Ala or al-ala: The ancient musical tradition stemming from the Moorish reign in southern Spain, or Al-Andalus. Ala music has several variants including ma'luf or customary, ghranati or Granadan and ala, instrumental.
Bendir: a round and wooden tambourine with two strings stretched under its single skin to produce a buzzing sound.
Berber: the native people of Morocco (see Kabyl) and Tunisia; Berber music is distinct from Arab form as it predates the arrival of Arab tribes to the region.
Chabi: popular music of North Africa.
Cheb: a title for vocalists that means young or youthful and charming or attractive; see Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami, Cheba Fadela, etc.
Cheikh/Cheikha: a venerable title meaning honorable sir or honorable madam.
Gnawa: the southern Moroccan musical tradition performed by the descendents of West African slaves that is both a music style and the name of a Muslim brotherhood in the Sufi tradition. Gnawa music relies on hand-clapping, the sintir (a three-stringed bass lute) and metal castanets called karkabas.
Kabyl: the native people of Algeria, Kabylia is the remote and beautiful, mountainous region just to the east of the Algerian capital of Algiers. They are Berbers and speak the dialect called Amazight. Their popular musical tradition includes the t'bel or tambourine, bendir or frame drum, sometimes but not always the ajouag (flute) and ghaita (bagpipe). Kabyl melodies have been enhanced by the use of the violin, banjo, guitar and double bass, as well.
Kasbah or casbah: an Islamic fortress, protected city or medina; the casbah is the inner, walled area found in many North African cities and towns. Some trivia: in 1982 the British punk band The Clash brought out their hit song "Rock the Casbah" and this was the first song played on the Armed Forces Radio during Operation Desert Shield. It became the unofficial anthem for the Armed Forces during the Gulf War conflicts.
Maghreb or Maghrib: Western North Africa. Maghrib in Arabic means literarally "where the sun sets"—in this sense it is the opposite of Levant or Levantine: "where the sun rises." The Maghreb is usually thought of as Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, but Libya and Egypt are also part of north African culture.
Moussem: in Morocco this is the popular word for festival.
Rai: the vocal music style that relies on frank lyrics and often a rhythmic beat that started in Algeria in the '70s and has emerged as the most popular North African musical style; "rai" means opinion.
Sahrawi: from the Western Sahara region that is still disputed between Morocco and their own independence movement or Polisarios, Sahrawi artists play music, they call hawl, and rely on the t'bel (tambourine)
Sintir: also known as the Guembri or Hejhouj, is a three stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people of Morocco. It is approximately the size of a guitar, with a body a carved from a log and covered on the playing side with camel. The neck is a simple stick with one short and two long goat strings that produce a percussive sound similar to a pizzicato cello or double bass. So this is an instrument that includes equal parts camel, goat and man.