Introduction
Berber music is a term that refers to the harmonious traditions of the Berber individuals, a group of people from Algeria who speak a language called Berber. It is not uncommon for Kabyle to be home to some of the most well-known Berber musical styles. The long-running struggle of the Berber people for basic language rights and recognition of their identities affects Berber music and culture. A famous Kabyle singer, Idir, was born and grew up in Algeria in a place known as Beni Yenni. Musician Idir’s A Vava Inouva incorporates traditional and contemporary musical components in his Kabyle Berber poetry and music. Idir exploited his notoriety to emphasize his Berber personality through his music, consisting of his vocals and an acoustic guitar. This paper will analyze A Vava Inouva’s music video by showing the musical language used by Idir and how it has been the mirror of society, particularly in ensuring the children are moral.
Background
Berber music is the melodic tradition of the Berber folks, a cultural group that originated in Algeria and has since spread around the world. Kabyle is home to some of the most well-known kinds of Berber music, which can be found throughout the country from the north to the south (Belmihoub, 2018, p. 215). Berber culture and music have been affected by the long-lasting fight of Berber folks to acquire basic linguistic privileges and acknowledgment of their own identities and cultures. Originally from Algeria (Beni Yenni), Idir is a well-known Kabyle singer who has become known for using his status to assert his Berber personality. A Vava Inouva, his debut album, was released in 1979 and translated into a slew of languages, making it a huge hit worldwide. According to this introduction, the song was translated into many languages and became well-known (Kabyle Singer).
Analysis
There is a long legacy of Berber music dating back to the advent of Algeria that has been passed down through the generations. The chosen song, “A Vava Inouva,” by Idir, has sparse and light lyrics. French and Kabyle-language subtitles are displayed onscreen under “A Vav Inouva.” The title, “A Vava Inouva,” means “My Dad to Me” in Hebrew. It is a beautiful depiction of a father-and-daughter relationship.
Idar recounts a tale logically or chronologically through a sequence of events arranged to run concurrently. The description chose simple and understandable lyrics in the English language for all people listening and watching the song. When Idir sang “A Vava Inouva,” he imagined his grandmother sitting by the hearth telling stories till the snow stopped falling. The song’s lyrics include two sides: one tells the story of how old women in the Kabyle region would chant “A Vava Inouva” as the Singer’s refrain. The music captures the children’s attention and teaches them how to live morally. The song’s lyrics were termed to teach the young ones the morals they should have in society according to their culture. Additionally, this verse evoked the vigils held in the villages of the Kabyle Mountains and the oral transmission of tales and teachings. This lyric elicited a sense of recognition of a deeply established culture and a sense of novelty, accompanied by intense emotion. The song is classified as a lullaby because it is a peaceful and calming song typically played for children. It is used to pass on cultural knowledge and enhance communication skills among the younger generation.
Various visual elements can be used in a video. “A Vava Inouva” uses multiple visual elements such as color, tone, and shape to convey its meaning and make it untestable to the community (Djebbari, 2019, p. 100). Color is a fun visual element to experiment with within design because there are many options to choose from. To depict the father and daughter riding a bicycle, Idar used black and white photographs. To differentiate between different times of the year, the color was used. To illustrate that it was a late-evening scene, the pictures were originally black and then brightened to demonstrate that the father was in awe of their surroundings. Color is used to convey information. Life and death ceremonies in Kabyle culture are related to these two colors.
The musician, Idar, used a peaceful and calming tone that can typically be played by children. It was classified as a lullaby that had a soothing tone that attracted children’s attention. It is utilized for infants and non-infants due to its calming properties (Idar, n.d). The genre is particularly distinct, evoking strong emotions, and it is typically associated with feelings of love or admiration. The repetitions and significant gaps between sections of the song distinguish the song as having a similar structural structure. This assists the infants in the gradual assimilation of the content as well as the development of their ability to absorb music and information. Additionally, this basic and slow music assists individuals from various cultural backgrounds in identifying and recognizing this style and its characteristics without being aware of the cultural context. With its swinging rhythmicity, the song aids in falling asleep and waking up. This is due to the special instrumental accompaniment that this type of music possesses, which includes: vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, and percussions.
The A Vava Inouva uses a carton as the shape of the images. This was meant to attract the attention of young ones, particularly teenagers, and convey their meaning. The pictures in the video convey the message that traditional Kabyle people lived in a closed society, subsisted on the fruits of their land, and were concerned with production and effectiveness to achieve self-satisfaction via their work. The video’s interaction with the crucial words on the screen creates an incredibly positive impression of the music on the net. It conveyed a deep sense of enthusiasm for the story while at the same time describing the Kabyle tradition, language, and way of life, which the post-French-colonial Algerian state had almost suppressed following the Algerian War of Independence. The song “A Vava Inouva” mirrored the customs of women. When they hear the music, they will recognize themselves because the word “Kabyle” means woman and native tongue in the Portuguese language. They are why Kabyle is still the primary language of communication in rural areas.
Conclusion
«A Vava Inouva» music video performed admirably for the purpose it was created since the music is both refreshing to the mind and pleasing to the ears. The lyrics of this song were light and simple to comprehend by people of any age. Lullaby, which is relatively simple music made up of only a few instruments, was used as background music. Its purpose was to attract youngsters and assist them in assimilation into a cultural setting based on Kabyle customs, among other things. The appropriate imagery accompanies each segment of the song. The lyrics are written in both Kabyle and French, which will aid individuals from different ethos in comprehending the meaning of the melody and the culture of the people who sing it. This song, written by Idir, expresses gratitude toward moms who teach their children from birth to begin speaking their native language.
Bibliography
Belmihoub, Kamal. 2018 “English in a multilingual Algeria.” World Englishes 37, no. 2 (2018): 207-227.
Djebbari, Elina. 2019. “Dance, Music Videos and Screens: Intermediality and Videochoreomorphosis in Mali and Benin.” Critical African Studies 11, no. 1: 87-102.
Idar. “A Vava Inouva” [youtube video]. Web.