Imzad
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Imzad_%28bowd_spike_lute%2C_20th_century%2C_Tuareg_people%2C_Ahaggar_Region%2C_Algeria%29_-_MIM_PHX_%282022-04-06_02.20.56_by_Terry_Ballard%29.jpg/300px-Imzad_%28bowd_spike_lute%2C_20th_century%2C_Tuareg_people%2C_Ahaggar_Region%2C_Algeria%29_-_MIM_PHX_%282022-04-06_02.20.56_by_Terry_Ballard%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Langhalsluit_met_1_snaar_TMnr_2760-74.jpg/300px-COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Langhalsluit_met_1_snaar_TMnr_2760-74.jpg)
The imzad (Arabic: إمزاد; alternately amzad) is a single-string bowed instrument used by the Tuareg people in Africa.
Its body is made out of a calabash or wood which is covered by animal skin. The strings are made from horse hair and are connected near the neck, and runs over a two-part bridge. The round bow is also equipped with horse hair.
The imzad is only played by the women for example to accompany songs,[1] often during an evening ceremony called takket. However, there are modern attempts to promote the instrument as inherent to Tuareg culture.
References
[edit]- ^ "Foucauld, Dictionnaire touareg". Fr.wikisource.org. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
External links
[edit]- (in French) Project page "Sauver l'imzad" with images and music examples Archived 2008-03-21 at the Wayback Machine