Traditional instruments include an hourglass-shaped four-stringed lute called the tidinit and the woman's kora-like ardin.
Percussion instruments include the tbal (a kettle drum) and daghumma (a rattle).
Dimi's parents were both musicians (her father had been asked to compose the Mauritanian national anthem), and she began playing at an early age.
Her professional career began in 1976, when she sang on the radio and then competed, the following year, in the Umm Kulthum Contest in Tunis.
Another popular female musician is Malouma, who is also a respected politician and social activist ("Desert of Eden," Shanachie Records [U.S.], 1998).