Overview
Imzad music is a characteristic feature of Tuareg communities and is performed by women on a single-stringed bowed instrument known as the Imzad. The musician sits with the instrument on her knees and plays it with a wooden, arched bow. Imzad combines music and poetry and is frequently performed on ceremonial occasions in Tuareg camps. The instrument provides melodic accompaniment to poetic or popular songs glorifying the adventures and feats of past heroes: the songs are composed, recited or sung by men, with both men and women participating by producing modulated or high-pitched cries. The music also has a therapeutic function, being played to drive away evil spirits and alleviate the pain of the sick. The sound of the Imzad reflects the player’s feelings and moods, and an inability to master a performance is considered a misfortune. Women craft the instrument from half a dried,...
This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.
Community and Authority
- Communities
- Algeria, Mali, Niger
- Languages
- Not specified in UNESCO dataset
- Cultural territories
- Algeria, Mali, Niger
- Countries
- Algeria, Mali, Niger
How the System Works
Imzad music is a characteristic feature of Tuareg communities and is performed by women on a single-stringed bowed instrument known as the Imzad. The musician sits with the instrument on her knees and plays it with a wooden, arched bow. Imzad combines music and poetry and is frequently performed on ceremonial occasions in Tuareg camps....
Sources and Evidence
Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.
Field-Level Provenance
- title
- UNESCO DataHub field title_en
- preferredTitle
- UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
- summary
- UNESCO DataHub field description_en
- type
- UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
- countries
- UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
- categories
- ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
- relationships
- UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
- sourceUrl
- UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
- rights
- UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url
Original Source Metadata
Why This Record Is Credible
This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.
Cultural Access
Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.
Relationships
Review and Corrections
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