The Gnawa () (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi'; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, that had been brought as slaves from the West African

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

. The name Gnawa originated in the indigenous language of North Africa and the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. The phonology of this term according to the grammatical principles of

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

is ''agnaw'' (singular) and ''ignawen'' (plural), which means "black person."

Gnawa music Gnawa music (Ar. ) is a body of Morocco, Moroccan Religious music, religious songs and rhythms. Emerging in the 16th and 17th centuries, Gnawa music developed through the cultural fusion of West Africans brought to Morocco, notably the Hausa p ...

was inscribed in 2019 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

History

The Gnawa population is generally believed to originate from the

ian region of West Africa, which had long and extensive trading and political ties with

. The Gnawa are an ethnic group who were brought to Morocco as slaves, and their ancestry is traced to parts of West Africa. After the abolition of slavery, they became a part of the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

order in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

. While adopting Islam, the Gnawa continued to celebrate ritual possession during rituals which were devoted to the practice of dances of possession and fright. This rite of possession is called ''Jedba'' ().

Gnawa and music

Gnawa music mixes classical Islamic

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

with pre-Islamic African folk traditions. The term

ians generally refers to people who also practice

healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...

rituals. The healing rituals have apparent ties to pre-Islamic African

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

rites known as ''Bori'' in the Hausa culture. In Moroccan popular culture, Gnawas, through their ceremonies, are considered to be experts in the magical treatment of

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

stings and

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. They heal diseases by the use of colors, condensed cultural imagery, perfumes and fright. Gnawas play deeply

hypnotic A hypnotic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), also known as a somnifacient or soporific, and commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to sleep induction, induce sleep and to trea ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

music marked by low-toned, rhythmic melodies played on a skin-covered lute called a '' sintir'' or ''guembri''. The method, similar to garaya in Hausa traditional music, involves

call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

singing, hand-clapping, and

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

s called ''krakeb'' (plural of ''karkaba''). Gnawa ceremonies use music and dance to evoke ancestral saints who are said to perform the healing. Gnawa music has won an international profile and appeal. Many

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

musicians, including

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

, Randy Weston, Adam Rudolph,

Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger (; born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of the 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. He is also a frequent collaborator of German filmmaker Wolfgang Pet ...

Tucker Martine Tucker Martine (born January 14, 1972) is an American record producer, musician and composer. In 2010, ''Paste'' Magazine included Martine in their list of the 10 Best Producers of the Decade. Early life Tucker Martine, the son of singer and son ...

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...

and

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

, have drawn on and collaborated with Gnawa musicians such as brothers

Mahmoud Guinia Mahmoud Guinia (, and rarely or ; also spelled Gania, Guinea or Khania; 1951 – 2 August 2015) was a Morocco, Moroccan Gnawa musician, singer and sintir, guembri player, who was traditionally regarded as a Maâllem (), i.e. master. The family na ...

and Mokhtar Gania of Essaouira, brothers Mustapha Baqbou & Ahmed Baqbou, Abdelkebir Merchane, Brahim Belkani, all from Marrakesh, as well as

Hamid El Kasri Hamid (Faraji)El Kasri (; born 1961) is a Moroccan Gnawa musician traditionally considered a ''maâlem'' (), or "master musician". Born in Ksar El Kebir, Morocco, he now lives in Rabat. His last name is an artist name simply meaning "from Ksar ...

and Abdelkader Amlil of Rabat and the late Ahmida Boussou and Saïd Oughassal of Casablanca, who have all participated at the annual festival in

Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of t ...

. Some traditionalists regard modern collaborations as a mixed blessing, leaving or modifying sacred traditions for more explicitly commercial goals. International recording artists such as Hassan Hakmoun have introduced Gnawa music and dance to Western audiences through their recordings and concert performances. The centres for Gnawa music are

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, Fez and

, which is in the southwest of Morocco where the Gnaoua World Music Festival is held annually. The Gnawa of

hold their annual festival at the sanctuary of Moulay Brahim in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

and around the sanctuary of Moulay Abdullah bin Tsain in the village of Tamesloht, between

and the town of Amizmiz. The festivals take place in connection with the birthday of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. The Gnawa of Khamlia hold their annual festival in August at the village of Khamlia in Erg Chebbi. Finally there is also a special tribe inside Gnawa called Ganga. The Ganga are of subsaharan African origin and typically speak Tashelhait, and are found in Haha between Essaouira and Agadir and in the Sous Valley around towns like Agadir and Taroudant. They do not play the ''guimbri'' but only focus on the dance known as ''kouyou'', playing ''krakeb'' and the large drums called ''tebel'' or ''ganga'', which is also part of the procession of the regular gnawa ceremony. File:Gnaouas d'Oran (Algérie) avec leur geumbri.JPG, Gnaouas from

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

with their guembri. File:Gnaoua in a North African Interior.jpg, Gnaoua in a North African Interior File:Musicien nègre, J. Geiser, Alger.jpg, Gnawa from Algiers with his guembri (circa 1906) by Jean Geiser (1848-1923). File:AncientGnawa.jpg, Gnawas circa 1920s File:معلم الگناوة.jpg, Music Teacher File:فنان كًناوي ف سور سلا.jpg, Gnawa singer in Salé,

. File:Moore-Gnawa.jpg, Gnawa Musicians, by

Harry Humphrey Moore Harry Humphrey Moore (21 July 1844, New York City - 2 January 1926, Paris) was an American painter; best known for his works depicting Japan, Spain and North Africa. Biography His father, Capt. George Humphrey Moore, was a shipbuilder and a des ...

. File:DANSE GNAOUI A TIMMOUN 021.jpg, A group of Gnawas dance to a song.

References

General references

Ibiblio.org: Gnawa Stories: Mystical Musician Healers from MoroccoWorldMusicCentral.org
* ttp://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-55385: Etymology of "Gnawa"from ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' *Ben Saidi, A (2003
Amazigh Kateb Yassin discusses Maghreb Blues and Ghanawa Music-a diffusion of Berber, Arabic genres

External links

Gnawa.net
* http://www.vodeo.tv/4-33-3982-des-gnawa-dans-le-bocage.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102727/http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=video&no=1052 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063425/http://prep-cncfr.seevia.com/idc/data/Cnc/Recherche/fiche2.asp?idf=3313
Essaouira at WorldMusicCentral.org

Gnawa Music

Festival d'Essaouira Gnaoua et Musiques du Monde {{authority control Ethnic groups in Algeria Ethnic groups in Morocco Muslim communities in Africa Sufism in Africa Slavery in Morocco

History

Gnawa and music

See also

References

General references

Further reading

External links