Artists

Aicha Mint Chighaly

Mauritania

Born in 1962 in Kaédi, Aïcha Mint Chighaly is the daughter of Yuba al-Mokhtar ould Chighaly, who was one of the most well-known griots of the last century. The Chighaly family originates from the border area with Senegal , but in 1982 moved to live in Nouakchott . Aïcha owes much of her solid reputation in her own country to her abilities as a singer and player of the ardin harp, but also to the family heritage of music and poetry. She is always accompanied by her band, made up of her brothers and her sister-in-law, who all studied with her father. She has participated in many local festivals and launched her international career in 1996 with her first CD in the INEDIT collection of the Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris . She has toured many countries in Europe , Africa , the Gulf and also in Japan . In Morocco , she has appeared at festivals in Assilah, Agadir and Rabat .

The music of the griots or troubadours of Mauritania is called Azawan, and is a truly scholarly form of music. It follows strict theory and is played by professional musicians who have undergone a long and specialist training. The songs are accompanied by three instruments: the ardin harp, played by Aïcha, is a women’s instrument made of a half-calabash and has eleven or fourteen strings; the tidnit, a four-stringed lute played exclusively by men; and the tbal kettledrum, a hemispherical drum made from a hollowed-out piece of wood, which can reach 1 m in diameter.

 

In Fes , Aïcha will perform songs in praise of the Prophet, and songs of eulogy, nostalgia and love.