Zokra Le : 34 cm The Arab and Mediterranean Center Tunisia

Zokra or zurna (shawm) I have been a student at the High School of Music for three years now. I have learned all about musical instruments and I see students practising on them everyday (the ud or lute, the violin, the qanun, which is a psaltery or zither, the nay, etc.). I play the violin myself.

On the other hand, the zokra is an instrument that I do not know very well, apart from a few photographs and recordings that I heard by chance. In fact, the reason I chose this instrument is to find out more about it, how it is used to play Tunisian folk music and its significance in people’s lives. The zokra or zorna is a living instrument of our folk music, simple and unmannered. It is a double-reeded conical aerophone played face up, a kind of keyless oboe with a piercing tone. Evidence of its existence in Palestine, from the early 2nd century AD, has been found. The zokra spread with the Muslim conquest of Turkey to Madagascar, from Morocco to the Malay Archipelago and to the Far East. It was introduced into Europe during the last Crusades and developed there from the 15th century onwards. The zokra is used to play Tunisian folk music and is commonly heard at weddings and village celebrations, especially those that take place outdoors. It is often accompanied by the tabl (percussion instrument played with two sticks). It is also used in the musical heritage of religious orders. The instrument is made of a hard wood conical tube with a double reed in the upper part of the tube. It also has a large metal disk to which the reed is attached. The tube has seven equidistant holes, which are not all used, and flares out at the bottom into a wooden bell. The range of the zokra can be an octave and a half but most of the melodies played on the instrument do not exceed a fifth. Playing the zokra requires considerable wind. Little by little, the zakkar (zokra player) lets out his breath into the mouthpiece where the reed is fitted. The zakkar’s cheeks are extremely puffed out.

Teaching folk instruments such as the zokra in music schools could help preserve this instrument as well as protect a musical style and repertoire that are in danger of disappearing.