Folklore · Mauritania · 5 min read
T'heydinn: The Epic of the Moorish Poets
Story · 5 min read
Spoken reading of this record. Original community recordings are released only with the knowledge holders' consent.
The Story
T'heydinn is a body of sung poetry performed by Mauritanian griot families, the iggawen. Its verses recount the deeds of ancestors, the histories of emirates, the codes of honour and the qualities expected of leaders.
The performance is accompanied on the tidinit, a lute played by men, and the ardin, a harp played by women. Voices and instruments follow a modal system that performers learn as a complete architecture, not as a set of songs.
Kept in families
The repertoire and the instruments pass within griot lineages. Children begin listening long before they are permitted to perform, and performance rights are held in the family rather than by an individual.
Because so much of the content is genealogical, the poems function as records: who a family descends from, what obligations exist between groups, and what was owed and repaid.
Under pressure
Urbanisation, changing patronage and recorded music have reduced the occasions when the full repertoire is performed. Fewer young people undertake the long apprenticeship it requires.
Why it is protected
T'heydinn was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2011.
Editorial note
Editorial note: this record is written from public heritage documentation rather than from a single recorded interview. Practices, meanings and names vary between communities, so descriptions here are held as one telling among many. Knowledge holders from this community are invited to correct, expand or replace this entry.
Cultural Context
Genealogical content belongs to specific families; performance rights are held by lineage.
Contributor: Her African Culture editorial team, from UNESCO documentation.
Associated place: Mauritania
Language: Hassaniya Arabic · Consent: Granted · Verification: Human verified