Videos
The video-clips on this site show some of the activities involving the Asssociation and the Imzad School.
Life at the school
Classes in Tifinagh, singing lessons, how to handle the imzad… life at school gives the girls a sense of joy and of hope
Dances of the Hoggar
Traditional or modern, Touareg music with the combined influences of rhythm and of the magically-decorated surroundings, gives the soul a sense of well-being.
The Algerian Ministry of Solidarity (=Social Welfare) gave a bus to the Association. The Association paid for one of the young students, Ikadi Ataké, chosen by her colleagues, to have driving lessons. She passed her test and obtained a driving licence. Now, pleased to be at the wheel of “her” bus, she ensures that all the girls are picked up to go to school.
The teaching of Tifinagh is provided by Hamidou Tenfana. Tifinagh is the ancestral language of the Touareg. Its origins are still not known
Gently and tenderly, Alamine Khoulene passes her skills on to Ikadi Ataké, a dedicated and enthusiastic student.
Accompanied by the sound of the imzad, Boukeyass Nighat, 68 years old, and Halimata, aged 60, give a singing lesson. The girls listen and learn.
Idiyadouhna, an imzad tune played by Biyat Idaber, aged 82. On her own, she is teaching 29 young girls at Ideles.
Improvisation: one day the Association relocated to a campsite near Iharen. So that they could hear and appreciate the sound of the imzad in the open spaces (of the desert).
Barka, aged 82, gives a tazamart (flute) lesson to two young men from the Hoggar. An old man, Barka soon gets tired and runs out of breath. Then, he begins to sing…
Takouba: the sword dance, modernised, and specific to the legendary “Blue Men”, the Amazigh, sons of the wind and also men of their word, with a warrior spirit and chivalrous sense of honour.
Songs and rhythmic dances of the Hoggar. For pleasure, and on special occasions (festivals, weddings…) and sometimes of a mystical character, the dance and the singing are intense experiences. Issouate is a frenetic dance intended, according to local belief, to chase away evil.