Here is the background...
There has been only one old master of the Biram left. The youth is not interested any more. But when the musician Malam Mamane Barka, he himself a nomad from the Toubou tribe, heard about the Biram some years ago, he decided to stay with the old master to learn the Boudouma language and how to play the instrument. In 2002 he got a UNESCO scholarship to materialize his dream. And when he arrived on the Boudouma island he was warmly welcomed by the master who thought his instrument dead already. After many rituals of purification the old master agreed to educate Malam Mamane Barka the holy instrument and the lyrics of the mystical songs. As Barka himself is a son of the sand dunes, the old master gave him his last Biram as a gift. Malam Mamane Barka inherited with the BIRAM the knowledge of rituals and cultural heritage of the Boudouma. He is conscious about his responsibility according to the Boudouma and their spirit Kargila. After the legends Kargila is watching the Boudouma and cares about their culture and their situation.
Learn more at http://www.mamanebarka.com/
