Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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ABBA, Dimi Mint

(b 1958, Mauritania) Singer and ardin player (Mauritanian harp/lute). Following tradition, she learned from her mother, the men of the family learning the tidinit (an African lute and possible ancestor of the banjo). As an iggawin (musician) she found herself at the bottom of the Mauritanian caste system; early radio success '75, however, led to her representing her country at Dum Kalsoum Song Contest '77 in Tunisia: she won with 'Sawt Elfan' ('Arts Plume'), a poetic message of peace, included on Moorish Music Of Mauritania '90 on World Circuit along with an intriguing mix of acoustic and subtle electric sounds. Hers is a powerful voice holding clues to the roots of Spanish flamenco; her husband, Khalifa Ould Eide, plays tidinet and electric guitar. See also Musique et Chants Traditionnels de Mouritanie (Institut du Monde Arabe/Blue Silver, France).