990s collaborations have brought a new,
more adventurous direction to her career. Ziad
Rahbani (bor 1957) has pioneered his own particular
brand of Arab jazz, a distinctly Lebanese synthesis
of East and West. He has also continued the family
tradition of music and drama, scoring the music for
several plays and films (Broughton, 2nd ed., 393).
Morocco: Najat Aatabou
As a teenager, Najat Aatabou became known as a powerful singers of Berber and
Arabic songs, and her parents were not happy. She had been recorded singing
at a family party and the cassettes of this, just titled Najat, were selling in the
market and inspiring curiosity as to the identity and music of this unknown singer.
The family rift was sufficiently serious that Aatabou left Khemisset and moved to
Casablanca. This is when talent scout Hajj Houssein discovered her and began to
help her fashion a real artistic career for herself.
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Aatabou gradually reconciled with her family, in part by making it clear to them
that her music upheld, rather than challenged moral messages: don’t drink; don’t
smoke; don’t be loose with men. The family drama is exactly the sort of thing that
inspired her to write songs as her career began to take off. Aatabou composes
her songs in her native language, but then translates them into Arabic or French.
Recording both with orchestral backing and the spare staccato rhythms of the
bendir frame drum and plucked-string, percussive lotar, Aatabou has evolved her
songs of heartbreak and loneliness into humorous, frank tales of urban romance.
As her popularity has spread throughout the Maghreb, Aatabou has become
particularly aware of her importance to women in the region. She encourages
them to claim freedom, but to use it responsibly, not sacrificing self-respect. She
is a dynamic performer who generates joyous energy that belies her strict, sober
lifestyle. Aatabou says that her most important musical influence is the Berber
singer Hamou Yazidi, whom she has listened to since childhood. She now lives in
Casablanca.
Aatabou’s first relaase, the eye-opening “J’en ai marre” (I am sick or it), sold
450,000 copies. Her second release, “Shouffi Rhirou” (Look for Another Lover),
and every subsquent release have sold more than hald a million copies, and she
is now a huge star throughout the Maghreb and can fill large venues in Europe
(Broughton, 1st ed., 121).
Ali Farka Toure
Ali Toure is a Grammy® Award-Winner for his collaboration with Ry Cooder,
Talking Timbuktu, the first album to debut at #1 on Billboard’s World Music Chart,
remaining at #1 longer than any other release, and winning Down Beat’s Critics
Poll for Beyond Album of the Year, Ali Farka Toure is the finest blues guitarist and
singer in West Africa, combining traditional Malian songs and rhythms with many
outside influences to produce a highly individual style.
Toure was born into the noble Sorhai family in the Timbuktu region of Mali
in 1939. Being of noble birth, he should never have taken up music as the
profession is normally inherited in Malian society and the right to play belongs
to the musician families. However, being a man of fierce determination and
independence, once he decided to take up music, there was no stopping him...
In 1950 he began playing the gurkel - a single-string African guitar which he
chose because of it’s power to draw out the spirits. He also taught himself the
n’jarka, a single string fiddle which is today a popular part of his performance.
Then in 1956, he saw a performance by the great Guinean guitarist Ketita Fodeba
in Bamako. He was so moved that he decided then and there to become a
guitarist. Teaching himself, Toure adapted traditional songs using the techniques
he had learned on the gurkel.
During a visit to Bamako in the late 1960’s, Toure was introduced to AfricanAmerican music by such artists as Ray Charles, Otis Redding and most importantly
John Lee Hooker. At first, Toure thought that Hooker was playing Malian music,
but then realized that “it has been taken from here.” Toure was convinced that
American blues was rooted in traditional Malian music. He was also inspired by
Hooker’s strength as a performer and began to incorporate elements into his own
playing.
For years he followed a successful career in West Africa adapting traditional songs
and rhythms in ten languages from Mali’s enormous cultural wealth. This career
was combined with a life rooted in his village. While touring widely in Africa and
also occasionally in Europe and America, Toure preferred the security of his village
life, family and friends, crops and livestock (www.concertedefforts.com).
Abdul Halim Hafez
On March 30th 1977, a distinguished page in the history of Arabic songs and
music was closed at the death of Abdul Halim Hafez. The voice of a whole
generation, characterised by patriotic passion and represented by this great singer,
was silenced. Since the inception of the July 23, 1952 Revolution, the voice
of Abdul Halim Hafez and that of his tutors Mohamed Abdul Wahab and Om
Kalthoum had expressed the romantic feelings and sentiments and the aspirations
and dreams of the entire Arab nation.
Abdul Halim Hafez performed his role not merely as a singer but rather as a
participant in formulating political events of the Arab nation. During this period
singing was the most outstanding and influential form of art and more widespread
than the cinema, the stage, painting and literature. Millions of Arabs listened and
were deeply influenced by the songs of Abdul Halim Hafez and his peers. His songs
convinced people and rallied support for the Revolution and its goals.
Abdul Halim Ali Ismail Shabana, which was his true name, was born in 1929 in a
village north of Cairo. On the day of his birth his mother died and so did his father
after a short period. His musical talent appeared while he was in primary school.
His first music teacher was his elder brother Ismail Shabana, the singer.
In 1941 he joined the Arabic Music Institute in Cairo and became famous for
singing the songs of Mohamed Abdul Wahab. He then joined the Egyptian
radio music orchestra. In 1952, he started to gain fame when he sang in public
concerts songs composed by the well-known musician Mohamed El Mogy. But
actually he began to gain his greatest popularity in 1954 when he sang on the
Egyptian Revolution anniversary expressing the aspirations and dreams of the new
generation.
Abdul Halim Hafez’s national songs brought about a revolution in Arabic music. He
aroused enthusiastic, patriotic feelings, not through the conventional recitations of
poems and throbbing rhythm of brass musical instruments but by his gentle love
songs for the homeland. For almost 26 years his national songs were the most
expressive of political events in Egypt, to the extent that he was described by some
as Al Jabarti (the historian) who translated national dreams and visions into songs.
The passionate poems by poets such as Salah Jaheen, Ahmed Shafeeq Kamel and
Abdul Rahman Al Abnoudi, who wrote in simple but highly expressive words,
considerably helped in the song revolution.
Referring to Abdul Halim Hafez’s love songs we can say that they were another
revolution in Arabic music. He was encouraged by the great musician and pioneer
of innovation Mohamed Abdul Wahab as well as Baleegh Hamdi, the young
composer who accompanied him in the journey of innovation. His love songs were
simple, sincere and well-performed.
Late Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser was a patron of Abdul Halim Hafez,
who also won the friendship of some Arab leaders such as the late Tunisian
President Al Habib Bourquibah and King Hassan II of Morocco.
He sang in most of the Arab countries, and presented hundreds of love songs,
56 national songs, and played a leading role in 16 movies. His songs are still very
popular and best sellers in the Arab nation (www.sis.gov.eg/calendar/).
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Mohamed Abdel Wahab
as a young man.
Mohamed Adb el-Wahaab
Mohamed Adb el-Wahaab (1910-1991) was dubbed the “artist of generations”,
as tha last remaining figure from the old guard, of which he was the most
controversial and respected member. His achievements spanned a long career
from the 1920s as a singer, film star and eventually composer – a talent crowned
when Oum Kalthoum agreed to sing his “Enta Omri”, a song which featured an
electric guitar fro the first time in her career. As a composer, Abd el-Wahaab is
remembered as the modernizer of Arabic music, liberating it, as his supporters
see it, from the limitations of the takht ensembles and allowing it to embrace
Western-stlye tangos, waltzes and instrumentation. Others critisize his music for
overt plagiarism. He stood by his vision for modernization fo the music all his life,
demanding that “the artist is the creator and has the full right to introduce new
elements into his music as he sees fit. We must always be open to new ideas
and not resist change. Change is inevitable in everything.” Ironically, in his later
years Abd el-Whaab becams so contemptuous of other modenizers that he took
his initiative a stop further. In 1990 he released a classical song into a market
awash with the bleeping synths of the new youth pop. It was the first occasion
in 32 years that he had sung his own compostition and the song, “Minrear Ley”
(Without Why), was a blatant test of popular loyalty. It was viewed by many as
the final gasp of a wounded musical genre but its immediate success went some
way to prove that his vision for Arab music lived on (Broughton, 2nd ed., 328).
Arab
Culture
An excerpt from the Qur’an, or Koran, the holy book of Islam
The Arab World
An Overview
The Arab world covers a vast territory that includes much of northern and western
Africa and the eastern Mediterreanen. There are twenty-two Arab nations in the
world today: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen.
Arabs, as a group, often speak the same language, share many cultural habits
and traditions, and have a common history. For this reason they are thought of
as an ethnic group. But the Arab world is ethnically diverse and many ethnic
groups besides Arabs live in Arab nations. Kurds live in present-day Turkey, Iran,
and Iraq; Chaldeans live in northern Iraq; Berbers reside in much of North Africa;
and Armenians are scattered throughout many eastern Mediterranean nations.
These four ethnic groups each have their
own language. Kurds and Berbers are
Muslims, while Armenians and Chaldeans
are Christians. All four are culturally similar
to the Arabs and most speak Arabic in
addition to their own language.
Although the neighboring nations of Turkey
and Iran share similar histories and cultures
with the Arab world, the majority of their
citizens are not Arabs, nor do they speak
Arabic. In Israel, a predominantly Jewish
state, Hebrew is the national language,
but about 20 percent of Israeli citizens
are Palestinian Arabs and there are some
Jewish Arabs.
Traditionally, some Arabs have been tribal nomads, or Bedouins, who travel with
their herd of camels, goats, and sheep from oasis to oasis. Most rural Arabs
are farmers who live along fertile rivers or coastal areas. Sixty percent of the
population of the Arab world, however, now live in cities. As a crossroad between
east and west, the Arab world has long been a center for trade, with many cities
or commercial urban centers. Cities like Damascus in Syria and Jericho in Palestine
are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and Cairo, Egypt,
is one of the largest cities in the world.
The land in the Arab world is as geographically diverse as it is in the United
States. Large portions are predominantly arid and dry, including the vast Sahara
and Arabian deserts. Mountain ranges cut across many Arab states, including
Morocco, Lebanon, and Syria, as well as the southern Arabian Peninsula. The
coastal areas are more fertile, and many Arab states enjoy a Mediterranean
climate with warm, dry summers and rainy winters. The fertile areas along two
major river systems, the Nile and the Tigris and Euphrates, have been centers of
civilizations since ancient times (Ameri & Ramey, 1-2).
Arab Religions
Islam
The two main religions practiced by Arabs are Islam and Christianity. Religion for
Arabs does not only provide a system of beliefs about God and how people should
live, it also brings together people from similar backgrounds (Ameri & Ramey 89).
Islam is the religion of the majority of Arabs. It began with the birth of the prophet
Muhammed (c. 570-632) in the town of Mecca, a famous trade center in presentday Saudi Arabia. Muslims, followers of the faith of Islam, believe that in 610
Muhammad first heard the word of God through the angel Gabriel. His words
were recorded in the Qur’an (also spelled Koran), the holy book for Muslims.
Muhammad continued to receive revelations from God for the next twenty-two
years. The word Qur’an means recitation, because its words were literally recited
to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.
Like Jews and Christians before them, Muslims believe in one Lord God. The word
for God in Arabic is “Allah”. “Islam” means “submission to the will of God”. In
general, Muslims are more familiar with Judaism and Christianity than Jews and
Christians are with Islam, because the religion of Islam recognizes all the prophets
from Abraham through Jesus. These earlier prophets are mentioned in the Qur’an,
and Jews and Christians are considered “people of the book”. The means that
Muslims respect the holy books of the Jews and Christians, and believe that the
Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible contain divine truths. Because the Qur’an was
revealed in Arabic, many Muslims all over the world learn to read Arabic in order to
be able to read the Qur’an in its original language.
In the Qur’an Muslims find prayers, the history of the prophets, and guidance
on ethical and spiritual matters. In addition, Muslims have two other important
sources: the Hadith, sayings and acts of the prophet Muhammad, and
the Shari’a, the code of Islamic law. Both of these derive from the
Qur’an. The stories in the Hadith show how the prophet Muhammad
handled various situations in daily life, and gives moral guidance to
Muslims,. In the Shari’a, Muslims find detailed explanations of legal
matters, including laws on diet, marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
For instance, Muslims should not drink liquor or eat pork, and they
should eat only chicken or beef that is halal, meaning that it has been
slaughtered according to Islamic Law (Ameri & Ramey 92-94).
The pictures
below are
aerial views
Mecca, the
holiest place
for Muslims.
Music and Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
Shahada: The basic
Muslim declaration
of faith
Salat: Prayer
Zakat: Charity
Soum: Fasting
Hajj: Pligrimage
The Muslim call to prayer (adhan), intoned five times daily, is a familiar sound
in local towns and cities. Its style carries according to regional tradition and the
personal style of the muezzin, or “caller.” The calls range from stylized recitation
on one or two highly melismatic renditions based on specific melodic formulas
of the Middle Eastern Arab tradition. Familiar, also, are the sounds of children
intoning memorized verses from the Koran at neighborhood mosques and
religious schools. Children are rewarded for precise and artful recitation, which
may follow depending on local custom, one of several established methods of
Qur’anic chant. The calls to prayer and the scriptural recitations are performed
in Arabic, the languages of the Qur’an. Whether simply spoken or elaborately
sung, they emphasize clarity of pronunciation and strict adherence to the rules of
Arabic.
Music occupies an ambiguous position in Muslim life. Since the beginning of
Islam, Muslim authorities have disputed the question of whether music should
be permitted in worship. Because music, especially instrumental music, was
associated with pagan practices and sensual entertainments, early authorities
declared the act of listening to music “unworthy” of a Muslim. The debate
continues. To avoid secular associations, references to music are usually avoided
in mention of calls to prayer, Koranic recitations, and other forms of religious
expression. In some communities, music making of any kind (religious or
secular) is discouraged in the name of Islam. A few forbid music altogether, as
do members of the puritanical Mozabite sect of Algeria. Nevertheless, the sung
praise of the Islamic deity is standard practice in most of the region, and for the
most part music is celebrated throughout the Arab World.
The annual departure and return of pilgrims to Mecca, the beginning and ending
of a journey every Muslim tries to make at least once, are occasions for singing
religious songs. In the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful fast
in the daylight hours, families sing religious songs as they gather for the evening
or predawn meal. Special Ramadan songs also occur in street processions.
Muhammad’s birthday is celebrated with hymns of praise and epic songs depicting
events in his life. The best known of these is el-burda “the Prophet’s mantle.”
The religious music is mainly vocal, but instruments are used in certain contexts
as, in the ceremonial Thursday evening proclamations of the holy day in Morocco,
with trumpet (nfi
nfirr) or oboe (ghaita) accompaniment. Pairs of oboes or trumpets,
in ensemble with drums, such as the double-headed cylindrical ypes played in
Niger, herald the beginning and end of Ramadan.
Pre-Islamic beliefs and unorthodox practices of Sufi mystics have mingled with
canonic precepts to produce a unique form of Islam, in which the veneration
of Saints is a feature. The concept of Saints as mediators between divinity and
humanity, and as sources of good health and fortune, became a feature of Islamic
worship in western North Africa after A.D. 1200. Religious brotherhoods arose
around legendary holy figures, often revered as patron saints or village founders.
The activities of the brotherhoods center on small cupolaed mosques, which
enclose the tombs of the saints. Some of these structures also contain facilities
for lodging and teaching. Each year, thousands of worshipers make pilgrimages
to the tombs of locally revered Saints.
Music and Islam
Hymns are regularly sung at the tombs. In Tunisia, canticles of praise are
performed to the accompaniment of bagpipe (mizwid)
mizwid) and bender (singlemizwid
headed frame drum). In the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Friday the holy
day, is celebrated weekly at the tomb with a procession oboes and drums.
The musicians, by virtue of their close identification with the Saint, are
believed to possess some of the holy man’s spiritual power, enabling them
to aid the sick and offer protection to the community.
Featured in the rituals of the religious
brotherhoods are songs and recitations of
Sufi origin, know collectively as zikr, meaning
“in recollection” of Allah. Though the zikr
is usually sung in Arabic, vernaculars are
occasionally used, as is the custom among the
Berber Tuareg. Some practices include the
repetition of raspy, guttural utterances on the
syllables. These increase in intensity, and lead
the participants into states of trance.
On Muhammad’s birthday or other occasions
deemed appropriate, the zikr may be part
of a larger ceremony known as hadra, a
term meaning “in the presence of,” with allusion to the supernatural.
Though the hadra takes many forms, it typically includes special songs and
rhythms, rigorous dancing, and altered states of consciousness. In trance,
a participant may become possessed or may express emotional fervor with
acts demonstrating extraordinary strength or oblivion to pain. In other
instances, participants seek exorcism of unwanted spirits believed to be
the cause of illness or misfortune. In Libya, where the hadra is a curing
ceremony, a ritual specialist performs exorcisms to an accompaniment of
songs and drums-a procedure that, if the illness is sever, may be repeated
for seven days or more. In Morocco, the music for the hadra is played on
the ghaita and tbal (kettledrum) by professional musicians. In Algeria, use
of melody instruments is rare. In the hadra, Islamic concepts of spirits, as
described in the Qur’an, merge with pre-Islamic beliefs and practices (Stone
192-193).
Above:
Malouma, on
the right, in
concert playing
the ardine.
Language
Arabic
English words
from the Arabic
language
Admiral
Alcohol
Algebra
Almanac
Atlas
Average
Candy
Coffee
Calendar
Cotton
Magazine
Mattress
Satin
Sugar
Tambourine
Traffic
Zero
Arabic is the sixth most common first language in the world, and the thirteenth
most spoken foreign language in the United States. It is the official language
in the twenty-one countries that make up the Arab world. Arabic is also used
by Muslims worldwide for religious devotions, sermons, and prayers. Arabic
belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. A language family is a group of
languages that are thought to have developed from a common parent language
thousands of years ago. Language families are divided into subgroups and
individual languages. For example, English belongs to the Germanic subgroup of
the Indo-European language family. This subgroup also includes other Germanic
languages, such as German and Dutch.
The Afro-Asiatic language family is divided into five subgroups of languages.
These languages are spoken throughout the Middle East and North and Central
Africa. The largest subgroup contains the Semitic languages, which include
Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew. Arabic is thought to have developed in the Arabian
Peninsula, and was spoken only there and in bordering areas to the north until
the seventh century. At that time, the Arabic-speaking people, who had recently
converted to Islam, began a period of expansion that carried the Arabic language
throughout western Asia and North Africa, and even into Spain in southern
Europe.
The Arabic alphabet was adopted by many of the people ruled by Muslims,
including those who never adopted the Arabic language. Even today, the Arabic
script is used to write some of the Indo-European languages of western Asia,
including Persian and Kurdish. Turkish was written with the Arabic alphabet
until the 1920s, when they adopted the Latin alphabet. Unlike English, Arabic is
written from right to left. There are twenty-eight letters in the Arabic alphabet,
and these letters have different forms, depending upon whether they come at
the beginning, middle, or end of a word. The Arabic script is a source of pride
for Arabs, and calligraphy – artistic handwriting – because a highly developed art
in the Arab world during the golden years of the Muslim Empire (Ameri & Ramey
75-77).
Translation: “Your Lebanon is a political dilemma that the days are trying
to resolve, but my Lebanon is hills, rising with reverence and majesty
towards the blueness of the sky.”
- Kahlil Gibran, author, poet and philosopher from Lebanon
The Moors
The Moors are not a specific race of people. The word has never been clearly
defined and remains ambiguous and confusing. This term has been broadly
used to denote various people in North Africa, people who came from Morocco,
Mauritania or simply to describe Muslims in general. Christians in the 13th century
also referred to the Moors as “Moriscos” and “Mudejares.”
The word “Moors” may have evolved from the Greek “Mauros” which means
“dark.” The Greeks were in Spain around 500 BC, 300 years before the Romans.
Circa 46 B. C., the Roman army entered West Africa where they encountered Black
Africans whom they called “Maures” from the Greek adjective mauros, meaning
“dark or black. The Romans probably pinched it from the Greeks, complete with
its original connotation of “dark.” This might explain why the Latin ‘Maurus’
translates literally into “Moors,” with no further definition. Borrowing directly
from the Greek meaning, this would have been good enough for the Romans to
describe the “dark” skinned people of North Africa.
The word was first applied officially to the indigenous people of a Roman province
in North Africa called Mauritania (Latin = ‘land of the Moors’). This roughly corresponds to present day North Morocco and Algeria. The name Morocco is another
reminder of the region’s “Moorish” past. When the Arabs swept westward and
captured North Africa in the 7th century, the term was revived by Europeans to
denote not only the indigenous Black Africans and fairer skinned Berbers of North
Africa, but the Arabs as well. Following the Arab conquest of the Berbers, intermarriages were common and the two races (Berber and Arab) gradually merged
together.
The Webster’s
New World
Dictionary
identifies Moors
as “a member of
Muslim people of
mixed Arab and
Berber descent.”
Though the word
“Moor” originally
was meant to
indicate Black
Africans, in time
came to be applied
to Muslims in
general, especially
the Berbers.
With regards to Spain, the term “Moors” later became a convenient general term,
to describe the collective Muslim conquerors and rulers in Andalucia between 711
and 1492. After the sudden death of the Visigothic King Witiza (701-711), a rebellious baron and powerful chieftain called Roderic (also known as Rodrigo), with
support from within the palace, seized the throne and proclaimed himself king.
The church leaders reluctantly gave their blessing to the coronation, realizing that
to do otherwise was to incite further fragmentation of a country already in great
turmoil.
Roderic’s first task was to travel north to suppress the rebel Basques. He knew that
if they broke away from his control, other regions would follow their example and
his kingdom would soon collapse. In the meantime, the sons of the late King Wittiza appealed to the Muslims of North Africa for assistance against Roderic. The
Arab commander Musa however, had other plans.
In the year 710, a scouting party of 700 Muslim Berbers led by the Berber leader
Tariq ibn Ziyad, entered southern Spain and met with little resistance as they established control over the coastline. 20,000 or so non-Muslims within Spain, who
welcomed the newcomers as allies rather than conquerors, aided them willingly.
Apart from Roderic’s enemies, this number included many persecuted Jews and
peasants, who hated all Visigoths. The Visigoths were so busy fighting amongst
themselves, they were slow to realize what was really going on. When word of the
invasion was finally sent to Roderic, he quickly returned to the south with a small
band of men. They were easily overwhelmed and defeated in an ambush and Roderic was killed by Tariq’s men on 19th July 711 (around lunchtime).
The Moors
This initial incursion was followed in 712 by a mainly Arab force of 18,000. The
non-Arab portion of this number included more Berbers, Egyptians, Yemenis,
Syrians and Persians. After many bloody revolts and power struggles, the Arabs
took control in 788. The Berbers, despite their assistance in the successful
reconnaissance mission, were soon reminded of their subordinate status in the
Arab Empire and were virtually treated as second class citizens.
For the next 300 years or so, despite periods of
instability, Andalucia flourished as a center of
learning, culture and trade under Arab rule. In the
year 1090, a dynasty of Berbers called the Almoravids
seized power from the Arabs. In 1147 an opposing
dynasty of Berbers called the Almohads muscled their
way into power.
In 1237, the Arab controlled Nasrid Sultanate
overthrew the decaying Almohad Empire and began
building the Alhambra in Granada. By this time,
all that was left of Moorish-held Spain was the
southwest corner of the Peninsula. The Christians
in the meantime continued their push southward
until they finally moved in on Granada in 1492. The
“capitulation” of the Catholic Kings, which took the
form of the “Treaty of Granada” and outlined 69
articles of religious tolerance, was enough to woo
the Muslims into surrendering peacefully. For a few
short years there was a tense calm in the province
but the inquisitors were never happy with the deal.
The Church advisors, using religious justifications,
convinced Ferdinand and Isabella to break the treaty
and force the Muslims to become Christians or leave
Spain.
The Moorish
Chief, 1878.
Chief
Edward
Charlemont
To the Christians, Moor simply meant Muslim
barbarian. They didn’t care where these ‘Moors’
came from. Their only interest was to evict every
last one of them from Spain. Many of the Moors
remained in Spain following the Chrisitian invasion; those who remained faithful
to Islam were called “Mudejares,” while those who accepted Christianity were
called “Moriscos.” They were allowed to stay in Spain but were kept under
close surveillance. They were persecuted by Philip II, revolted in 1568, and in
the Inquisition were virtually exterminated. In 1609 the remaining Moriscos
were expelled. Thus the glory of the Moorish civilization in Spain was gradually
extinguished. Its contributions to Western Europe and especially to Spain were
almost incalculable—in art and architecture, medicine and science, and learning
(especially ancient Greek learning) (http://herso.freeservers.com/moors.html).
The Berbers
Berbers are considered as people living in North Africa, from Morocco’s west coast
to the oasis Siwa in Egypt, from Tunisia’s north tip to the oases in mid-Sahara.
Berbers are making up a clear majority of the population of North Africa in terms
of race and in terms of identity, a considerable minority. The difference between
race and identity here is central to understand what being Berber is all about.
The influx of Arabs to North Africa, has been far too small up through history to,
defend the large numbers of people now claiming to be Arabs. And the influx of
other peoples to North Africa has not been of any size since the Vandals in the 5th
century.
A Berber woman.
In terms of race, Berbers represent 80% of the
population in Morocco and Algeria, more than
60% in Tunisia and Libya and 2% in Egypt,
making up more than 50 million people. In
addition there are about four million Berbers
living in Europe, primarily in France. But as the
Arabization has swept away the indigenous
language from many regions, as well as the
Berber identity, many people with Berber
forefathers, are now claiming to be Arabs. In
terms of identity Berbers represent 40% of all
Moroccans, 30% of all Algerians, 5% of all
Tunisians, and 10% of all Libyans and 0,5% of
all Egyptians, making up more than 20 million
people. An estimated half of the ethnic Berbers
living in Europe regard themselves as Berbers,
making up two million.
Berbers are just as most other peoples in the
world, blended with other people. There
are differences between Berbers which have
inspired many stories, of European slaves and
war captives, bringing blond hair and red
hair as well as green and blue eyes into the
Berber race. The origin of Berbers is not certain
either, some believe they may have come from
Europe, but it is safest to consider the Berbers
as the original population of North Africa.
The Berber communities are scattered around in the North African countries. They
often live in the mountains and in smaller settlements. There are around 300 local dialects among the Berbers. Berbers are Muslims, but there are more popular
practices found among Berbers as more Berbers than Arabs live in rural areas,
where popular practices are generally found more often. The conversion of Berbers
to Islam took centuries and many areas Islam didn’t catch on until 16th century.
This has, of course, left more traces of former religious practice in the Islam of the
Berbers.
The Berbers
Of major cities in North Africa, only Marrakech has a population with a Berber
identity. The Berber dominance in the mountains comes from the days of Arab
conquest, when the Arabs took control over the cities, but left the countryside
to its own (the number of Arabs was too small for a more profound occupation).
Berbers in those days had the choice between living in the mountains, resisting
Arab dominance, or moving into the Arab community, where Arab language and
culture were dominating.
Right: This
is a Berber
encampment
in Tunisia.
Up until a few years ago being Berber was considered to be secondary (like in
many societies in the West: Indians in America, Aboriginals in Australia, Lapps in
Norway): in the most modernized society in North Africa, Tunisia, being Berber is
synonymous with being an illiterate peasant dressed in traditional garments.
As with other indigenous peoples in the world, Berbers are now protesting against
the undervaluation of their culture and identity, the absence of a written language
and about having little political influence. This has been most clear in Algeria
but quite evident in Morocco, too. In Algeria the situation has been so tense,
that foreign commentators have speculated in the chances of a civil war and a
partition of the country. Algerian Berbers are often unfamiliar with Arabic and use
French as second language. Arabs in Algeria and Morocco object very much to
the blossoming of Berber identity in their countries, but so far there has been little
aggression between the two groups.
Up through history, Berbers have founded several dynasties strong enough to
threaten countries in Europe. Numidia in Algeria was so strong in the 2nd century
BC, that Rome feared that it could become a new Carthage. In the 11th and 12th
centuries, the Almoravids and later in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Almohads,
were Berber dynasties strong enough to control major parts of Northwest-Africa
and Spain. At the dawn of colonization, Abdu l-Qadir in the Algerian Kabyles
halted French occupation for many years (until 1847) (http://i-cias.com/e.o/
berbers.htm).
Overview
Arabs believe that to dress modestly is to show that one has strong morals and
is trustworthy. Dressing modestly means dressing conservatively, or covering up,
rather than showing off one’s body. This is why Arab men tend not to wear shorts
and sometimes wear a taqiya, a cap that covers the top of the head. Arab women
usually cover their heads with a head scarf called a hijab. The hijab is mainly worn
by Muslim women, but there are many Christian women who also wear head
scarves. Although some people feel that Arab women are not required by their
religion or their culture to cover their heads, other say that it is mandatory for an
upright Muslim woman to war the hijab because there is reference to it in the
Qur’an.
The hijab means different things to different women. Many Arab girls will start
wearing the hijab when they are young while girls sometimes feel pressure from
family and friends to wear the hijab, Arab women will often begin to wear it as a
way of expressing pride in their heritage and respect for the value of modesty.
In general there is much diversity in the clothes Arab women wear now. While
some choose to ear the hijab, other wear jeans, skirts, or dresses. There is no one
style of dress for Arab women (Ameri & Ramey, 140).
What Guides Clothing?
Climate
People living in a desert environment often covered up in loose clothing to protect
themselves from the sun and to keep cool. White clothing was cooler than dark
clothing in the sunlight. And head coverings were important for protection against
the sun, too.
Fabrics
Five main fabrics are traditionally available for clothing. Cotton was a cool fabric.
In winter or in cold environments, clothing was commonly made of wool. Camel
hair was also woven into clothing for cold weather. Some clothing was made from
plant fibers called linen. Silk was imported from China or Persia and was very expensive, so only the rich could afford it.
Traditions, status, and group identity
Cultural traditions were also important in style of clothing. In each culture, clothing
showed the social status of its people. Married and unmarried women might wear
different clothing or head coverings. Young girls would not be required to wear the
clothing of older girls nearing the age of marriage and married women may wear
another style of clothing. Rich and poor, educated and uneducated, military or civilian might wear different styles of clothing which showed who they were and their
occupation or status. Clothing worn out in public would be very different from
clothing worn in the home, especially for women. A Muslim student, a scholar or
judge would wear appropriate clothing showing his religious status. An older man
would have a beard while a younger man might not. And a slave would wear very
different clothing than a master. People from one tribe, village, or culture traditionally wore one type of clothing to show their group membership. Also, clothing
would differ as to the situation one was in. Clothing while doing hard farm work,
for example, would be different from clothing when going to a mosque (www.
sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Clothing/).
The layers of
loose clothing
the man above
is wearing help
him keep cool
in the desert.
What does the Qur’an say?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Qur’an tells both women and men to be modest
The Qur’an tells men that they should not wear silk or gold jewelry to show
off their wealth.
Clothing should not attract attention or be worn to show off.
Clothing must cover the entire body; only the hands and face may remain
visible.
The material must not be so thin that one can see through it.
Clothing must hang loose so that the shape of the body is not shown off.
The woman’s clothing must not resemble the man’s clothing, nor should the
man’s clothing resemble the woman’s.
Women shouldn’t artificially lengthen their hair with wigs or weaves, nor have
tattoos.
A Muslim should not wear clothing to look like a non-Muslim. (For example,
the Persians were known for wearing red, many silk robes, and their men’s
robes had long trains which dragged behind them. The Prophet Muhammad
was against Muslims copying these styles.)
Men’s robes or shirts should extend down from halfway below the shin but
over the ankles, but not so long as to trail behind on the ground.
While praying in a mosque, clothing should be plain and not be distracting.
A man’s hair might be criticized if it was shoulder-length or longer. The
Prophet Muhammad preferred men to wear their hair neat and cut a little
below the ears (www.
sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/
sch618/Clothing/).
Muslim Calendar
Muslims use a purely lunar calendar. It was adopted in A.D. 632, two months
before the death of Mohammed. By direct injunction of the Koran, they eliminated
intercalation of extra months that had previously been added to keep their
calendar in phase with seasons.
At that time, Muslims did not maintain a count of years. They measured the
passing of time (longer than weeks) only by months. The caliph Omar, who
succeeded Mohammed as the leader of Islam, established a year count starting
from the time of Mohammed’s migration from Makkah to Medina in A.D. 622.
The Muslim Calendar usually consists of six 29-day months and six 30-day months,
for a total of 354 days. That’s a little more than eleven days short of a solar year.
Because of this, all months cycle backwards through the seasons.
That calendar is used to schedule religious feasts in the Muslim world;
consequently, these feasts also shift through the solar year. New Year’s Day, the first
of Muharram, occurs eleven days earlier each year than it had the year before. In
order to avoid confusion, Muslim countries use the Western calendar to schedule
secular events.
Islamic months begin at sunset on the day that the lunar crescent is actually
sighted. Religious doctrine requires that visual sighting is necessary to determine
the start of a month, even though the date a new crescent is likely to be visible
can be accurately predicted. As indicated above, Muslim festivals are also timed
according to local sightings of various phases of the moon.
Visibility of a new crescent depends on a large number of factors including
weather conditions, atmospheric pollution and whether or not optical aids are
used. Because of this, some members of the religion believe they should use
predicted dates of new crescents rather than actual sightings. However, many
Muslim scholars support using calculations only to negate erroneous sightings, not
to replace correct sighting (http://www.12x30.net/muslim.html).
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
Although
calendars
are printed
for planning
purposes, they
are based on
estimates of the
visibility of the
lunar crescent,
and the Islamic
month may
actually start
1-2 days earlier
or later than
predicted.
Islamic Months
1. Muharram (“Forbidden” - it is one of the four months during which it is
forbidden to wage war or fight)
2. Safar (“Empty” or “Yellow”)
3. Rabia Awal (“First spring”)
4. Rabia Thani (“Second spring”)
5. Jumaada Awal (“First freeze”)
6. Jumaada Thani (“Second freeze”)
7. Rajab (“To respect” - this is another holy month when fighting is prohibited)
8. Sha’ban (“To spread and distribute”)
9. Ramadan (“Parched thirst” - this is the month of daytime fasting)
10. Shawwal (“To be light and vigorous”)
11. Dhul-Qi’dah (“The month of rest” - another month when no warfare or
fighting is allowed)
12. Dhul-Hijjah (“The month ofHijjah” - this is the month of the annual
pilgrimage to Mecca, again when no warfare or fighting is allowed)
(http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/blfaq_islam_holydays.htm)
Islamic Holidays
Holidays
Al-Hijra
This holiday marks the beginning of the Muslim New Year on the first day of the
month of Muharram. In addition to being the start of the New Year, Al-Hijra is also
the anniversary of Muhammad’s hijra to Medina, an important event theologically.
Sometimes this is also called Rabi Al-Awwal. Hijrah New Year (10 February 2005)
‘Ashura
Taking place on the tenth day of Muharram, ‘Ashura marks the anniversary of the
death of Imam Husain, the grandson of Muhammad. This is a holy day celebrated
more by Shi’ites than by Sunni Muslims, because Sunnis don’t recognize Husain’s
claim to being the proper successor to Muhammad. However, tradition has it that
a number of other important events occurred on ‘Ashura, including Noah’s ark
coming to rest, the Prophet Abraham being born, and the Kaaba being built.
For Shi’ites, ‘Ashura is the most sanctified day of the month, and celebrating it
includes fasting and “passion plays” of his martyrdom. Because of this, the day
is not “celebrated” in the way that holy days normally are. Some mourners beat
their chests, lamenting and grieving over Husain’s death, and replicas of his tomb
are profusely decorated on this date.
Mawlid al-Nabi
This date marks the celebration of Muhammad’s birth in 570 C.E., and has been
fixed at the 12th day of the month Rabi al-Awwal. Mawlid al-Nabi appears to
have been first celebrated in the thirteenth century and involved a month-long
festival. Today, the focus is mostly on the actual date itself and includes sermons,
gift giving, and a feast. Some of the most conservative sects, like the Wahhabis,
regard such a celebration as idolatrous and condemn it. Thus, Saudi Arabia does
not recognize Mawlid al-Nabi at all, but other countries (like Egypt and Turkey)
have many celebrations.
Laylat Al-Isra wa Al-Miraj
This literally means “the night journey and ascension,” although the day is sometimes called by the shorter form Isra wa Al-Miraj. It is celebrated on the twentyseventh day of Rajab, and tradition has it that on this date Muhammad traveled
from Mecca to Jerusalem, then ascended into heaven, and returned to Mecca all
in the same night. The rock from which he supposedly ascended to heaven can
still be seen in the Dome of the Rock.
Muslims also believe that it was on the night or Laylat Al-Isra wa Al-Miraj that Muhammad established the current form of the five daily prayers which all believers
must recite. The story also has it that Muhammad prayed together with Abraham,
Moses and Jesus in the Al-Asqa mosque in Jerusalem, and because of that this
date is also regarded as demonstrating that Muslims, Christians and Jews all follow the same god.
Ramadan
Also known as Ramadhan or Ramazan, this is a month when Muslims are expected to fast all day long. Learn more about the nature of Ramadan, exemptions,
what is forbidden, and special days which fall during this month on the separate
Ramadan page. In 2005 Ramadan begins October 4th (http://atheism.about.com/
library/FAQs/islam/blfaq_islam_holydays.htm).
Islamic Holidays
The United States
Postal Service
recognizes the Eid,
the Muslim holiday
season, with this
first class holiday
postage stamp.
Eid Al-Adhha
This holy day is the “feast of sacrifice” and is celebrated from the tenth through
the thirteenth days of Zul-Hijjah, the twelfth month of the Muslim calendar. Eid
Al-Adhha marks the anniverary of Abraham’s attempt to sacrifice his son Ishmael
on God’s orders (In the Jewish and Christian traditions, Abraham attempted to
sacrifice Isaac). At this time special prayers are said either in mosques or in fields
designated for that purpose.
It is during this time of the year that people generally make the Haj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca. Whether on the Haj or at home, people celebrating this begin
the first day with sacrificing an animal as a commemoration of the Angel Gabriel
providing Abraham with a lamb as a substitute. Most of the meat is shared with
family and neighbors, but one-third is given to the poor.
Eid Al-Adha (10 January 2006). The term Eid is the Arabic term for “festivity” or
“celebration,” and is only attached to a couple of holy days in the Muslim year,
signifying their importance:
Yom Arafat
This holy day takes place on the ninth of Dhu Al-Hijja, just before the celebration
of Eid Al-Adhha. People on the Haj assemble for the “standing” on the plain of
Arafat, which is located near Mecca. Muslims elsewhere in the world gather at a
local mosque for prayer and solidarity on Yom Arafat.
Laylat Al-Baraa
This term Laylat Al-Baraa means “night of repentance” and it commemorates the
night when all who repent are granted forgiveness. Muslims believe that it is on
this night that God sets each person’s path for the coming year. Thus, Muslims ask
God for forgiveness for past sins and for blessings in the coming year on Laylat AlBaraa (http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/blfaq_islam_holydays.htm).
This timeline covers the years 1875 to 2004, and notes world-wide occurrences
that impacted Arabs living in America (Ameri & Ramey, xix-xxv).
1875
Arab immigration to the US begins in significant numbers.
Famous Arab
Americans
1880
The age of peddling begins in the US. Many Arab immigrants go into
business as peddlers.
Paula Abdul
Sen. Spencer
Abraham
Doug Flutie
Casey Kasem
Sen. George Mitchell
Kathy Njimy
Edward Said
Tony Shalhoub
Frank Zappa
1881
France colonizes Tunisia.
1882
Great Britain invades Egypt.
1907
Syrians win a case against a judge who denied citizenship to a Syrian,
claiming that Syrians belong to the “yellow race.”
1912
France colonizes Morocco.
1915
The Arabs and the British sign the Sherif Husayn-McMahon
Correspondence, which promises the Arabs an independent Arab nation
after World War I. This nation was to include the present-day counties of
Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Israel.
1919
The British and the French implement the Sakes Picot Agreement, dividing
up the Arab world among themselves in direct contradiction to the British
agreement with Sherif Husayn.
1921
The first major Hollywood portrayal of an Arab character is Rudolf
Valentino’s role in The Sheik, a movie that distorts Arab culture and
promotes stereotypes.
1923
The first Arab mosque in America is built in Highland Park, Michigan.
1924
The Johnson-Reed Quota Act passes, setting limits on how many people
can immigrate from certain countries to the United States. Each Arab
country receives a maximum quota of one hundred new immigrants per
year.
1947
The newly formed United Nations divides Palestine into a Jewish state and
an Arab state.
1956
Israel, Britain, and France invade Egypt when Egypt’s president, Gamal
Abal Nasser, takes over the Egyptian Suez Canal, previously controlled by
Britain and France.
1965
A new immigration law in the United States removes the immigration
quotas that varied by county, allowing a revitalization of Arab
immigration.
1973
The Supreme Court rules in Espinoza vs. Farah Manufacturing
Company that nothing in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits
discrimination on the basis of citizenship or alien status.
1974
Congress passes the Equal Education Opportunity Act, making
bilingual education available to public school students whose
primary language is not English.
1981
President Anwar Sadat of Egypt is assassinated because of the peace
treaty he made with Israel in 1979.
1987
Arab Americans win acknowledgement from the United States
Supreme Court they are protected, under existing US civil rights
legislation, from discrimination based on ethnicity.
1988
Arab American senator George Mitchell becomes US Senate
majority leader.
1990
Iraq invades Kuwait.
1991
The US-led military coalition launches
the Gulf War to remove Iraq from
Kuwait. The coalition defeats Saddam
Hussein’s forces, and many Iraqis,
Kuwaits, and Palestinians flee to
the United States.
1996
Ralph Nader, an Arab American, runs
for President of the United States
as the nominee of the Green Party, a
political part primarily concerned
with environmental issues.
1999
King Hussein of Jordan, the longest
reigning Arab ruler dies.
2001
The World Trade Center and the
Pentagon are attacked by Muslim
jihadists using American commercial
airlines as weapons.
Ralph Nader
2002
U.N. passes Iraq resolution 1441 Security Council resolution demands
unfettered access for U.N. inspectors to search for weapons of mass
destruction.
2003
U.S. Launches War Against Iraq.
2004
The veteran Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, dies in a Paris hospital.
Arab Music Festivals
Music Festivals in America
The mahrajanat, or festivals, that were popular among Arab Americans between
the 1930s and 1960s are witnessing a revival in many Arab American Communities
around the country. In all of these festivals, music is the most important
component that brings the community together. Local Arab American musicians,
singers, and dance groups along with singers from the Arab world perform to large
audiences. Most of these festivals are held over two or three days. Among the
most popular Arab American Music Festivals are:
Mahrajan Al-Fann
New York City
Arabian Fest
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Arab World Festival
Detroit, Michigan
East Dearborn Arab
International Festival
Dearborn, Michigan
Ana Al-Arabi Festival
Washington, D.C.
Arabic Music Retreat
South Hadley, MA
Seattle Arab Festival
Seattle, WA
Arab Cultural Festival
San Francisco, CA
World Music Festival
Chicago, IL
New Detroit
Concert of Colors
Detroit, MI
Le Festival Du Monde Arabe
Montreal, Canada
Student busily working during a UMS in-school visit.
Lesson Plans
Are you interested
in more lesson
plans?
Visit the Kennedy
Center’s ArtsEdge
web site, the
nation’s most
comprehensive
source of
arts-based lesson
plans.
www.artsedge.
kennedy-center.
org
Visit UMS/
Education for past
lesson plans and
resource guides
www.ums.org/
Education
Introduction
The following lessons and activities offer suggestions intended to be used in
preparation for the Malouma Youth Performance. These lessons are meant to
be both fun and educational, and should be used to create anticipation for the
performance. Use them as a guide to further exploration of the art form. Teachers
may pick and choose from the cross-disciplinary activities and can coordinate with
other subject area teachers. You may wish to use several activities, a single plan, or
pursue a single activity in greater depth, depending on your subject area, the skill
level or maturity of your students and the intended learner outcomes.
New to our Resource Guide this year is a “Teaching Points” section (See next page.)
This section is provided to teachers who may have a limited understanding of the art
form, or who just want a brief refresher course before delving into the lessons that
follow. It is intended to provide major bullet points to significant details about the
art form or performance.
Lesson plans were provided by the following students enrolled in Dr. Julie Taylor’s
Multicultural Studies classes at the U-M Dearborn campus:
Aaron Shupe
Anne Sucharda
Rebecca Landin-Smith
Joan Daniels
Tasha Cronenwett
Jennifer Dmitruchina
Marybeth Casey
Samantha West
Ben Evans
Karen Oman
Deborah Barnett
Shannon Plocharczyk
Anne Salter
Rebecca Majetic
Allison Hudson
Heidi Niska
Nancy Franzen
Kim Smith
Hala Hamka
Brian Chisholm
Anthony Stanley
Katie Rebel
Learner Outcomes
• Each student will develop a feeling of self-worth, pride in work, respect,
appreciation and understanding of other people and cultures, and a desire
for learning now and in the future in a multicultural, gender-fair, and abilitysensitive environment.
• Each student will develop appropriately to that individual’s potential, skill
in reading, writing, mathematics, speaking, listening, problem solving, and
examining and utilizing information using multicultural, gender-fair and
ability-sensitive materials.
• Each student will become literate through the acquisition and use of
knowledge appropriate to that individual’s potential,
through a comprehensive, coordinated curriculum, including
computer literacy in a multicultural, gender-fair, and ability-sensitive
environment.
Teaching Points
•
Malouma mixes traditional Mauritanian music with modern western styles.
•
Malouma’s music is influenced by Arab, Moorish, Berber, and Wolof cultures.
•
Maluma is Mauritania’s most famous singer.
•
Malouma plays the ardine, the traditional Mauritanian harp played by
women.
•
Mauritania is located on the West Coast of Africa.
•
Malouma sings about taboo subjects in her culture; inequality, injustice,
oppression, AIDS, women in society, and illiteracy.
•
Much of Malouma has a musical background and her father and grandfather
were well known griots in the Mauritanian culture.
•
Malouma was banned in her culture for speaking out about social issues.
•
Malouma used poetry and traditional lyrics and sources of material for her
music.
•
Three other famous women in Africa sing about issues similar to Malouma:
Oumou Sangare in Mali, Fairuz in Lebanon, Najat Aatabou in Morocco.
•
Mauritania is an Arabic nation.
•
Mauritania is bordered by Senegal, Mali, Algeria, Morocco, and the Atlantic
Ocean.
•
Oum Kalthoum (1904-1975) of Egypt is indisputably the world’s greatest
Arab singer, and has sold more records than any other singer in the world.
•
Islam is one of the main religions practiced by Arabs. These Arabs are called
Muslims, but Arabs practice many religions. It is estimated that 60% of the
Arabs in Michigan are Christian and 40% are Muslim.
•
The Muslim Calendar is based on the cycles of the moon.
Teaching Points
are designed to
provide quick
facts about
Malouma,
Mauritania, and
Arab music.
Meeting Michigan Standards
UMS can help you
meet Michigan’s
Curricular
Standards!
The activities in this
study guide,
combined with the
live performance, are
aligned with Michigan
Standards and
Benchmarks.
For a complete list of
Standards and
Benchmarks, visit the
Michigan Department
of Education online:
www.michigan.gov/
mde
ARTS EDUCATION
Standard 1: Performing All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.
Standard 2: Creating All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.
Standard 3: Analyzing in Context All students will analyze, describe, and evaluate works of art.
Standard 4: Arts in Context All students will understand, analyze and describe the arts in their
historical, social, and cultural contexts.
Standard 5: Connecting to other Arts, other Disciplines, and Life All students will recognize,
analyze and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other
disciplines; between the arts and everyday life.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Standard 3: Meaning and Communication All students will focus on meaning and
communication as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal,
social, occupational, and civic contexts.
Standard 6: Voice All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively
and demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written and visual texts that
enlighten and engage an audience.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Standard I-1: Time and Chronology All students will sequence chronologically eras of American
history and key events within these eras in order to examine relationships and to explain
cause and effect.
Standard I-3: Analyzing and Interpreting the Past All students will reconstruct the past by
comparing interpretations written by others from a variety of perspectives and creating
narratives from evidence.
Standard II-1: People, Places, and Cultures All students will describe, compare and explain the
locations and characteristics of places, cultures and settlements.
Standard VII-1: Responsible Personal Conduct All students will consider the effects of an
individual’s actions on other people, how one acts in accordance with the rule of law and
how one acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.
MATH
Standard I-1: Patterns Students recognize similarities and generalize patterns, use patterns to
create models and make predictions, describe the nature of patterns and relationships and
construct representations of mathematical relationships.
Standard I-2: Variability and Change Students describe the relationships among variables, predict
what will happen to one variable as another variable is changed, analyze natural variation
and sources of variability and compare patterns of change.
Standard III-3: Inference and Prediction Students draw defensible inferences about unknown
outcomes, make predictions and identify the degree of confidence they have in their
predictions.
SCIENCE
Standard I-1: Constructing New Scientific Knowledge All students will ask questions that help
them learn about the world; design and conduct investigations using appropriate
methodology and technology; learn from books and other sources of information;
communicate their findings using appropriate technology; and reconstruct previously
learned knowledge.
Standard IV-4: Waves and Vibrations All students will describe sounds and sound waves; explain
shadows, color, and other light phenomena; measure and describe vibrations and waves;
and explain how waves and vibrations transfer energy.
CAREER & EMPLOYABILITY
Standard 1: Applied Academic Skills All students will apply basic communication skills, apply
scientific and social studies concepts, perform mathematical processes and apply
technology in work-related situations.
Standard 2: Career Planning All students will acquire, organize, interpret and evaluate information
from career awareness and exploration activities, career assessment and work-based
experiences to identify and to pursue their career goals.
Standard 3: Developing and Presenting Information All students will demonstrate the ability to
combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between seemingly
unrelated ideas and organize and present information in formats such as symbols,
pictures, schemat
ics, charts, and graphs.
Standard 4: Problem Solving All students will make decisions and solve problems by specifying
goals, identifying resources and constraints, generating alternatives, considering
impacts, choosing appropriate alternatives, implementing plans of action and evaluating
results.
Standard 5: Personal Management All students will display personal qualities such as
responsibility, self-management, self-confidence, ethical behavior and respect for self
and others.
Standard 7: Teamwork All students will work cooperatively with people of diverse backgrounds
and abilities, identify with the group’s goals and values, learn to exercise leadership,
teach others new skills, serve clients or customers and contribute to a group process
with ideas, suggestions and efforts.
Each UMS lesson
plan is aligned to
specific State of
Michigan
Standards.
TECHNOLOGY
Standard 2: Using Information Technologies All students will use technologies to input, retrieve,
organize, manipulate, evaluate and communicate information.
Standard 3: Applying Appropriate Technologies All students will apply appropriate technologies
to critical thinking, creative expression and decision-making skills.
WORLD LANGUAGES
Standard 2: Using Strategies All students will use a varietry of strategies to communicate in a
non-English language.
Standard 8: Global Community All students will define and characterize the global community.
Standard 9: Diversity All students will identify diverse languages and cultures throughout the
world.
LESSON
ONE
LESSON ONE
Exploring West African Folktales
Grade Levels:
K-5
Objective
Students will gain a deeper understanding of West African folktales.
Students will understand different story elements of a folktale.
Students will create a Venn diagram based on the West African folktales Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples Ears and Anansi Goes Fishing.
ARTS STANDARD
Arts Education 2: Creating
CONTENT STANDARD
Math: Data Analysis and Statistics:III.1.2
Language Arts: Literature: 5.2
Language Arts: Meaning and Communication: 1.1; 3.4; 3.8
Language Arts: Genre and Craft: 8.2
Materials
Anansi Goes Fishing, retold by Eric A. Kimmel
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, by Verna Aardema
Sentence Strips
Writing marker
Venn Diagram chart
Activity
1. To activate prior knowledge the teacher will pose the following questions: “Does
anyone know what a folktale is? Has anyone ever heard or read a folktale? Do
you think folktales have story elements such as character, setting, problem and
solution?”
2. After listening to the children’s responses, the teacher will then say, “Because we
are going to see Malouma sing in a few days, I thought it would be interesting to
explore her background. Today we are going to be reading two African folktales,
because Malouma is from West Africa and she is from a family of storytellers
known as griots. Her family told stories similar to the folktales we will be reading
today.”
3. The teacher will then introduce the folktale, Anansi Goes Fishing, to the children.
The teacher will explain that it is a West African folktale about a spider and a
turtle who journey together on a fishing adventure.
4. The teacher will read the folktale to the children. After reading the folktale, the
teacher will ask several questions to guide the children’s thinking, “Who are the
main characters of the story? What was the setting of the story? What was the
problem in the story? What was the solution?”
5. The teacher will then introduce the folktale, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s
Ears, to the children. The teacher will say, “This is another folktale from West
Africa. As we read the story, I want you to be thinking about the similarities and
differences between this folktale and the one we just read.” The teacher will
then read the folktale.
6. After reading the folktale, the teacher will ask, “Who were the characters in the
folktale we just read? What was the setting? What was the problem in the
story? What was the solution?”
LESSON ONE
7. The teacher will then direct the student’s attention to the Venn Diagram pocket
chart. The teacher will ask the students what labels should be on the Venn
Diagram in order to compare the two folktales. The students should be able to
indicate that Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears should be on one side of
the chart. Anansi Goes Fishing should be on the other side, and the label both
should be in the middle.
8. The teacher will then ask the students to think about both folktales and to compare and contrast them.
9. The teacher will model the first idea that is going to be written on the Venn
Diagram. The teacher will say, “In the folktale Why Mosquitoes Buzz in
People’s Ears, there were several animals involved in the problem of the
story. So I will put this comment on the Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears
side of the Venn Diagram.” The teacher will then demonstrate this.
10. The teacher will then ask, “What is something we could write on the Anansi
Goes Fishing Side of the Venn Diagram?” The teacher will then call on several
students for their ideas.
11. The teacher will then open the discussion to try to encourage the students
to come up with many similarities and differences between the folktales. The
teacher will also encourage students to place their responses in the correct sec
tion of the Venn Diagram.
12. Once the Venn Diagram is complete, the teacher will ask students to read aloud
the various responses on the pocket chart.
13. The teacher will then remind the children that these two folktales originated
from West Africa where Malouma is from.
Venn Diagram Chart
Venn diagrams are a great way to collect and display data about two topics!
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in
People’s Ears
Anansi Goes Fishing
Both
West African Griot Traditions
Objectives
Students will have background knowledge on a University Musical Society performance.
Students will have knowledge of the West African Griot tradition and its role as a form
of oral history. Students will relate the West African Griot tradition to the impact it can
have on society today by creating their own family folklore. Students will recognize the
importance of folklore in the African Culture. Students will be able to locate Africa on
a map.
Grade Levels:
3-12
ARTS STANDARD
Arts Education 3: Analyzing in Context
CONTENT STANDARD
English Language Arts 6: Voice
Social Studies: II.1.1; V.1.1; II.1.2; V.1.3; II.1.3
Materials
CD player or classroom access to Internet
Cardstock or Construction Paper
Markers or Colored Pencils
Scissors
Tongue Depressors or Popsicle sticks
Glue or Tape
String or Ribbon
Activity
Note: This lesson should be held several days prior to attending the Malouma Performance
to allow students time to compile stories from their own family history. In preparation for
the lesson, teachers will select a 5-6 short folklore tales or myths from www.afriprov.
org/resources/stories (We recommend the folklore that involve animals and moral
tales)~AND~ one tale from www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/index_flash or prepare
a story from their own personal or family history. Be sure to choose a story that will
stimulate the students and illustrate the components of a folklore or tale.
Introduction to the lesson (5-10 Minutes)
The teacher will present his or her tale in the traditional oral style of the Griots. Initiate class
discussion by asking students to describe the characters of the story and the consequences
of their actions. Ask students to explain the importance of this type of story in African
culture. What is the moral and what does the audience learn from it.
Mini-Lecture (5-10 Minutes)
Introduce Malouma and inform the students that they will be attending her performance.
She is from Mauritania and belongs to a distinct class of people called “Griots”.
•
•
•
•
•
LESSON TWO
Members of a distinct social class in West Africa.
Griots perform many roles including singing, speaking publicly,
playing instruments, reciting history, telling stories, and entertaining.
Traditional Griots usually only marry other Griots.
The occupation is passed on to children.
In Mauritania, skilled craftsmen/artisan and storytellers are the two most
prominent occupational castes.
LESSON
TWO
LESSON ONE
African Griot Traditions, cont...
Grade Levels:
3-12
•
•
•
Some Mauritanians are afraid of poets and musicians because it is believed
that they possess knowledge of the occult and mystical powers that can
be physically or politically threatening.
Since colonialism and urbanization, many of the traditional Griot ways of life
have changed. They have modified the content and form to keep the Griot
tradition alive. One example is how Malouma borrows elements of Blues and
Gospel in her music as well as new instruments like the guitar mixed with
traditional instruments like the tidinit.
Show a map of Africa.
Activity (15-20 Minutes)
Ask students to form groups of four to five students each. While playing musical selections
from Malouma’s website or other West African music, handout each group a story that
you have selected from www.afriprov.org/resources/stories.
Instruct students that they will be performing these folktales in the Griot tradition with
one student narrating and the others acting out scenes from the story. They will construct
masks to use as props in the performance. Students should decide how they will perform
the story and practice.
Ask students gather materials to make masks and construct them in a creative way.
Closing Activity (20-25 minutes)
Each group will perform their story as described above in front of the class.
Optional Extension (Homework)
Ask students to interview a family member to create their own family story, which they
can share with the class in traditional Griot style before the field trip in class or on the
bus on the way to the performance.
Sound
Students understand that instruments vary in sound.
Students will have knowledge of music, rhythm and percussion of Afric/Mauritania.
Students will have the knowledge of how different materials make sounds.
Students will be able to create a musical instrument by using everyday household
items.
ARTS STANDARD
CONTENT STANDARD
Career & Employability 7: Teamwork
Science: IV-4: Waves and Vibrations
Materials
tissue paper, rubber bands (different sizes), paper plates, beans, crayons, markers,
stapler, staples, tin cans, scissors, shoe box, rice, cotton balls, paper clips
Link to website: www.home.earthlink.net/~malouma/index.html
Activity
1. Send note home
2. Gather materials
3. Read biographyabout Malouma and discuss the instruments
she plays, show an example (see pages 23-34 of this Resource Guide).
4. Demonstrate how to make a different musical instruments using shoebox,
rubber bands of various thickness and maracas.
5. Discuss the sounds made by the rubber bands. Ask students if they
hear changes in the sound and if they know why the sounds vary.
6. Discuss that sounds as being high and low, soft or loud.
7. Describe the idea of sound waves and vibrations. Explain how the
rubber bands affect the sound. Ask: Do you think anything else
affects the sound?
8. Allow students to make their own variation of guitars or maracas (using boxes,
coffee cans etc…)
9. Students will color and or decorate the instruments they made with crayons or
markers, paints, etc.
10. After students have completed their instruments, gather and compare the sounds.
Ask: Did the sound change when you used a can instead of a box? Was the
sound high or low?
Ask: Does how much beans you add change the sound?
Ask: Does how much rice, cotton balls or paper clips you add
change the sound?
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Our class is doing a unit on sound. We will be creating variations of the tidnit,
ardine and kora by using different household materials. Students will be discussing
how the instruments vary in sound and how different materials affect the sound.
We are in need of some assistance in order to make this unit academically
successful.
If you could donate any of the following items, it would be greatly appreciated.
•
shoe boxes
•
tissue boxes
•
coffee cans
•
paper plates/bowls
•
beans
•
cotton balls
•
rice
Grade Levels:
3-9
LESSON THREE
Objective
LESSON ONE
Coloring Map of Africa
Using a map of Africa from your classroom as a guide, label and color the
countries of Africa on the map below. You may use colored pencils, crayons, or markers.
Where is Mauritania?
Objective
The students will learn to identify basic geographical facts about Mauritania.
The students will learn to explain how the geographic region influences the people of
Mauritania.
Grade Levels:
3-12
ARTS STANDARD
Arts Education 3: Analyzing in Context
CONTENT STANDARD
Geography: II.1.1, 1.2
Materials
map of Mauritania
“Basic Facts About Mauritania” worksheet
Activity
1. Pass out a map of Mauritania (see page 13 of this Resource Guide).
2. Post a larger map of Mauritania on the board for the students’ reference.
3. Ask the students some basic geography questions as you refer to the larger map on
the board.
•
What continent is Mauritania on?
•
What hemisphere(s) is Mauritania found in?
•
Mauritania is near 4 major countries. Name them.
•
Name the major towns or cities of Mauritania.
•
What is the capital of Mauritania?
•
What do you think the weather is like in Mauritania?
4. The students will write down the answers to these questions on the handout
entitled “Basic Facts About Mauritania.”
5. The students will continue taking guided notes and writing the down the answers
on the handout entitled “Basic Facts About Mauritania.”
•
What is the state religion in Mauritania?
•
Name the five languages spoken in Mauritania.
•
What does the flag of Mauritania look like?
•
What is the public holiday in Mauritania?
LESSON FOUR
1.
2.
3.
LESSON ONE
Basic Facts About Mauritania
On which continent is Mauritania found?
In which hemisphere(s) is Mauritania found?
Mauritania is near four major countries. They are:
•
•
•
•
4.
Name five major towns or cities in Mauritania.
•
•
•
•
•
4.
5.
What is the climate like in Mauritania?
_________________________
_________________________
What is the state religion in Mauritania?
•
7.
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
_______________________________
What is the capital of Mauritania? ____________________________
•
•
6.
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
__________________________
Name the five languages spoken in Mauritania.
•
•
•
•
•
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
8.
What does the flag of Mauritania look like? Draw a sketch.
9.
What is the name of the public holiday celebrated in Mauritania?____________
10.
What are some important Islamic holidays? _______________________________________________________
Basic Facts Answer Key
1.
Mauritania is belongs to the continent of Africa.
2.
Mauritania is located in two hemispheres: (1) Northern Hemisphere (2) Western Hemisphere.
3.
Mauritania is near four major countries: (1) Morocco (2) Algeria (3) Mali (4) Senegal.
4.
Mauritania has five major towns or cities: (1) Rosso (2) Kifah (3) Kaedi (4) Nouadhibou (5)
Nouakchott.
5.
The capital of Mauritania is Nouakchott.
6.
The climate in Mauritania is constantly hot, dry and dusty. It is mostly desert.
7.
The state religion in Mauritania is Islam.
8.
There are five languages spoken in Mauritania: (1) French (2) Hassaniya Arabic (3) Pulaar (4)
Soninke (5) Wolof.
9.
The flag of Mauritania is green with a yellow five-pointed star above a horizontal crescent.
10.
The name of the public holiday celebrated in Mauritania is Independence Day. It is celebrated on
November 28th. Mauritania received its independence on November 28, 1960.
LESSON
FIVE
LESSON ONE
Decolonization
Grade Levels:
6-12
Objectives
Students will understand the reasons behind European colonization
Students will understand the reasons for de-colonization
Students will understand how de-colonization occurred
ARTS STANDARD
Career & Employability 7: teamwork
Social Studies:: African History; I-4: 2
Materials
Computer with AV projector and screen
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/timelines/htimeline4.htm
www.pvhs.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/imperialism/schuller.htm
http://www.newberry.org/nl/smith/teachers/africa.JPG
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/mauritania_pol95.jpg
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/afri1914.htm
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
CONTENT STANDARD
Opening Activity: Write the words “colonization” and “de-colonization” on the
board. Ask students to write for five minutes on these words. What do
these words mean to the students? To the colonizers? To the colonized people?
Pass out maps of colonial and post-colonial Africa.
Start with discussion of why the European powers (Britain, France, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, Spain) began colonizing Africa and Asia during the 19th and 20th
centuries
•
Europe started colonizing Africa in order to acquire raw materials
necessary for shipping and shipbuilding. They sent slaves from Africa to
North America. Later in the 19th century, they sold manufactured goods to their
colonies. Furthermore, Europe prized the gold, diamonds and other precious
metals from Africa. In essence, Europe colonized Africa for material wealth and
imperial power as well as inexpensive human power (slaves).
Why did colonies start wanting the return to self-rule after WWII?
•
During the early 20th-century, the colonial rulers began founding
universities within the major cities of the continent. As they needed a
somewhat educated workforce, they permitted the colonized peoples to attend
these schools. Furthermore, some civilians went to Europe to study or to fight
in the First and Second World Wars. As the populace grew more knowledgeable
about government and the outside world, many began to question the need for
European control.
What are some of the methods used to regain independence?
•
These depended on the country. Algerians used a terror campaign
involving bombings to force the French to withdraw from their country.
(See the film The Battle of Algier
Algiers for more information). Other countries took
less drastic, smaller steps to create a more peaceable withdraw. Mauritania, for
example, formed a temporary partnership government before gaining full rule.
Still other states became independent in name only. Congo, for example, was
virtually a puppet state of Belgium, supplying that country with uranium and other
materials while claiming independence.
Ending Activity: Have the students look at their writings at the beginning of class.
Have students tell the class what they originally wrote and how their knowledge
has been improved/altered.
Take a Trip to the Land of Sun
Objective
Students understand that instruments vary in sound.
Students will have knowledge of handling or treating materials in a safe manner.
Students will have the knowledge of how different materials make sounds.
Students will be able to create a musical instrument by using everyday household items.
Grade Levels:
6-12
II.1.MS.1
V.1.MS.1
CONTENT STANDARD
Career & Employability 7: teamwork
Career & Employability 4: Problem Solving
Materials
Colored pencils
Markers
World Map handout
North America Map handout
Continent of Africa Map handout
Comparison Chart handout
List of websites
Access to computers
Activity
1. Tell students that they will be going on a field trip to the Michigan Theater
to hear the music of Malouma.
2. Teacher will play sample of Malouma’s music from www.malouma.com
(click on Check videos of Malouma in concert on Mondomix website or use the CD
accompanying this Resource Guide). Invite students to predict what part of the world
the music comes from.
3. Distribute map handout (World, North America, Africa). Have students
go to www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html to locate
the country of Mauritania. Have students label the country name, the capital
city, the Sahara Desert, and circle the Atlantic Ocean on their Continent of
Africa Map.
4. Have students trace the land/water route that Malouma will take as she
travels from Mauritania to Ann Arbor, MI.
5. Distribute Comparison Chart and ask students to use the following
websites to complete the chart:
www.malouma.com (click country profile)
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html
http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/reference/factbook/mr/popula.html
www.translation.com
www.onlineconversion.com
6.
LESSON SIX
ARTS STANDARD
Wrap up with a discussion of students’ answers on the chart.
LESSON
SEVEN
LESSON ONE
People, Language, and Culture
Grade Levels:
7-12
Objective
Students will be able to identify Mauritania’s geographical location.
Students will be able to identify differing language locations on a map.
Students will have knowledge of how Mauritania emerged as a nation.
Students will have an understanding of the people of Mauritania’s ancestry.
ARTS STANDARD
CONTENT STANDARD
Arts Education 2: Arts in Context
Social Studies: II.4: Regions, Patterns
and Processes
Materials
Students will need access to internet.
All other materials provided.
Activity
1. Introduce Mauritania as a nation.
2. Identify Mauritania on the map provided in this guide on page.
3. Locate the regions in which different languages are spoken using the map
provided.
4. Identify the official languages spoken in the country.
5. Talk about differences between the two languages, along with the differences
between Arabic, French and American English.
6. Have students use the web to find Arabic and French news sites and note
differences and any items they may be able to identify through pictures
or similar word identification. Good start may be to use msn.com which
provides the news in many different languages.
7. Give students a brief history of how Mauritania emerged as a nation
timeline provided.
8. Have students use the internet to find interesting facts about the nation and
list reasons why it would be an interesting place to live.
9. Introduce the people and culture of the Mauritania.
10. Have students write a fictitious letter to someone in Mauritania, that
describes the differences between American culture and Mauritania, how
they feel Mauritania, its culture and its people. An example letter has been
provided to give students a starting point for their own letter.
Lyric Comparison
Students will understand the traditional importance of Griots in African society.
Students will understand Malouma’s American musical influences.
Students will be able to compare Malouma’s musical style to that of her American musical
influences.
ARTS STANDARD
CONTENT STANDARD
Arts Education 2: Arts in Context
Music History: II 1 2
Materials
included CD, CD player, and/or computer with internet.
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Play Gambia Hamab (traditional Griot music) while class is arriving.
- found at http://www.webjay.org/iteminfo/62137
Pass out Introduction to Griot History Handout.
- found at http://www.acslink.aone.net.au/christo/histmain.htm
Pass out Malouma Fan Website Handout and read over.
- found at http://home.earthlink.net/~malouma/
Pass out Lyric Comparison Handout.
Play Mahma el Houb by Malouma.
- 3rd track on CD
Play I Never Loved a Man by Aretha Franklin.
- Aretha Franklin was one of Malouma’s American influences.
- sample found at www.amazon.com. Search for Aretha Franklin.
Open class discussion
Malouma: Mahma el Houb (English Translation)
When we spoke with our eyes, it was heavenly
All smiles and fervent beginnings
We tried love and it failed
Yet Whatever we do, love catches up with us
Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Loved You)
The way you treat me it’s a shame
How could ya hurt me so bad?
Baby you know that I’m the best thing
That you ever had
Grade Levels:
7-12
LESSON EIGHT
Objective
Kiss me once again
Don’t ya never, never say that we’re through
Cause I ain’t never, never, never no no
Loved a man, the way that I, I love you
Vocabulary - Arab Music/Culture
Achwaar
Traditional songs in Mauritania.
Allah
The name for “God” in the Arabic language.
Ardine
A harp similar in construction to the West African kora
Bedouins
Nomadic people who often herd livestock and trade as they move from
place to place.
Bidan
White people in Mauritania.
Blues
Style highly inflected, often speech-like melodies.
Caliphs
The religious and political leaders of the Muslim community after the death
of Mohammed.
Christianity
A religion that believes Jesus Christ was the son of God. The Christians
religion is based on Jesus’ teachings and the teachings of the Bible.
Crossover
A broadening of the popular appeal of an artist (as a musician) or an artist’s
work that is often the result of a change of the artist’s medium or style.
Daghumma
A long hollowed-out gourd covered by a net of beads which act as a rattle.
Eid
The Arabic word for “holiday.”
Ethnomusicology
The academic study of musical culture outside of the Western classical style
and tradition.
Fusion
Popular music combining different styles (as jazz and rock).
Griot
Any of a class of musician-entertainers of western Africa whose
performances include tribal histories and genealogies.
Hadith
The sayings and acts of Muhammad.
Hajj
The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
Haratin
Black people in Mauritania.
Hijab
The head scarf worn by some Muslim women to cover their hair and necks.
Iggawin
The name for griots in Mauritanian culture.
Islam
The Muslim religion.
Vocabulary - Arab Music/Culture
Lute
A stringed instrument having a large pear-shaped body, a vaulted back, a
fretted fingerboard, and a head with tuning pegs which is often angled
backward from the neck.
Maghreb
The name for north West Africa.
Mecca
Located in modern Saudi Arabia, it is the most important holy city to
Muslims worldwide.
Moors
Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus and the Maghreb, whose culture
is often called “Moorish.”
Mosque
The Muslim place of worship, similar to a church for Christians.
Muhammad
The prophet believed by Muslims to be the most recent and final messenger
of God.
Mutribatou echa’b Meaning “singer of the people” in Arabic.
Oud
In Arabic meaning literally “wood;” a musical instrument of the lute family
used in Southwest Asia, Northern Africa and throught the Arab World
and Diaspora.
Oughniya
Meaning “songs” in Arabic.
Qur’an
Also spelled Koran; the holy book for Muslims.
Ramadan
The ninth lunar month during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
Salah
The Arabic word for “prayer.”
Sheik
The leader of a family, village or tribe.
Tabla
A pair of small different-sized hand drums used especially in the music of
India.
Tidnit
A four-stringed lute which plays an improtant role in Mauritanian life.
Vocabulary - Arab Music
Jins (plural Ajnas) A sequence of three, four, or five notes used as a building blck for a maqam..
Sayr
A set of rules that define a maqam’s general melodic development.
Maqam (plural
Maqamat)
A sequence of notes with rules that define its general melodic developement.
Ghammaz
The pivotal note between the maqam’s first and second jins, often used as a
starting point for modulation.
Qarar
Used to indicate the starting note in a maqam.
Mustaqarr
Used to indicate the ending note in a maqam.
Takht
A small instrumental group of traditional instruments, usually an oud, qanun,
nay, riq, and recently, violin.
Dawr
A vocal form dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, based on the
use of popular poems. The dwar is performed by a soloist and a chorus of
four or more.
Iqa at
The rhythmic modes in Arabic music.
Zakhrafat
An Arabic word used to describe the art of adding ornamentation to music.
Nay
A wooden instrument larger than, but similar to, a flute.
Dabka
A folk dance native to Lebanon.
Sagat
Finger cymbals.
Mawwal
In Arabic music, this refers to free, non-rhythmic singing.
Malouma Word Scramble
A
R
A
P
V
O
U
U
C
A
S
X
B
Q
S
S
U
A
I
R
B
A
F
O
U
R
S
X
D
X
R
Z
J
U
N
I
B
F
U
W
E
D
O
P
X
D
U
T
A
T
A
G
P
N
Y
M
R
E
B
D
J
J
N
L
L
G
T
I
U
A
C
G
U
U
F
S
L
U
W
E
K
W
I
L
S
R
N
T
A
G
U
A
W
S
U
A
A
O
R
I
K
O
I
K
L
N
S
V
I
G
P
U
H
O
U
K
I
D
C
I
D
Q
L
G
D
M
J
T
L
K
A
B
N
E
C
V
A
I
T
A
G
B
K
N
A
E
M
I
F
C
I
R
O
R
X
I
C
E
M
K
N
S
T
N
V
T
T
O
H
C
K
A
U
O
N
I
N
T
V
J
R
E
B
R
E
B
Y
S
N
O
D
E
R
U
T
T
Z
F
L
M
L
E
H
L
N
R
R
X
A
A
N
K
E
S
U
S
G
Y
J
D
A
T
I
E
O
All of the words from the left column can be found in the puzzle. These words
relate to the Malouma performance. Look in all directions for the words!
Al Kahla
Ardin
Bafours
Berber
Griot
Guedra
Iggawin
Malouma
Mauritania
Nouakchott
Raqs al Juzur
Tidnit
A method of playing that is more about the roots and masculinity of music.
A traditional African instrument that is like a harp.
The original inhabitants of Mauritania.
These people displaced the Bafours when they migrated into Mauritania.
A practitioner of the West African tradition of praise singing.
A ritualistic trance dance.
The term used for musicians in Moorish society.
A popular Mauritanian singer who is known for her political activism through
song.
A country in northwest Africa that Malouma calls home.
This city is the capital of Mauritania.
A traditional Tunisian dance that involves balancing a large pot on the head.
A four-stringed lute that is shaped like an hourglass.
Word Search Solution
Here are the answers to the word search:
Al Kahla
Ardin
Bafours
Berber
Griot
Guedra
iggawin
Malouma
Mauritania
Nouakchott
Raqs al Juzur
Tidnit
A
R
A
P
V
O
U
U
C
A
S
X
B
Q
S
S
U
A
I
R
B
A
F
O
U
R
S
X
D
X
R
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J
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N
I
B
F
U
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E
D
O
P
X
D
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T
A
T
A
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N
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M
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J
J
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L
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T
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A
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S
L
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W
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K
W
I
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S
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A
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S
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A
A
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I
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O
I
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I
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O
U
K
I
D
C
I
D
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L
G
D
M
J
T
L
K
A
B
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V
A
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A
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A
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M
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X
I
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M
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T
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A
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I
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B
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S
N
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A
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A
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I
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O
Pre and Post-Performance Ideas
For our friends who are in grades 1-3, here are a few additional
quick and fun Ideas to use with the Malouma Youth Performance.
1. Working Together - Write “Malouma (or any of the song titles from the
Resource Disk)” on the board. Divide students into groups and assign a short
period of time. Each group must work together to think of as many words as
possible that can be spelled with the letters in the phrase on the board.
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
2. Scavenger Hunt - After reviewing some of the writings and activities in this
guide, divide the students into groups. Ask each to come up with a list of
at least three things their peers should listen and watch for at the performance
(examples: cadenzas, etc.). Collect each group’s list and compile them into a
single piece of paper. See how many you find at the performance!
Pre-Performance Activities
1. Discussion/Writing Prompt - Through Malouma’s music she tries to address
issues that women, for instance, have had to keep silent about in her culture.
What causes or issues do you see in your own life or in your community that
you would like to address or that you would like to improve? Why?
2. Building an Ensemble - Divide students into groups. Ask one to start tapping
a rhythm on his/her pant leg or desktop and ask the others to try to
copy it. Ask each student in the group to take a turn as leader. What
strategies do the “following” students use to keep up with the leader? Try
this activity with movements!
Post-Performance Activities
1. Discussion/Writing Prompt - If you could change one thing about the
performance, what would it be?
2. Remembering the Performance - Who was your favorite song? Why? Did
you already know your favorite or was it new to you?
Still More Ideas...
Share your
students’ work
with UMS!
We love to see
how you connect
your curriculum
with UMS Youth
Performances.
See the inside
back cover for
UMS’s contact
information.
3. Newspaper Report - Imagine that you are a newspaper reporter who has been
chosen to report on the Youth Performance of Malouma. Create a factual
report of what you saw. Here are some tips to help you write an effective
news story:
• Try to answer the famous “Five W” questions:
who, what, when, where, why.
• Put the main ideas in the first paragraph.
4. Essay Assignment - Ask students to create a comparison between a folk
music concert and a pop music concert (seen live or on TV). Be creative;
include in your discussion the music, clothing, lighting, audience, etc.
5. Recreating the Stage -Students can draw a seating chart of the stage with the
orchestra, conductor, and soloist where they were during the performance.
Have them draw from whatever perspective they saw the performance.
6. Ads - Program books are usually filled with sponsor’s advertisements for their
businesses. The ads also will recognize the achievement of the performers
and/or organization. Have students design a catchy advertisement for their
school addressing why it is a good school and making sure to say something
about the performers.
7. Make a travel brochure highlighting the art, music and culture of
Mauritania.
•
Your brochure must be done on 8 ½ x 11 tag board. It may
be made in a color of your choice.
•
It must include a picture, drawing or photograph of the
nation’s flag.
•
Include a map of the country.
•
Your brochure must be a fold out.
Remember: This is a travel brochure. You are urging people to visit
Mauritania. Highlight different aspects of its art, language, history and
culture.
•
•
Use lots of color! Make it visually appealing.
You may use magazines, the Internet or drawings to enhance
your work.
•
You can even make your brochure interactive with pop-ups
and cutouts for example.
•
Be creative.
The Bust of a Moor by an unknown artist.
Resources
UMS FIELD TRIP PERMISSION SLIP
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We will be taking a field trip to see a University Musical Society (UMS) Youth Performance of Malouma on
Friday, April 8 from 11am-12noon at Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor.
We will travel (please circle one)
• by car
• by school bus
• by private bus
• by foot
Leaving school at approximately ________am and returning at approximately ________pm.
The UMS Youth Performance Series brings the world’s finest performers in music, dance, theater, opera, and
world cultures to Ann Arbor. This performance features the music of Malouma and the Sahel Hawl Blues .
We (circle one)
• need
• do not need
additional chaperones for this event. (See below to sign up as a chaperone.)
Please (circle one)
• send
• do not send
lunch along with your child on this day.
If your child requires medication to be taken while we are on the trip, please contact us to make
arrangements.
If you would like more information about this Youth Performance, please visit the Education section of UMS
at ums.org/education. Copies of the Teacher Resource Guide for this performance are available for you to
download.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at ____________________________________
or send email to _________________________________________________________________________.
Please return this form to the teacher no later than ________________._____________________________
Sincerely,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My son/daughter, __________________________________, has permission to attend the UMS Youth
Performance on Friday, April 8, 2005. I understand that transportation will be by _____________.
I am interested in chaperoning if needed (circle one).
• yes
• no
Parent/Guardian Signature________________________________________ Date_____________________
Relationship to student ____________________________________________
Daytime phone number__________________________________________
Emergency contact person________________________________________
Emergency contact phone number_________________________________
Related Videos of Interest
Fairuz is one of the legendary voices and superstars of Arabic music, and this
video provides audio and visual insight into the word of Arabic music through the
stylistic sounds of Fairuz.
Fairuz (Live in Las Vegas)
Starring: Fairuz
Studio: Arab Film Distribution
Release Date: October 26, 2004
Rating: Not Rated
Number of Discs: 2
Run Time: 179 minutes
Synopsis
From Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, She sang... Neighbor
to the Moon, our Ambassador to the Stars made her
Las Vegas debut with a one night only concert at the
Garden Arena on May 15, attended by thousands of
her fans from all over the world. The performance is
a historical and musical journey through decades of
innovation in Middle Eastern music as Fairuz performs
the jewels of Rahbani, Naseef, Gibran, and Wahbe,
along with muwashahhat and tributes to Lebanon and
Palestine. Accompanied by a 42 piece orchestra, a full
chorus, and conductor Michele Harro, this is the Fairuz
of the people, and for one night, she sings for you.
First Set
Dawwi Ya hal Andeel, Atem Ya Leil, Taree’ el Nahil, and Nassam
Aleina el hawa. Choir: Haddouni, and Khayef Koun ‘eshe’tek.
Second Set Ya Ana ya ana, Ahwak, and El-nay (Gibran).
Third Set
Mawal Ana wu inta, Ya Hneiyina, Leiliyi Betrja’ ya Leil, Ya Jisran
Khashabian, and Sanarjiou Yauman.
Fourth Set
Muwashahhat. Instrumental: Sa’aloni Enas. Choir: Qases Wara’a,
and Tallou el Siyadi.
Fifth Set
Arrab el mou’ed, Nihna wil Amar jiran, Ishar, Kifk Inta, Khedni, and
Oudak Ranan.
Sixth Set
‘A hadir el bosta, Lammal Amar ghab, Ughniyat el Wadda’.
Final Encore Zourouni.
Internet Resources
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
Arts Resources
www.ums.org
The official website of UMS. Visit the Education section (www.ums.org/education)
for study guides, information about community and family events, and more
information about the UMS Youth Education Program.
www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org
The nation’s most comprehensive website for arts education, including lesson
plans, arts education news, grant information, etc.
Malouma and Mauritania
http://home.earthlink.net/~malouma
The homepage for Malouma’s Fan Website. There are links to Malouma’s
biography, information on Mauritania, and various resources concerning Malouma
and her music.
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html
This site, hosted by the CIA, lists many facts and statistics about Mauritania in their
World Factbook.
www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/mauritania_pol95.jpg
A 1995 political map of Mauritania.
Arab Culture
www.al-bab.com/arab/music/music.htm
Basic guide to Arabic music with links to articles and other web sites on religion
and music, Fairouz, Oum Kalthoum, Maghreb music, Ra’i music, etc.
www.al-bab.com/
Arab gateway website. Links and articles on everything from countries in the Arab
world to music, food, entertainment, women’s rights, etc.
www.maqamworld.com/
A site to help understand the maqam modal system. An index on maqams and
rhythms, audio clips, information on musical forms,
www.xs4all.nl/~gregors/ud/
Oud web. Many links of interest.
www.umich.edu/~iinet/cmenas/
Official website for the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the
University of Michigan.
www.accesscommunity.org
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services website.
Although UMS previewed each website, we recommend that teachers check all websites
before introducing them to students, as content may have changed since this guide was
published.
Recomended Reading
Resources for your classroom
This page lists several recommended books to help reinforce arab music and
cultre through literature. These books are available through www.amazon.
com.
Elementary School
Lewin, Ted. The Storytellers. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1998. 32 p. .
Morocco
Sales, Francesc d’A. Ibrahim. Illustrated by Eulààlia Sariola; translated by Marc
Simont. New York : Lippincott, 1989. Morocco
Aggarwal, Manju. I Am a Muslim : Manju Aggarwal Meets Abu Bakar Nazir. New
York: F. Watts, 1985. Islam
Haskins, Jim. Count Your Way Through the Arab World. Minneapolis, MN:
Carolrhoda, 1987. Middle East & North Africa
Hermes, Jules. The Children of Morocco. Series: World’s children. Minneapolis:
Carolrhoda Books, c1995. Morocco
Osborne, Mary Pope. One World, Many Religions : The Ways We Worship. New
York: Knopf, 1996. Islam
Middle & High School
Brill, Marlene Targ. Enchantment of the World: Algeria. Chicago: Children’s
Press,1990. Algeria
Fox, Mary Virginia. Tunisia. Series: Enchantment of the World. Chicago: Children’s
Press, 1990. Tunisia
Kagda, Falaq. Algeria. Series: Cultures of the World. London: Marshall Cavendish,
1997. Alegeria
Lybia in Pictures. Series: Visual Geography. Minneapolis, MN: 1996. Lybia
Moktefi, Mokhtar. The Arabs in the Golden Age. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1992.
Arabs
Robinson, Francis. Ed. The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World. New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Islam
Sanders, Renfield. Libya. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000. Libya
Scoones, Simon. The Sahara and Its People. Thomson Learning. 1993. North
Africa
Stotsky, Sandra. The Arab Americans. Chelsea House, 1999. Arab Americans
Wilkins, Frances. Morocco. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Morocco
Recommended Recordings
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
Middle Eastern and North African Music
Malouma:
Dunya. Malouma. (Marabi, 2004).
Desert of Eden. Malouma. (Shanachie, 1998).
Fairuz:
The Very Best of Fairuz, vol.1. Fairuz.
Sings Ziad Rahbani. Fairuz. (Emi International, 2001).
Oum Kalthoum:
The Lady. Oum Kalthoum. (Buda Musique, 2003).
Diva of Arabic Music vol.1. Oum Kalthoum. (Emi International, 1999).
Mauritanian Music:
Mauritania: Songs of the Griots. Ensemble El-Moukhadrami. (Institut Du
Monde, 2001).
Sounds of the West Sahara Mauritania. Various Artists. (Arc Music, 2004).
Mauritania: Songs By Nemadi Women. Various Artists. (Buda Musique,
1995).
Mauritania Griotte. Various Performers. (Pias, 1997).
General Middle Eastern:
The Rough Guide to West African Music. Various Performers. (World Music
Network, 1995).
Café Beirut. Various Performers. (Emi International, 2001).
Arabic Groove. Various Performers. (Putumayo World Music, 2001).
Immortal Egypt. Phil Thornton, Hossan Ramzy. (New World Music, 1998).
Belly Dance Music - Arabic Rhythms Vol.1. Nourhan and Yousry Sharif.
(Egyptian Academy of Oriental Dance, 2001).
Songs from the Middle East. Various Artists. (Ent. Media Partners, 2000).
Art of the Ud. Munir Bachir. (Ocora, 2001).
Without You - Masters of Persian Music. Various Artists. (World Village,
2002).
Community Resources
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
2651 Saulino Court
Dearborn, MI 48120
(313) 842-7010
www.accesscommunity.org
These groups and
organizations can
help you to learn
more about Arab
culture, events and
activities in the
Detroit area.
University of Michigan Center for Middle Eastern and North African
Studies (CMENAS)
1080 South University Avenue, Suite 4640
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Phone: (734)764-0350 FAX: (734)764-8523
http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/cmenas
The Arab American Institute
4917 Schaefer Rd
Dearborn, MI 48126
(313) 584-8868
www.aaiusa.org
Arab American & Chaldean Council
16921 W Warren Ave
Detroit, MI 48228
(313) 584-4137
www.arabacc.org
University Musical Society
Burton Memorial Tower
881 N. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122
umsyouth@umich.edu
www.ums.org/education
Bibliography
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
Abdul Halim Hafez. http://www.sis.gov.eg/calendar/html/cl300397.htm
Ali Farka Toure. http://www.concertedefforts.com/artists_alif.asp
Ameri, Anan & Ramey, Dawn. Arab American Encyclopedia. UXL, and imprint of
the Gale Group. Detroit, 2000. pg. xix-xxv, 1-2, 75-77, 89, 92-94
“Artara the Lion”: http://www.saxakali.com/Saxakali-Publications/runoko23.htm.
Copyright 1998. Runoko Rashidi.
Bonavita, Sal. The Moors. http://herso.freeservers.com/moors.html. 2005
Broughton, Simon. World Music. Rough Guides, Ltd. London, 1994. pg. 121, 180,
258-259, 260-261
Broughton, Simon & Ellingham, Mark & Trillo, Richard. World Music: Volume 1:
Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Rough Guides, Ltd. London, 1999. pg. 327,
328, 393, 563,
“Free Dictionary: Antara”: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/
Antara%20Ibn%20Shaddad. Copyright 2004. Farlex, Inc.
“Islamic Calendar and Muslim Holy Days”: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/
islam/blfaq_islam_holydays.htm. Copyright 2005. About.com.
“Islamic New Year”: http://islam.about.com/cs/calendar/a/hijrah_calendar.htm.
Copyright 2005. About.com.
Kjelien, Tore. “Berbers”. The Enclyclopedia of the Orient. http://i-cias.com/e.o/
berbers.htm. 2005
Lechner, Judith. The World of Arab and Muslim Children in Children’s Books.
Auburn Univerity. http://web6.duc.auburn.edu/academic/education/eflt/lechner/
arabbooks.pdf#search=’arab%20books%20for%20children’
Malouma. Dunya. Marabi Productions; Angouleme, France. 2003.
Mann, Horace. “Muslim and Middle Eastern Clothing, Jewelry, Make-up.”
Medieval Islamic Cultures. http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Clothing/
Islam_Clothing,_Jewelry_Ma.html
“Mauritania Geography”: http://www.workmall.com/wfb2001/mauritania/
mauritania_geography.html. Copyright 2001. Photius Coutsoukis.
“Muslim Calendar”: http://www.12x30.net/muslim.html.
Stone, Ruth M. The Garland Handbook of African Music. Garland Publishing, Inc.
New York: 2000. pg. 189-190, 192-193
Bibliography
“Staying in Tune”: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Instruments/Anglais/
accueil_en.html.
“The World Factbook”: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/
mr.html#Intro. 2005.
Using Multimedia
The Resource Disc accompanying this Resource Guide is intended for educational
purposes only and may not be duplicated for distribution or sale.
Audio Resources
Track 1 - El Moumna
Track 2 - Mahma El Houb
Track 3 - Dunya
Powerpoint Presentations
1.
Mauritania
2.
Exploring Mauritania
3.
Mauritanian History and Culture
UMS Youth Education Season
September
17 12 am
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, trumpet
27 4:30pm
Paul Taylor Dance Company: Dance is Art, Music and Storytelling
-Youth Performance, Hill Auditorium
-Performing Arts Teacher Workshop, WISD
October
4
4:30pm
Punch’s Progress: A Brief History of the Puppet Theater
8
11am
Paul Taylor Dance Company
For more
information or to
receive a brochure,
please call
734.615.0122 or
e-mail umsyouth
@umich.edu
-Youth Performance, Power Center
November
8
4:30pm
Arts Advocacy: You Can Make A Difference!
December
6
4:30pm
Race, Identity and Art: Getting Beyond the Discomfort of Talking
About “Normal” (Part One)
January
14 11am
Rebirth of a Nation, Paul Miller (DJ Spooky)
20 4:30pm
Facing Mekka: Hip Hop in Academic and Theatrical Context
-Performing Arts Teacher Workshop, Community High School
28 12am
Sphinx Competition
-Youth Performance, Rackham Auditorium
February
7
4:30pm
Story Songs for the Young Child
-Kennedy Center Teacher Workshop, WISD
11 11am
Rennie Harris Puremovement-Facing Mekka
17 4:30pm
Race, Identity and Art: Getting Beyond the Discomfort of Talking
About “Normal” (Part Two)
March
4
7
10am
12am
4:30pm
Dan Zanes and Friends
-Youth Performance, Rackham Auditorium
Malouma: The Culture, Dance and Music of Mauritania
April
8
11am
Malouma
-Youth Performance, Michigan Theater
May
23 4:30pm
Preparing for Collaboration: Theatre Games and Activities that
Promote Team-Building
26 4:30pm
Acting Right: Drama as a Classroom Management Strategy
Locations:
Community High School - 401 N. Division Street, Ann Arbor
Hill Auditorium - 888 N. University, Ann Arbor
Michigan League - 911 N. University, Ann Arbor
Michigan Theater - 603 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor
Power Center - 121 Fletcher, Ann Arbor
WISD (Washtenaw Intermediate School District) - 1819 S. Wagner, Ann Arbor
Evening Performance Info
To purchase
tickets:
By Phone
734-764-2538
Outside the 734 area
code and within
Michigan, call tollfree 800-221-1229.
Or contact us at
www.ums.org
Malouma and the Sahel Hawl Blues
Saturday, April 9, 8pm
Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor
The extraordinary African vocalist Malouma makes her American debut with this
tour. Malouma is from Mauritania, where the musical crossroads of the historic
Maghreb, Berber tribes, and the West African worlds meet. These cultures of
the Sahara and the American Blues have had a profound influence on Malouma’s
musical style and performance. As a daughter of a family of griots (traditional
storytellers) and musicians, she was taught Mauritanian music from a very young
age. By the time she was 15, she was married, an accomplished griot herself,
and influenced by two other important female Arabic vocalists: Oum Kalthoum
and Fairuz. Integrating the Blues into her music, she emerged as a singer-songwriter unafraid to sing about subjects that are taboo in Mauritanian society, stirring people to action; denouncing inequalities, oppression, and injustice; and
encouraging awareness of AIDS, child vaccinations, illiteracy, and the promotion
of women in society.
This “singer of the people” was widely popular among the young and disenfranchised, a controversial celebrity banned by the ruling class, who have finally honored and accepted her. Malouma brings her 10-person band, Sahel Hawl Blues,
to Ann Arbor for this performance that features different Mauritanian musical
styles, all reinterpreted with a modern twist. “Backed by guitars and traditional
instruments, she mixes subtle, slinky blues-edged songs with others that veer from
Moorish influences through to what sounds like a new desert fusion of gospel and
gently driving R&B.” (The Guardian, London)
Send Us Your Feedback!
UMS wants to know what teachers and students think about this Youth Performance.
We hope you’ll send us your thoughts, drawings, letters or reviews.
UMS Youth Education Program
Burton Memorial Tower • 881 N. University Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122 phone • (734) 998-7526 fax • umsyouth@umich.edu
Download additional copies of this study guide
throughout the 2004-2005 season!

Malouma Study Guide 11.indd - University Musical Society

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