are Moroccan music, the popular Gasba, Kabyle and Chawi music of Algeria, and the widespread Tuareg music of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. Instruments used include the bendir (large drums) and the guembri (a lute). There are three varieties of Berber folk music: village music, ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians. Village music is performed collectively for dancing, including ahidus and ahouach dances, which each begin with a chanted prayer. Ritual music is performed at regular ceremonies to celebrate marriages and other important life events, and is also used as protection against evil spirits. Professional musicians () travel in groups of four, led by a poet (). The amydaz recites improvised poems, often accompanied by drums and a rabab (a one-stringed fiddle), along with a who plays a double clarinet and acts as a clown for the group. The Chleuh Berbers have professional musicians called s who play in ensembles consisting of lutes, rababs, and cymbals, with any number of vocalists. The leader, or , leads the group in its music and choreography. These performances begin with an instrumental on rabab, which also gives the notes of the melody which follows. The next phase is the , or sung poetry, and then , a danced overture, , an energetic song, , a dance, and finally the rhythmically swift . There is some variation in the order of the presentation, but the is always at the beginning, and the always at the end. Traditional Berber festivals include Fantasia, Imilchil marriage festival and Udayn n Acur. See also Arabized Berber Berber languages Berberism Guanches, the indigenous Berber peoples of the Canary Islands Hamites List of Berber people Moors Traditional Berber religion Tuareg people Haratin Maghrebis Notes References Further reading (as cited in Michael Harrison's work, 1974) External links Portail des Amazighs (Berbères) Amazigh/Berber Culture Culture Amazighe (Berbère) The New Mass Media and the Shaping of Amazigh Identity Number Systems and Calendars of the Berber Populations of Grand Canary and Tenerife World Haplogroups Maps Arabized Berbers Afroasiatic peoples Indigenous peoples of North Africa Ethnic groups in Morocco Ethnic groups in Mauritania Ethnic groups in Algeria Ethnic groups in Libya Ethnic groups in Tunisia Ethnic groups in Western Sahara Ethnic groups in Mali Ethnic groups in Burkina Faso Ethnic groups in Niger Ethnic groups in Egypt Maghreb Ethnic groups in the Arab world Ancient peoples Ethnic groups divided by international borders