Tizita

Tizita is an Ethiopian musical mode and song tradition named for the Amharic word for memory, nostalgia and longing. It is one of the kiñit pentatonic scales of Ethiopian music and defines a repertory of slow, reflective ballads sung over gently cycling accompaniment, traditionally by the azmari minstrels of Gondar with masenqo fiddle, kebero drum and washint flute, and in the modern era by nightclub bands and keyboard-led ensembles. Its minor-key melancholy, descending melodic figures and themes of lost love, exile and the vanished past make it the emblematic sound of Ethiopian sentiment.