Omara Bombino Moctara, a young Tuareg guitarist and songwriter from Agadez, Niger, was raised during an era of armed
struggles for independence and violent suppression by government forces, and the spirit of resistance and rebellion
comes through in his mesmerizing music. In Bombino's electrifying jams you can hear echoes of fellow Africans Tinariwen
and Ali Farka Touri as well as rock and blues icons Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Page.
About the Artist
----------------
Omara "Bombino" Moctar, whose given name is Goumar Almoctar, was born on January 1st, 1980 in Tidene, Niger,
an encampment of nomadic Tuaregs located about 80 kilometers to the northeast of Agadez. He is a member of the Ifoghas
tribe, which belongs to the Kel Air Tuareg federation. His her is a car mechanic and his mother takes care of the
home, as is the Tuareg tradition. Bombino was raised as a Muslim and taught to consider honor, dignity and generosity as
principal tenets of life.
The Tuareg, known amongst themselves as the Kel Tamasheq, have long been recognized as warriors, traders and travelers
of the Sahara Desert - as a people of grace and nobility as well as fighters of fierce reputation. They are a nomadic
people descended from the Berbers of North Africa and for centuries have fought against colonialism and the imposition
of strict Islamic rule.
Bombino spent his early childhood between the encampment and the town of Agadez, the largest city in northern Niger
(population about 90,000) and long a key part of the ancient Sahara trade routes connecting North Africa and the
Mediterranean with West Africa. One of seventeen brothers and sisters (including half brothers and half sisters from
both his mother and her), Bombino was enrolled in school in Agadez, but he demonstrated his rebellious spirit early
on and refused to go. Bombino's grandmother took him in to keep his her from forcing him to go to school, and, like
most Tuareg children, he grew up living with his grandmother.
Eventually, Bombino gave in and began attending a French-Arabic school that taught both French and classic Arabic.
After three years, he left the school and at the age of nine he returned to his grandmother to live the life of an
independent Tuareg child. The Tuareg culture is matriarchic, and the elder women are considered the chiefs of the
community, the wise sages that represent the power of life, generosity and knowledge. Bombino's grandmother instilled in
him the Tuareg moral code in order for him to grow up as a respected member of society. Young Tuareg boys are called
"arawan n tchimgharen", or "grandmother's children", a term that is considered a badge of honor.
In 1984, a drought hit Niger and Mali, killing most of the region's livestock, forcing people to leave the countryside
and move into the cities or migrate to Algeria and Libya. Eventually, Tuareg communities in those countries organized a
rebellion to defend their rights, as they felt overlooked and underrepresented by local governments. Before the fighting
began, rebels began teaching the community about the goals of the rebellion through song and the recently adopted
guitar. Musicians such as Intayaden, Abreyboun of Tinariwen, Keddo, Abdallah of Niger and others sang popular songs that
procled the rights and heritage of the Tuaregs. The style was called "ishoumar" which derives from the French word
"chomeurs" or "unemployed", because Tuaregs had lost their herds in the drought and were left with no other means of
supporting themselves. Eventually, the term "ishoumar" became synonymous with "rebels".
In 1990, the first Tuareg rebellion began in Mali and Niger when Tuareg commandos launched an attack against local
and government offices. The governments fought back, declaring Tuaregs enemies of the state and forcing many
Tuareg's into exile.
Bombino fled with his her and grandmother to stay near relatives in Algeria. One day some relatives arrived from the
front lines of the rebellion, carrying with them two guitars that they left behind for a few months. Bombino began to
teach himself to play the guitars, plucking out notes in imitation of the ishoumar songs he had heard.
In 1992 and 1993, the regime in Niger was replaced with a democratically elected government, and numerous
political parties were formed, largely along ethnic lines. A Tuareg party was formed, and music once again played an
important role in educating the community, this time about the importance of a democratic system in Niger. While the
armed conflict had not formally ended, Bombino and his family decided to move back to Agadez.
During a trip to Niamey, Niger for medical , Bombino met with his uncle Rissa Ixa, a famous Tuareg painter,
who gave him a guitar. Upon returning to Agadez, Bombino joined the Tuareg political party where he met the best
guitarist of the party, a man named Haja Bebe. He started getting lessons, improving to the point where Haja Bebe
invited him to join his band. It was during this time that Bombino acquired his nickname. As the youngest and smallest
member of the band, the other members called him Bombino, a variation on the Italian word for "little child".
On April 24th, 1995, the Niger government signed a peace treaty with the rebels and Tuaregs were able to move back to
Niger. Around the same time, Bombino got a role as an extra in the French film Imuhar: A Legend, which was filmed in the
nearby desert. After finishing his work on the film, Bombino settled into life as working musician, performing at
political rallies, weddings, and other ceremonies.
He fought often with his her, who did not want his son to become a musician. To escape this problem, Bombino decided
to travel to Algeria and Libya in 1996. In Libya, he made friends with some local musicians, and they would spend time
watching videos of Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and others in an effort to master their licks. Bombino
was quickly becoming an accomplished guitarist and was in high demand as a backing musician. While working as a herder
in the desert near Tripoli, Libya, Bombino spent many hours alone watching the animals and practicing his guitar.
Eventually, Bombino decided to return to Niger, where he continued to play with a number of local bands. As his legend
grew, a Spanish documentary film crew helped Bombino record his first album, which become a local hit on Agadez radio.
The success of the album validated Bombino's choice to make a career out of music, and he began playing regularly for
tourists and locals alike.
In 2006, Bombino traveled to California with the band Tidawt for a tour organized by a non-profit organization. During
the trip, he had the chance to record a desert blues version of the Rolling Stones classic "Hey Negrita" alongside
Stones' members Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. The track appears on the 2008 album spearheaded by Rolling Stones
saxophonist Tim Riese entitled Stone's World: The Rolling Stones Project Volume 2. Later that year, Bombino served as
Angelina Jolie's guide to the Niger desert region during a weeklong visit. During their time together, he played her the
music of the Tuareg and told her stories of nomadic life in the Sahara.
In 2007, the second Tuareg rebellion began, and the government countermeasures were forceful and indiscriminant. Many
civilians were killed and farms and livestock were destroyed in an effort to quash the rebellion. Instead, the
government's hard-handed tactics only served to galvanize the Tuareg community, and Bombino and his friends joined the
rebellion. Government forces killed two of Bombino's musicians, so he fled in exile to Burkina Faso along with many of
his fellow Tuaregs.
In 2009, he met filmmaker Ron Wyman who had heard a cassette of Bombino's music while traveling near Agadez. Wyman was
enchanted by Bombino's music and spent a year seeking him out, eventually tracking him down to Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso, where Bombino was living in exile. While there, Wyman decided to feature Bombino in a documentary he was filming
about the Tuareg. Later that year, he brought Bombino to Cambridge, Massachusetts to begin the album Agadez in
his home studio.
Finally, the Tuaregs put down their arms and were allowed to return to Niger. In January 2010, Wyman came to Agadez to
finish the album and the film. The sultan of Agadez allowed them to organize a concert for peace at the base of the
Grand Mosque, the first time such a performance had been permitted. Over a thousand people came to celebrate the end of
the conflict and danced to the irresistible grooves of Bombino and his band.
Although just thirty years old, Bombino's life and travels have exposed him to the problems facing his people. He has
taken on the mission of helping the Tuareg community achieve equal rights, peace, maintain their rich cultural heritage
and promote education. He is an advocate for teaching children the Tuareg language of Tamasheq, the local Haoussa
language as well as French and Arabic, all of which he speaks fluently. "We fought for our rights," remarks Bombino,
"But we have seen that s are not the solution. We need to change our system. Our children must go to school and learn
about their Tuareg identity."
Four thousand years of living in a hostile environment taught the Tuareg that the will to survive with dignity intact
is stronger than any external threat. Bombino puts that sentiment to music, writes its anthem, and gives it a life of
its own. He is known as being emblematic of the next generation of Tuareg, a new voice of the Sahara and Sahel, fusing
traditional Berber rhythms with the energy of rock and roll and songs about peace. After thirty years of drought,
rebellion, and tyranny, Bombino extols his audience to remember who they are, but also realize who they can be.