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T'heydinn
T'heydinn or T'heydinne (, variously also called ''Al Batt Likbir'' and ''Al Rasm'') is a Moorish epic ensemble of Mauritania. It is an important literary and artistic manifestation of the Hassaniya language and was, in 2011, added to the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Origins The ''T’heydinn'' dates back to the 17th century and contains dozens of poems that praise the exploits of Moorish emirs and sultans and narrates events and traditions that trace the social, cultural and historical evolution of the Moors. The ''T'heydinn'' talk of the intermingling of the two main elements of Moorish society today, the Beni Hassan, the descendants of the Beni Hilal who migrated from the Arabian peninsula, and the Sanhaja, the ancient Berber inhabitants of the Maghreb. It is performed by griots (or ''iggawen'' in Hassaniya) who are singers who have acquired their art by directly imitating the musical talents of their ancestors.Nomination File No. 00524 for Inscription on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauritanian Culture
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية), is a sovereign country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest. Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world, and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. Most of its population of 4.4 million lives in the temperate south of the country, with roughly one-third concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast. The country's name derives from the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania, located in North Africa within the ancient Maghreb. Berbers occupied what is now Mauritania begi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intangible Cultural Heritage List
UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the members of which are elected by State Parties meeting in a General Assembly. Through a compendium of the different oral and intangible treasures of humankind worldwide, the programme aims to draw attention to the importance of safeguarding intangible heritage, which UNESCO has identified as an essential component and as a repository of cultural diversity and of creative expression. The list was established in 2008 when the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took effect. the programme compiles two lists. The longer, Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, comprises cultural "practices and expressio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية), is a sovereign country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest. Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world, and 90% of its territory is situated in the Sahara. Most of its population of 4.4 million lives in the temperate south of the country, with roughly one-third concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast. The country's name derives from the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania, located in North Africa within the ancient Maghreb. Berbers occupied what is now Mauritania ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah
Al-Sirah al-Hilaliyyah (), also known as the Sirat Bani Hilal (سيرة بني هلال ''Sīra Banī Hilāl'') or the al-Hilali epic, is an Arabic epic oral poem that recounts the tale of the journey of the Bedouin tribe of the Banu Hilal from Najd in Arabia to Tunisia and Algeria via Egypt. It is built around historical events that took place in the 11th century. The Banu Hilal were dominant in central North Africa for over a century before their annihilation by the Almohads. The epic is folkloric and oral, not having been committed to writing until relatively recent times, and doesn't have a well-defined date of creation. Of the dozen odd major oral epic poems that developed within the Arab folk tradition between the Middle Ages and the 19th century, ''Sirat Bani Hilal'' is today the only one that is still performed in its integral musical form. The longest notable version contains 1,000,000 lines, the poet could sing this version about 100 hours. The epic, once widespread ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brakna
Brakna ( ar, ولاية البراكنة) is a region in south-west Mauritania. Its capital is Aleg. Other major cities/towns include Boghé. The region borders the Mauritanian regions of Tagant to the north-east, Assaba and Gorgol to the south-east, and Trarza to the north-west. The Sénégal River in the south-west runs along the region's border with Senegal. As of 2013, the population of the region was 312,277, compared to 309,307 in 2011. There were 46.96 per cent females and 53.04 per cent males. As of 2008, the activity rate was 40.30 and economic dependency ratio was 1.01. As of 2008, the literacy rate for people aged 15 years and over was 50.30. The net enrollment ratio of children for secondary level was 7.10 per cent. Geography Mauritania is mostly covered with desert, with only its western regions around the coast of Atlantic Ocean having some vegetation. There are some oases in the desert regions. Since it is a desert, there are large shifting dunes forming tempor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Mauritania
The music of Mauritania comes predominantly from the country's largest ethnic group: the Moors. In Moorish society musicians occupy the lowest caste, iggawin. Musicians from this caste 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, rather than the musicians themselves, and are then considered to own the recording. Instruments Traditional instruments include an hourglass-shaped four-stringed lute called the tidinit and the woman's kora-like ardin. Percussion instruments include the tbal (a kettle drum) and daghumma (a rattle). Types of Mauritanian music There are three "ways" to play music in the Mauritanian tradition: * Al-bayda - the white way, associated with delicate and refined music, and the Bidan (Moors of North African stock) * A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic Epic Literature
Arabic epic literature encompasses epic poetry and epic fantasy in Arabic literature. Virtually all societies have developed Folklore, folk tales encompassing tales of heroes. Although many of these are legends, many are based on real events and historical figures. Popular epic Taghribat Bani Hilal is an Arabic epic recounting the Banu Hilal's journey from Egypt to Tunisia and conquest of the latter in the 11th century. It was declared one of mankind's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2003. In the 13th century, an Arabic epic poem entitled ''Antar'' was created based on Antarah ibn Shaddad, a pre-Islamic Arabian-Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinian warrior-poet. In 1898 the French painter Étienne Dinet published his translation of ''Antar'', which brought Antar bin Shaddad to European notice.Pouillon, Francois (1997) ''Les deux vies d'Étienne Dinet, peintre en Islam: L'Algerie et l'heritage colonial'' Editions Balland, Paris; It has been f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ululation
Ululation (), , is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid back and forth movement of the tongue and the uvula The palatine uvula, usually referred to as simply the uvula, is a conic projection from the back edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fibers. It also conta .... Around the world Ululation is practiced either alone or as part of certain styles of singing, on various occasions of communal ritual events (like weddings) used to express strong emotion. Ululation is practised in all parts of Africa; the Middle East; as well and it is practiced as far east as Central and South Asia, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal, Odisha, and Assam in India, and Sri Lanka. It is also practiced in a few places in Europe, like Cyprus, and among the diaspora community originat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kettledrum
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. Thus timpani are an example of kettle drums, also known as vessel drums and semispherical drums, whose body is similar to a section of a sphere whose cut conforms the head. Most modern timpani are ''pedal timpani'' and can be tuned quickly and accurately to specific pitches by skilled players through the use of a movable foot-pedal. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a ''timpani stick'' or ''timpani mallet''. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of ensembles, including concert bands, marching bands, orchestras, and even in some rock bands. ''Timpani'' is an Italian p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or concerts. Its most common form is triangular in shape and made of wood. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments. Ancient depictions of harps were recorded in Current-day Iraq (Mesopotamia), Iran (Persia), and Egypt, and later in India and China. By medieval times harps had spread across Europe. Harps were found across the Americas where it was a popular folk tradition in some areas. Distinct designs also emerged from the African continent. Harps have symbolic political traditions and are often used in logos, including in Ireland. History Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa, and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3000 BCE. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardin (harp)
The ardin is a type of harp played in Mauritania. It has a resonating body made of calabash, with 10 to 16 strings, and is played by female griots A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos .... References Harps Mauritanian musical instruments {{Harp-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer to an instrument from the family of European lutes. The term also refers generally to any string instrument having the strings running in a plane parallel to the sound table (in the Hornbostel–Sachs system). The strings are attached to pegs or posts at the end of the neck, which have some type of turning mechanism to enable the player to tighten the tension on the string or loosen the tension before playing (which respectively raise or lower the pitch of a string), so that each string is tuned to a specific pitch (or note). The lute is plucked or strummed with one hand while the other hand "frets" (presses down) the strings on the neck's fingerboard. By pressing the strings on different places of the fingerboard, the player can sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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