The Imzad
“In our culture, women who play the Imzad, you have to respect them and what they have to say,”
— Tamlait Tababekou
About the Imzad:
Imzad music is a characteristic feature of Tuareg communities and is performed by only 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 nomadic Tuareg camps. The music also has a spiritual and 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, hollowed-out gourd: a skin is stretched across the open side and pierced with sound holes in the shape of rosettes, and a wooden bridge in the shape of a V is then added.
Imzad musical knowledge is transmitted orally according to traditional methods of observation and assimilation. In Niger, a society where men usually occupy the public space, female Imzad musicians are an exception and assume an influential role in society.