Tassu

Tassu, also written taasu or tassou, is a form of sung and chanted ceremonial poetry practised by the Wolof and Serer peoples of Senegal and the Gambia. Performed principally by women, at weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals, it delivers praise, genealogy, satire and moral counsel in heightened speech that moves between declamation and song. A lead singer improvises verses over sabar and tama drumming, or entirely unaccompanied, answered by a chorus of women whose responses affirm the lineages and reputations being named. Descended from Serer ritual chant, tassu values verbal virtuosity, memory and social knowledge above melodic display.