|
|
 |
Concert Preview
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Zook Beat, Concert Preview >>
Zook Beat Presents:
Zook Beat is proud to present in Santa Cruz:
Ensemble Tartit
About Tartit
The men and women of Tartit come from the Timbuktu and Goundam region of the Niger River basin in Northern Mali. The Kel Tamashek have lived in the vast Sahara and the Sahel for millennia. They are related to the great Amazigh (Berber) community that dominated Northern Africa until the arrival of the Arab conquerors in the seventh century. The Kel Tamashek alone have preserved the use of the ancient rifinagh alphabet that was once employed by all the Amazigh peoples. As a result, the different Amazigh peoples can once again transcribe their language.
Political strife led to the formation of Tartit. In the 1960s, Kel Tamashek society was divided into five new states: Algeria, Libya, Niger, Mali, and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). The Kel Tamashek were deprived of their traditional economic bases, circumscribed by new frontiers, oppressed and bullied by neighbors to the north and south, and racked by terrible droughts. The Kel Tamashek rebelled, once in 1963 and again in 1991. They seemed condemned to a slow decline and irreversible settling process. Their nomadic way of life became a pathway into exile. They fled and took shelter in camps in Mauritania, Algeria, and Burkina Faso, where their survival was dependent on international aid. Events took an even more tragic turn in 1994, when the Malian army encouraged militias to exterminate all whites, Kel Tamashek, and Moors. Today peace reigns once more, and the Kel Tamashek movements have laid down their arms and been integrated with the Malian army and administration.
Many Kel Tamashek fled the repression of the Malian army to various refugee camps. It was in these refugee camps where Tartit was formed. The word Tartit means union; it symbolizes the link that exists among these musicians, and because these musicians represent different confederations that make up the Kel Tamashek society.
The women of Tartit formed a U.N. recognized association dedicated to preserving and raising awareness of their muisc and culture, and developing educational opportunities for children and economic opportunities for the women. They will be in Santa Cruz for a rare appearance at:
Their music
Ensemble Tartit offers a rare window into their fascinating and beautiful Tuareg music and culture.
Ensemble Tartit, with its entrancing vocals and hypnotic rhythmic music from the desert performs what has been called "desert blues." They create mesmerizing harmonies set to the complex rhythms built upon their cries, shouts, and handclapping. Accompanied by the tehardent and imzod, predecessors of the guitar and violin, their voices capture the ancestral beauty of the nomadic music from the Sahara Desert.
Their haunting music, which includes songs that evoke a glorious past and call for peace and reconciliation, consists of both traditional pieces and recent works inspired by contemporary events. 04/03/03
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
