Nayim Alal
Encyclopedia
Nayim Alal is a singer, guitarist and writer of lyrics in Spanish
from Western Sahara
.
(Western Sahara) in 1966. All his brothers and sisters do poetry
, and his brother Mohamed Lamin and Nayim were musicians. His father worked in a Spanish
company who constructed a road in the zone.
In 1975, he fled with all his family to Tifariti
, then Mahbes and finally Tindouf
. The next year he started school in the Sahrawi refugee camps
. He takes secondary education in Algerian high schools. When he finished studies, he had to do military service
, where he learned playing accordeon and acoustic guitar
. He subsequently joined the SPLA in 1986, as part of the Sahrawi military band
. In 1990 he was intended to the frontline, where composed his first hit and one of his most known songs "Viva el POLISARIO" ("Long live the POLISARIO"), where he describes the conquest of a Moroccan position.
, where he joined the musical agrupation of the Wilaya of El Aaiun
in the Sahrawi refugee camps, as he left the Army. That year he get in touch with the people of the Spanish music label Nubenegra, and he started to collaborate as guitarist in many editions of the label, most notably on the v.v.a.a. album Sáhara tierra mia ("Sahara land of mine"). That album contains "Viva el POLISARIO" and another of his most known works, the theme "Canta conmigo", ("Sing with me"). He also joined the Sahrawi band Leyoad in 1998, touring Europe
with the band that year, and again in 2002 presenting the album Mariem Hassan con Leyoad.
In 2003, he released his first solo album, entitled Nar ("Fire"), sung in Arabic
, and giving more protagonism to his electric guitar, in a similar way as the Mali
blues groups. He is considered one of the innovators of Western Sahara's traditional music, the "Hawl". His work has been added to the World Music National Geographic database. The character of some of Alal's lyrics is highly charged politically; this reflects political uncertainties which Western Sahara
has faced in recent years.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
from Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
.
Life
He was born in a nomadic family at the Ued Hawa, near SmaraSmara
Smara, also Semara , is a city in the Moroccan-Administered Western Sahara, with a population estimated at 42,056.-History:The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. It is the only major city in Western Sahara that was not founded...
(Western Sahara) in 1966. All his brothers and sisters do poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and his brother Mohamed Lamin and Nayim were musicians. His father worked in a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
company who constructed a road in the zone.
In 1975, he fled with all his family to Tifariti
Tifariti
Tifariti is an oasis town located in POLISARIO-controlled Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, and 15 km. north the Mauritanian border. It is part of what POLISARIO call the Liberated Territories and Morocco call the Buffer Zone. It has a hospital, a school, a mosque and a museum...
, then Mahbes and finally Tindouf
Tindouf
Tindouf is the main town in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian and Moroccan borders. The region is considered of strategic significance, and it houses Algerian military bases. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front a guerrilla...
. The next year he started school in the Sahrawi refugee camps
Refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria
The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps, set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War...
. He takes secondary education in Algerian high schools. When he finished studies, he had to do military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
, where he learned playing accordeon and acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. He subsequently joined the SPLA in 1986, as part of the Sahrawi military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
. In 1990 he was intended to the frontline, where composed his first hit and one of his most known songs "Viva el POLISARIO" ("Long live the POLISARIO"), where he describes the conquest of a Moroccan position.
Career
In 1997, he was moved back to TindoufTindouf
Tindouf is the main town in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian and Moroccan borders. The region is considered of strategic significance, and it houses Algerian military bases. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front a guerrilla...
, where he joined the musical agrupation of the Wilaya of El Aaiun
El Aaiún
El-Aaiún , is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Administered by Morocco since 1976, El-Aaiún is the capital of what the Moroccan government call the region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, and POLISARIO call Occupied Territories...
in the Sahrawi refugee camps, as he left the Army. That year he get in touch with the people of the Spanish music label Nubenegra, and he started to collaborate as guitarist in many editions of the label, most notably on the v.v.a.a. album Sáhara tierra mia ("Sahara land of mine"). That album contains "Viva el POLISARIO" and another of his most known works, the theme "Canta conmigo", ("Sing with me"). He also joined the Sahrawi band Leyoad in 1998, touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with the band that year, and again in 2002 presenting the album Mariem Hassan con Leyoad.
In 2003, he released his first solo album, entitled Nar ("Fire"), sung in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, and giving more protagonism to his electric guitar, in a similar way as the Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
blues groups. He is considered one of the innovators of Western Sahara's traditional music, the "Hawl". His work has been added to the World Music National Geographic database. The character of some of Alal's lyrics is highly charged politically; this reflects political uncertainties which Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
has faced in recent years.
Featured in
- 1998 Sáhara tierra mía
- 2002 Mariem Hassan con Leyoad
- 2004 Medej - Cantos antiguos Saharauis
- 2007 Hugo Westerdahl - Western Sahara
See also
- Music of Western SaharaMusic of Western SaharaSahrawi music shares much in common with neighbouring musical traditions such as those of Mauritanian and southern Moroccan. The Tbal is the basic instrument of percussion, though the traditional string instrument called Tidinit, has largely been replaced by electric guitar.The first Sahrawi music...
- Mariem HassanMariem Hassan-Life:She was born in 1958 in the Ued Tazua, 20 km. away from Smara . She was the third of a total of 10 siblings of a nomadic family. Although they weren't a Igaouen family, music and poetry was important in the family, as various relatives were singers, poets or dancers...
- Aziza BrahimAziza Brahim-Life:She was born in 1976 in the Sahrawi refugee camps, where her mother had settled in late 1975, fleeing from the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Her father remained in El Aaiun, where he died, and due to the conflict, she had never seen him....
- Spanish language#Africa