Imzad

{{Short description|Tuareg fiddle-type traditional instrument}}

File:Imzad (bowd spike lute, 20th century, Tuareg people, Ahaggar Region, Algeria) - MIM PHX (2022-04-06 02.20.56 by Terry Ballard).jpg

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Langhalsluit met 1 snaar TMnr 2760-74.jpg

The imzad ({{langx|ar|إمزاد}}; alternately amzad) is a type of bowed "single-string fiddle" used by the Tuareg people in Africa.{{cite encyclopedia |entry= Imzad |volume=2 |page=310 |title= The New Grove Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments |editor= Sadie Stanley |date=1984 |publisher= MacMillan Press LTD}}

Its body is made out of a gourd which is covered by animal skin, creating a soundboard. The strings are made from horse hair and are connected near the neck, and runs over a two-part bridge. The bridge is made of two pieced of wood, joined into a cross. The round bow is also equipped with horse hair.

Traditionally, the instrument was played to accompany men's songs. The imzad is only played by the women for example to accompany songs,{{Cite web|url=https://fr.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Page:Foucauld,_Dictionnaire_touareg.djvu/1270&action=edit&redlink=1|title=Foucauld, Dictionnaire touareg|website=Fr.wikisource.org|access-date=21 April 2021}} often during an evening ceremony called takket.