E-TAMAZIGHT

By Dj Zeus Z  by the mystique of the numidian flute

in Numidia (modern chawiland) we find mainly three types of wind instruments : the bag-pipe known as ghita or zzerna (zorna) often accompanied by cylindrical drum known as Attebbal , the whistle flute (tajewwaqt, tajewwaght,) used mainly in andalo-chawi music known as Malouf , the end -blown flute (Taghanimt, taqsebt, gasba) without any reed or mouthpiece which is the most used in chawi folk music and is considered as its primary instrument played either solo or accompanied with small round drum known as Abendir.


Although it is arabized as 'gasba' meaning 'pipe' this instrument has nothing to do
with arabs as we find it nowhere in the middle east at any time in history (Arabs, by the way, did not have any musical instruments and those
instruments found in mid-eastern music and termed as arab are in fact of persian, indian, turkic, syriac
egyptian, libyan origins)

Taghanimt ou Gasba is unique only to Numidia and those regions where Numidians (or the Zenetes as ibn Kheldun called them) settled one time( the berber Rif region in northern morrocco and its neighbouring Oran region where the local berber dialects - tarifit , tasnusit- resemble very much the speech of Numidia -Tachawit- termed collectively Tamazight Taznatit).
Among ancient numidian mystics , both Taghanimt and Tajewwaqt are considered sacred and divine as through them the mystical player calls upon the divinized spirits of the ancestors for aid in his mystical retrun journey to his mystical home-land.
the famous song of the reed flute of the persian sufi poet Rumi also figures in oral chawi mystical poetry in a form of a dialogue duet between the flute and its player :
nekk', taghanimt, yellegh f wabbay si- izuran inu, si- ughanim inn aghbur
nekk' , ameghnam, yellegh f wabbay si- izuran inu, si- izuran uzemmur

Translation:
i, the flute, lamenting my separation from my roots in that ancient reed-bed
i, the flute player, lamenting my separation from my roots, the roots of the tree of wholeness
note here that i translated the mystical metaphorical meanings of the word 'azemmur''=olive'' from the root 'zmr' which suggests the meanings of powerfulness, wholeness, holiness, completeness.



this instrument is equally used traditionnally as a form of music therapy to heal psychological and psycho-somatic ailments. the shepherds in their long hours of loneliness used it to kill time and to entertain their herds!!!!!!!!!!!!

The player of this instrument is called in ancient times either ''Aghnam'', ''ameghnam'', ''amseghnam'' or 'bu-ghanim'' (bu-ghanim still used nowdays in Sousse to denote the reed flute player).

'Taghanimt' means ' reed ' in berber , as this flute is made from dry reed and decorated with ancient berber geometrical motifs and has 9 holes representing the nine levels of the ancient libyc octad-ennead principle (8+1=9). it is possible that this ancient libyc mathematico-mystical principle inspired the structure of the staff clefts in the western music theory.


the 9 points of the octad-ennead that are represented as nine holes
on the numidian flute become the nine notes of either the bass cleft or the treble cleft in music theory.

otherwise , an eighth note is added to the seven notes to complete an octave and a ninth note is added to the octave to complete the nine-noted cleft in the musical staff of the music theory.

this resonates this verse of our ancient prophet, the Libyan Hermes (Mas Ahermas, the messenger of the ninth libyc god , Illa Toth) :''when our eight gods- the planets- formed a queue behind the sublime gate our eighth god Amon - mercury- knocked at the door and their father our father , the ninth , Toth - the sun - comes out and plays a sweet welcome-home flute-tune to his arriving sons and daughters ''.

And according to the greek legend , Hermes was the inventor of the flute!!!!!

ADDENDUM:
in some oral numidian legends we find a mention of a nine- flute basket named simply tighanimin (the flutes) similar in shape to the Rumanian nay ; the rumanian nay has 22 pipes whereas the mythical numidian one has nine pipes of reed arranged in a curved array from right to left, from the first pipe, the tallest pipe (highest pitch) to the ninth pipe , the shortest pipe (lowest pitch), probably from G to A'' , that is an octave+1 , just enough to fill the five lines and the four spaces of either cleft!!!!
wether this instrument did actually exist remains to be found. If it did exist we may have found the origin of the portative organ used by troubadours in the middle ages.some portative organs do have taghanimt-like sound . i am building one right now and i let you know how it sounds when i finish it if i ever finish it-;) it is generally accepted among western music historians that portative organ evolved from the classical pipe organ but this does not explain why it is used only during renaissance period where there is an intense transfert of knowledge and technology from the moors to the europeans .we know well that the troubadours adopted wholesale their songs and instruments from the moors in spain and southern france and the portative organ as in the case of the lute may have come to them through andalucia and whose origins may lie in the reed-beds of the Atlas mounts!!!!!!!!!
last but not least , the word 'lute ' is much closer to the name of the Chelhi Luttar than to the arabic 'aud'.
the 'aud' instrument itself was of indo-persian origin .the history of music has to be RE-WRITTEN!

next topic: the eight god-planets and the ninth sun-god of the berber mystics.

to listen to Taghanimt go :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljVTT8SsX_k&feature=related

GASBA IN ENGLISH :
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Instruments/Anglais/cmam_j_txt08a_en.html

GASBA IN FRENCH:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasba#Jeu