Some Tuareg Music

Omara 'Bombino' Moctar is an internationally acclaimed Tuareg guitarist and singer-songwriter from Agadez, Niger. His nickname, from the Italian meaning 'little child', comes from his time with the band of renowned Tuareg guitarist Haja Bebe. Here he performs a live version of his song Amininine, from his second album Nomad. I am still very involved with the relief efforts of Groupe Coordination Aude Mali (GCAM). We are still accepting donations from the PayPal button on the side of this blog. There are still thousands of Malian Tuareg refugees trying to get back to their lands in Mali from the camps in Mauritania and Burkina Faso. Then there is the reality of helping them re establish their lives. While the political situation in Mali has temporarily calmed, the political roots of the problem, the cycle of revenge and religious/political intolerance still festers.  GCAM has promoted Tuareg culture, art and music and has helped them create a self sufficient agricultural economy and given them stability in their fragile political landscape that Mali has become.  GCAM has been working with a a few tribes from the Timbuktu region for over 30 years. Tuaregs have a rich culture that has been defined by the desert they live in since the dawn of history. I've written about Tuareg music and the efforts of Damon Albarn among others to assist them through exposing this rich culture to the world. The ancient libraries of Timbuktu, which consist of one of the oldest collections of books on the planet was partially destroyed by the Islamic Fundamentalists and much of it is still being safe guarded by the clans who have been conserving this trove of technical, religious and traditional literature for over 1000 years. If you'd like to learn more about Tuareg history and culture, perhaps you's enjoy this Wikipedia entry. You would learn that the Tuaregs share a culture that is not defined by modern political borders. The music has very direct links to traditional American blues which are still very much alive. I am going to start featuring more links to Tuareg music again. Maybe someday soon, the situation will stabilize enough that the musicians who have received world renown can return to their own country with out fear of being murdered by extremists.