Saharawi music and its evolution

Tbal drum and tidinit

Saharawi music is rooted in a tradition closely related to the music played in Mauritania, known as el-howl el thabit. It is made up by a complex system of modes which sing of different themes such as love, religious praise, battle, homage to landscapes and nostalgia. These musical modes are played in a strict and specific order. Unlike the Mauritanian society, the Saharawis never developed a griot caste dedicated to playing music. The griots, called iggawen, have traditionally been regarded as a socially inferior caste. Although admired for their talents they were denigrated for earning their living from music. Traditionally, the iggawen  (iggiw in singular) played at the service of eminent social personalities and political leaders often developing entire repertoires in their praise. But  also they played at key social events related to the celebration of birth, marriage and even divorce!. The central social pastime of drinking tea in beidan society equally provided an inspiring and informal setting for el howl to be played.

tea drinking in the camps

In the Saharawi context, music was primarily a communal activity and a popular expression closely connected to women and the poetry tradition. The main instrument played was the  t’bal drum, accompanied by clapping and singing. The Saharawis  excelled in the rich spiritual tradition of Medh. The tidinit, a four stringed instrument, and the aardeen, a calabash harp, played by the Mauritanian male and female iggiw, respectively, were rarely played or mastered by the Saharawis.

Over the past four decades, particularly in the diaspora, Saharawi music has evolved to reflect the centrality of their cause and the influences of modern instruments. The electric guitar, bass and keyboard synthesizer, in particular, have tended to be preferred over the traditional tidinit and the t’bal drum. Musical modes relating to battle and landscape have developed at the expense of other modes. Due to multiple influences entering Saharawi, the younger generation are increasingly experimenting with and incorporating other music traditions into theirs, especially from the Latin American and hip-hop worlds.

Most significantly, the Saharawis have largely succeeded in overcoming the social stigma associated with being a musician. This has been possible because those Saharawis with talent applied it to sing for their cause and not for money, in the early days, thereby making it an acceptable and even noble pursuit. Today, Saharawi artists are increasingly looking to earn a livelihood through their music. Playing at weddings in the refugee camps is currently one of the most lucrative activities. For the time being those wishing to become professional musicians have had to go abroad to develop their careers, such as  Mariam Hassan and Aziza Brahim.

Saharawi bands

Saharawi music bands only began to appear in the early days of the struggle, in the refugee camps, at the height of the war. The first national Saharawi band was called El Wali after the martyred founding leader of the Polisario front. Throughout the 80’s El Wali toured many parts of the world to countries that expressed their solidarity with the Saharawi people.

El Wali no longer exists but numerous bands and artists have risen in its place in recent years. The most well known singer to date is Mariam Hassan who is based in Spain. She has been singing since the latter period of Spanish colonial rule in Western Sahara and has had some modest commercial success under the Nubenegra record label, performing primarily throughout Europe and in 2010 in Australia’s Womad festival. Umm Dalalla another astounding singer also began her singing career at the start of the independence struggle but has not pursued it commercially and is based in the refugee camp. Also of note is our feature of the month,  Aziza Brahim and her band based in Leon in Spain. Composer, writer and singer she is beginning to make a splash with her pristine and stunning voice. She recently published a CD online called Mi Canto (my song) and made a debut at the 7^th African Music Festival at Southbank in 2009. Another music phenomenon is TIRIS, an 8 member band, based in the refugee camps.

Tiris – Voices of Western Sahara

This 8 member-strong  Saharawi music/dance sensation, fuse the best of tradition and innovation in a raw and powerful way,.They sing of love, loss, and their long struggle and aspirations for independence in their homeland of Western Sahara.

The band Tiris is named after one of the most symbolic and sacred places in the cultural lore of Western Sahara. They were formed out of talent competitions in the refugee camps in 2005 and toured the UK to great acclaim in 2007, playing at the Musicport Festival, Brighton Dome and Southbank Queen Elizabeth Hall amongst other venues. In 2009 Tiris was invited to perform in the Ollin Kan festival in Mexico and toured Scandinavia playing at the Malmo Festival and elsewhere.

Tiris’s debut album, Sandtracks, got rave reviews and was given 5 stars by leading world music magazine Songlines and was chosen Top of the World Album.  Sandtracks was produced by Sandblast, in collaboration with Kad Achouri and Mohamed Hafsi. It was launched at the 2007 Sandblast festival celebrating Saharawi arts and cultural festival, in London. You can buy Sandtracks CDs directly from our online shop.

The Musicians

Tiris features two lead vocalists, Shueta, known locally as the Aretha Franklin of the Sahara, who has been singing for freedom since 1985 and rising star Mufeed, with a stunning voice and a sizzling performance style. Both come from families of artists. They are accompanied by the electric guitar, bass, keyboard and traditional 4 stringed tidinit and a dancing drumming chorus who perform mesmerizing dance sequences representing highly stylized gestures of everyday life activities.

Performance history

Tiris’s first major public performance was at the prestigious Festival of the Desert in Mali in January 2006. Their concert was met with great enthusiasm. Manny Ansar, the festival director hailed them as:

“one of the best performances this year-absolutely wonderful!!

I am delighted TIRIS were able to participate!”

Programmed on the opening night, they were invited to perform again on the last night by popular demand. TIRIS were interviewed by Radio France International, Reuters TV and BBC World Service Radio.

Tiris were the artistic highlights of the 2007 Sandblast Festival and Tour. On their tour they performed at a wide range of venues including SouthBank, Brighton Dome, Musicport festival. They featured on BBC London Live radio, the Ticket and numerous other radio programmes.