Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, June 28, 2008
Lounes Matoub, the beloved Berber singer, was known for d... Berber musician Moh Alileche, who lives in Berkeley, knew...

A little more than 10 years ago, Merzouk Allache was in his Berkeley apartment talking on the telephone with a friend, Lounes Matoub. Allache was worried for Matoub. Both men were singers who vocalized about their native Algeria, but Matoub was known as the most outspoken singer of his generation - someone whose rhetorical lyrics prompted death threats, a shooting that put him in the hospital and a kidnapping that spirited Matoub away for two weeks until he was finally released.

"He said, 'I love you like a brother; anything I can do for you, please let me know,' " Allache remembers Matoub saying from Algeria. "I told him, 'Yes, do me this: Watch out. Take care of yourself. That's the biggest favor you can do.' He was a fatalist. He said, 'If I have to die, I die.' "

A few months after their conversation, Matoub was dead at 42. A gunman (or gunmen) shot the car he was driving with almost 100 bullets. For the funeral service in his native village, which thousands of people attended, Matoub's body was draped in the Algerian flag. On Sunday in Berkeley, Allache will perform at a commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the singer's death. Matoub's life and death are impossible to discuss without addressing the subject of Berbers, the native people of Algeria, of whom Matoub was one.

For decades, the Berbers have struggled to have their rights - and their language - recognized by Algeria's government. Though Berbers in Algeria (and across North Africa) have long adopted Islam as a religion, they are not Arabs, and have resisted any attempts to marginalize their culture. In Algeria, Matoub was openly critical of the government's treatment of Berbers, and openly trumpeted the country's Berber history. One of Matoub's first popular songs, "The Lion," profiled Berber revolutionary Ramdane Abane, an Algerian independence leader in the anti-colonial movement against France, who was assassinated in 1957. Matoub songs accused the Algerian government of mistreating and killing Berbers.

Allache and other friends of Matoub believe the government had him murdered for his outspokenness. Others believe that radical Islamists - like those who kidnapped Matoub in 1994 - carried out his killing, which has never been solved. In the Berber region of Algeria (which is the southernmost, mountainous part of the country), Matoub is a martyr - a Martin Luther King-like figure whose image is everywhere. "There is not a single cafe, restaurant or business," says Allache, "that doesn't have a poster of Lounes Matoub."

Matoub's music is also played everywhere in southern Algeria - and throughout France, where millions of French Algerians live. In the United States, Matoub's music is a staple of many world music afficionados, who gravitate to songs that veer from free-form folksy to studio-produced pop. Matoub, who made 36 albums, played the mondol, an instrument similar to the mandolin. He sang almost exclusively in Tamazight, the Berber language. YouTube features scores of Matoub videos and tributes, which show the singer in his various states of performance, including stadium shows. Part of Matoub's appeal was his infectious playing style - on stage, he was constantly smiling, joking, cajoling, storytelling, anything that moved him. He was like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie rolled into a politicized Berber musician, and like those three American performers, Matoub was a poetic songwriter. In one song, Matoub described the mountains near his childhood village as "my soul; the mountains saw me grow up - they are the mountains that protected me."

Whether he performed at stadiums or smaller venues, Matoub never took a fee, says Allache, who knew the singer for almost 30 years. Instead, the money went to causes he supported. Matoub, who grew up in poverty, made his living from sales of his albums - which made him wealthy. During Matoub's 1993 visit to the Bay Area, he went to San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood and, on the spur of the moment, bought a $1,500 leather jacket.

"You know how artists are," says Allache, who plays the guitar. "They like to dress up."

Two months ago, Allache visited Matoub's grave, which is located by his old village home in Taourit-Moussa. One of Matoub's songs was titled, "Today I Exist, Tomorrow I'm Not Sure." Allache, 47, talks about Matoub as if he's still alive, using the present tense to say that Matoub "thinks of himself as Algerian first, then Berber."

(Though Berbers use the word "Berber" to describe themselves, the word is related to "barbarians," and Berbers often prefer other descriptions, such as "Imazighen" or "Amazigh.")

Events like Sunday's in Berkeley keep the memory of Matoub alive for others who may not have known the singer the way Allache did. In the past week, Matoub events have been held around the world, including Paris, where the mayor wants to dedicate a street to the singer.

"He wanted to spread the truth," says Moh Alileche, who, like Allache, is a Bay Area Berber musician who knew Matoub for years. "That's the reason people like him so much."

A commemoration of Algerian singer Lounes Matoub, who was killed 10 years ago, will be held from 6:30-10 p.m. Sunday at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. (at Spruce), Berkeley. The event, which features music, video tributes and more, is free. For more information, e-mail amazigh_group@yahoo.com.

To hear music by Matoub, go to links.sfgate.com/ZDYG.

E-mail Jonathan Curiel at jcuriel@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/28/DD5611FM0N.DTL

New York, NY- April 2nd, 2008 Friday, April 25th at 9:30pm

U-cef always knew that at some point he wanted to go back to what he calls "halal" music, the Moroccan sounds he was brought up with, so naturally he named his first album "Halalium". A composer, producer and DJ, U-cef says "I try musically to bring things together so they don't feel alien to each other - traditional music with urban beat London or New York hip-hop. Maybe somebody who is from somewhere dedicated to one thing will say "This is rubbish", but my belief is that nobody is made of one stuff."

U-cef goes on, "I remember when live bands played, the whole youth would be there - whatever they played, it had the beat, and we just danced and had fun" and he reckons his first interest in performing himself came from dancing at parties and getting into beats. After a brief attempt at doing "a proper job", U-cef moved to New York to really try and make it as a musician, and moving to London 10 years ago was similarly all about the music.

Hassan Hakmoun resides in the U.S. The pentatonic scale and driving rhythms of the sintir, a three-stringed long-necked African bass lute, are instantly appealing to many Western ears, and Hakmoun, has succeeded in presenting this music outside of Morocco to widespread critical acclaim. He was the only world musician invited to play Woodstock '94, and has performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on the WOMAD '94 tour. Hakmoun became a regular fixture in New York's rock, jazz, and fusion scenes, and earned his following for spanning multiple genres with his spiritually charged voice and playing.

"The thing with music is that no matter where you are from, from a cosmopolitan place or being well-advanced in your mind, it doesn't matter. It's only the music that matters." -DJ U-CEF

ABOUT:

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance. With its genre-blind booking and vast diversity of interests, the stage at Joe's Pub gives voice to a world of varied and stellar artists.

With impeccable sound and lights, the warm and intimate candlelit atmosphere of Joe's Pub is filled with plush velvet couches, softly glowing lucite tables and gorgeously understated architecture. Joe’s Pub is open seven days a week, regularly hosting as many as three shows a day. Dinner and drink service is available during every performance; the venue offers a classic Italian dinner menu and a fully stocked bar.

The Village Voice voted Joe's Pub the “Best Excuse to Let a Single Venue Dictate Your Taste”. Newsweek calls the club "one of the country's best small stages" and New York Magazine raves “you never know what you’ll find next at Joe’s Pub, but you can count on the fact that it will be good, very good."

LOCATION:

425 Lafayette Street (between East 4th and Astor Place) NYC; adjacent to The Public Theater

FOR TICKETS:

By Phone: 212-967-7555

On the Web: http://www.joespub.com/

In Person: At The Public Theater Box Office from 1pm to 6pm and at Joe’s Pub from 6pm to 10pm (both located at 425 Lafayette St.)

FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS: 212-539-8778

Purchase of tickets does NOT guarantee a table reservation; you must call to reserve seats. Seating, as well as standing-room, is available only on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation. Two drink or $12 food minimum per person is standard.

FOR OTHER JOE'S PUB EVENTS, VISIT:
http://www.cityguideny.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=9716

Press release from: Moorish Architecture & Home Decorating By Saint Tropez Boutique
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(openPR) - Moroccan tiles are a testimony to their deep heritage and rich culture and are usually handmade or handcrafted. The practice of making handcrafted Moroccan tiles has been passed down through the ages. They are the true epitome of Moroccan culture and heritage. They showcase the different colors and designs that have influenced Moroccan design since the early days of Middle Eastern culture. Many people have loved the designs and the colors that handcrafted tiles bring to a room.

Why Are They Unique?

Handcrafted Moroccan tiles are unique because they are traditionally crafted by artisans from varied local materials. These tiles are made specifically in Morocco and wood fire is used to make them hence the natural variations in their color tone and shade. It is this aspect that makes the tiles unique even from each other.

The fact that customers are often encouraged to design their very own tiles with designs to suit their preferences. The choices of tiles are varied both in color and design. The handcrafted tiles also come in several shapes and sizes in order to make unique designs which are specific to the preference of the owner.

Zellige Tiles

Zellige tiles often come as loose tiles and some customers can make their very own Moroccan designs to suit their color preferences and tastes. Other tiles come pre-assembled and can be used to make up Moroccan inspired areas in the home. These pre-assembled tiles are also handcrafted but they already have designs of their own and they are already glazed compared to the designs your own tiles which will have to be fired up when you have decided on the design. Some stores even have a sticky paper backing where you can try out several designs. This is part of the uniqueness of handcrafted Moroccan tiles.

Some specialty stores carry tiles that are bigger in size and already have designs of their own. Some are handcrafted while others are made, with the aid of modern technology so technically, they are not quite the same because they are probably not made in Morocco nor are they handcrafted. The handcrafted Moroccan tiles are more expensive than the other Moroccan inspired tiles.

In spite of their price tags, many people still prefer handcrafted Moroccan tiles due to their authenticity and uniqueness. Many prefer to design your own tiles because they can really integrate their ideas and likes into the design. Saint Tropez Boutique of San Francisco offer this as part of their service, before having the tiles created individually for their clients in Fez, Morocco and flown to anywhere in the world.

For more info, please contact:
Mark Logan
Saint Tropez Boutique
25 Evelyn way
San Francisco, CA 94127
(415)-513-5920
www.sainttropezboutique.us

Saint Tropez Boutique is a manufacturer and distributor of fine handcrafted Moorish tiles, Moroccan tiles, Moroccan lighting, Moorish wood lattice, Moroccan furniture, zillij mosaic tiles, zellige tile, terracotta tile, limestone tile, Moorish inspired home decorating, Bedouin tents.

Magharebia speaks with Fnaïre rap group member, Mohcine, about the foundations and goals of the group and its messages.

The three-member rap group Fnaïre symbolises a new wave of Moroccan artists who are breaking with the old style. In an exclusive interview with Magharebia, member Mohcine explains the context in which his group has developed.

Magharebia: You represent this new generation of Moroccan artists who have chosen Rap. What’s special about Fnaïre?

Mohcine: First, it’s important to say that the group’s name Fnaïre is really meaningful, because in Darija [Moroccan dialect] it means "the lights". Without sounding pretentious, we want to shed light on the world of music in its purely spoken style. Our choice of this unmistakably American type of music is because it offers varied expression in composition, and we can adapt it to our Moroccan culture and identity. I suppose it’s our way of keeping at the forefront of Moroccan song. In fact, through rap or hip-hop we want to modernise Moroccan song, which has started to show its age and seems to be of little interest to young people. That’s our main challenge.

Magharebia: Many fans see your style as hip-hop.

Mohcine: Absolutely. In this musical style ... there are several categories, such as Graviting, DJing, MCing, break dance or, of course, rap. As for our group, we’ve chosen the last of these disciplines, but [it is] a traditional Moroccan rap.

Magharebia: The future looks bright. What do you think?

Mohcine: We’re on the right track, as you can see from the interest that young Moroccans have shown in our music. I think that in our songs they’ve found a space to deal with their everyday problems, or simply their main pre-occupations. It’s all reconciled us with our Moroccan roots.

Magharebia: What are the main messages you’re trying to get across to Moroccan youth through your songs?

Mohcine: The essence of our traditional rap is just the meaning of the words, the meaning of the lyrics – which revolve around a single message, which is the proud recognition of your Moroccan identity, your origins and your culture. There's a variety of subjects, including the problems of women, love for your country, belief in a better future for our country... Unlike some, of which there are many, who just peddle pessimistic talk for young Moroccans, encouraging them to leave the country, sometimes paying with their lives... Fnaïre says to them quite simply that a dose of optimism is always needed to move forward. It’s not utopia, but we think Morocco needs its young people to evolve, move forward and change. That’s our firmly held belief.

Magharebia: In your songs, are you engaging in a battle against negative ideas which influence many young people today?

Mohcine: Peace and living in harmony in your country are the main messages coming through our songs, aimed particularly at young people, who are our main target. We try to focus our attention on the values of tolerance and respect for other peoples’ lives. Often we don’t say it in so many words in our songs, but it’s our way of thwarting integrist ideas and any feeling of hatred. The nature of the musical style we have chosen helps a lot in putting forward these kinds of principles. In the songs "Yed El Henna" or "Tagine Loghate" on the latest album, there’s a reference to this kind of problem.

Magharebia: Like other Moroccan rappers, you’re accused of using vulgar words in your lyrics. Do you use rap music to break linguistic taboos?

Mohcine: Darija is the most widely spoken language in Morocco. We see no problem in using it. In our songs, you’ll find a mix of words from here and there, and the message is clear, laced with humour: the language used doesn’t really matter; the main thing is to express yourself and be proud of your plurality.

Magharebia: Tell us a bit about your latest album "Yed El Henna".

Mohcine: First of all, "Yed El Henna" is the story of a meeting with a poet... With a mix of musical styles and words in Darija, Tamazight, English and French, our latest album is a journey to the heart of a diversified Morocco, full of messages of love and peace, where authenticity rhymes with solidarity. We also look at a youth lacking direction. The 12 tracks on the album grab the clichés and complexes of our society by the throat. I think that, apart from being mastered in the Rolling Stones studios in London, "Yed El Henna" remains a purely Moroccan product. Nearly sixty musicians took part in this great adventure, which took more than two years of hard work before seeing the light of day.

Through the arabic language,Morocco received from the Orient an important artistic heritage.He was enriched after that with the Andalus culture(hispano-maurish).
Nowadays,a part of the musical tradition of this precious heritage appears in the countries of the Maghreb under the name of ala,çan'à gharnati maluf and recently the andalus music. Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada all shared in the boost of the language,the poetry and the andalus music .
The andalus music reigns as master of all events, weddings, romantic evenings...etc.
Despite of the beautiful melodies of the instruments it is the singing that prevails in this art and it is made of two genre :
*The melismatic solo with a free and improvised rythm backed up by a single instrument.
*The syllabical singing,whose melody is set and predetermined,sang by a choir sometimes punctuated by solo performances.
Our group was formed within the "Al Moussilia Association",it is made of 16 members divided into instrument players and singers (male and female),our group has dedicated itself to the spreading of this music throughout Morocco.
The Al Gharnati music,which how is called the music coming from the Andalus,forms the main basis of our repertoire that also includes other types of Moroccan and arabis music types.
Our group has taken part in several events and festivals national and internationnal: Greece; Holland; Spain; Portugal; Syria, Jordan; Algeria

Sincerely

HASSAN B

One of the richest aspects of Morocco’s culture is its music. Made up of more than twenty-five different types, Moroccan music reflects the richness of its diversity and echoes its present and past history. Depending on which region of the country you visit, you will be sure to hear the sounds of Andalusian, Berber, Raï, Chaabi or Gnawa permeating the air.

Andalusian music, as its name indicates, comes from Al-Andalus or Andalusia. It is a blend of Arab and Spanish music which Moroccans call El-Ala and is considered to be Morocco’s classical music and sung in classical Arabic. Andalusian music dates back to the 9th when the famous Persian singer and musician Ziriab made this type of music famous. It uses many musical instruments such as the violin and lute, among others. In Morocco, Andalusian singers and musicians are mostly men who perform in traditional clothing. Moroccans usually listen to Andalusian music during religious ceremonies.

The second type of music is Berber music. The three different Berber regions in Morocco each possesses their own language and, in turn, their own Berber rhythms. Berber music has survived thanks to a few Berber musicians and poets. Many Arab Moroccans do not listen to Berber music since most do not speak or understand Berber. The main instruments of Berber music are the round drum or Bendir, and the banjo. Berber music has undergone many changes during the past twenty years, notably the presence of more and more women performing it.

Another type of Moroccan music is Rai. With its origins in Algeria, it has been adopted by Morocco and is associated to the eastern region of the country, especially the city of Oujda. Rai music gained a lot of popularity in Morocco in the 90s with the death of the famous Algerian Raï singer Cheb Hasni. Since then, Raï has blossomed in the North East of Morocco.

Chaabi is probably considered pop music since it is indeed the most popular music listened to in Morocco. It is another form of Moroccan music that is widely listened to because it is sung in Darija, Moroccan Arabic. In the 70s it was the music that was used to express people’s overall political views and feelings via groups such as Jil Jilala and Nas El Ghiwane. Chaabi can be heard at weddings and other festive occasions or group gatherings.

Even if you speak Moroccan Arabic, do not be surprised if you cannot understand the lyrics of Gnawa music. For Gnawa music is a fusion of Arab, Berber, and African rhythms. It is powerful trance music that goes back to the 16th century and has gained international popularity over the last few years. If you are in Morocco during the month of June, don’t miss the three-day Gnawa festival in the city of Essaouira, in the south of Morocco. The main instruments of Gnawa music is the double-headed drum or tbal, and metal castanets or qerqbat. Gnawa has also gone through changes and can be heard mixed with different musical styles such as Jazz.

If you are planning to visit Morocco, be sure you get informed of the music festival taking place during your visit. There are many of them in different cities and it is most likely that your visit coincides with one of them. There are, for example, a festival of Rabat called Mawazin, another in Fez called sacred music (or la musique sacrée), and another one in Chefchaouen called Allegria, among others.

Dr. Chouki El Hamel received his doctorate from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in January 1993. His training in France at the Centre de Recherches Africaines was in precolonial African History. His interest has focused on the spread and the growth of Islamic culture and the evolution of Islamic institutions in Africa. His research is evidenced in his published articles and a book concerning intellectual life in precolonial Islamic West Africa. He taught courses in African History at North Carolina State University in Raleigh and at Duke University from 1994 to 2001. In 2001-2002 he was a scholar in residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City and in 2002 he joined the History Department at Arizona State University. He is currently finishing his book entitled "Ethnicity, “Race/Color “and Gender in Moroccan Slavery." He contributed this essay to Afropop Worldwide for the program African Slaves in Islamic Lands.

Westerners who have visited Morocco have likely encountered Gnawa musicians. In the coastal Atlantic town of Essaouira, where an annual festival of Gnawa music takes place, and in Marrakesh, at its spectacular central square called Jamaa el-Fna. The colorful gowns and caps of Gnawa musicians, covered with cowry shells, coupled with the distinct sound of their instruments - metallic castanets, heavy drums and a three-stringed bass lute (guembri) – provide both visual and audio confirmation of the Gnawa presence.

Some of the best known genres of music to all Moroccans come from the classical Andalusian legacy, and reflect Morocco's historic relationship with Spain. Andalusian music is recognized as a national music and is repeatedly featured on national audio-visual media. By contrast, the Sephardic music and folksongs from the Jewish communities in Morocco are unfortunately vanishing because Morocco lost its Jewish population to help create the state of Israel. Another important but often neglected genre of music is that of the Gnawa, who came from West Africa to Morocco by way of migration, both voluntary and forced. Although the Gnawa are now fully integrated in Moroccan society, the Gnawa still remain a cultural and a social distinctiveness.

The term Gnawa has three important meanings. First, it refers to black people who were enslaved in West Africa. It is commonly believed that Gnawa of Morocco were originally black slaves and who over time had become free under various historical circumstances. Historians believe that the Gnawa population originated from black West Africa - from Senegal to Chad and from Mali in the north to Nigeria in the south. Many of these enslaved people are thought to come from Old Ghana (a kingdom north of Mali) in the 11^th through the 13th century. These enslaved groups were called “Gnawa.” There is also some historical evidence that a large enslaved population came from the great market of Djenne in Mali, and that Gnawi is a slight deformation of Jennawi. The term Gnawa is thus a color designation. It historically means “the black people.”

Second, it defines both a religious/spiritual order of a traditionally Black Muslim group. The Gnawa are traditionally a mystic order which marks their exclusiveness within Islam and the religious and spiritual components of Gnawa practice incorporates references to their origin and their enslavement.

Third, it denotes the style of music associated with this order. The ancestral memory (turath) of the displaced and enslaved people that were brought to Morocco is preserved mainly in their songs and dances.

Not all blacks in Morocco were slaves that originated from black West Africa. Some blacks were actually native to southern Morocco. Some sources suggest that groups of black people were indigenous of the Draa valley. They were sedentary agriculturists. With the advance of the Romans into the Moroccan interior in the 3^rd century B.C.E., the Berbers, who inhabited the coastal areas of the Maghreb of North Africa, may have been forced to move towards the south and competed with the blacks inhabitants in the oases of the Draa, entering into an interdependent or clientele relationship with the Blacks, with the Berbers assuming the patron role.

Etymologically speaking, the meaning of Gnawa likely derives from the Berber word aguinaw, which is connected with skin color. It means “black man” in contrast with the white Berber. This word could be itself the origin of the name Guinea because akal n-iguinamen in Berber means the “land of the black men” just like the Arabic term bilad as-sudan, which means, “land of the black people.” The term was also adopted by the Portuguese and appeared mainly as “Guinea” on European maps dating from the 14th century.

Arabic sources indicate that there was a steady flow of human trafficking across the Saharan desert from the 10^th to the 19^th centuries. Since the Almoravid dynasty in the 11^th century, enslavement, conscription and trade brought people from West Africa (mainly from the area of present-day Mali, Burkina Fasso and Senegal) to the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). These enslaved groups were usually called `abid or sudan, both Arabic words, or else haratin or gnawa, Berber words. We can thus name among the ancestors of the black Moroccans of today the Soninke, the Bambara, the Mossi, the Fulani, and the Hausa. Archival sources indicate the use of blacks in the armies of the Makhzen, the central authority of Morocco, and in many cases, entire garrisons consisted solely of black soldiers. Many dynasties relied on black soldiers to maintain their power.

The first ruling dynasty in Morocco to use a large number of black slaves in the army during the Islamic era was the Almoravids (al-Murabitun). During the Almoravids, the ruler Yusuf Ibn Tashfin “bought a body of black slaves and sent them to al-Andalus.” With the additional troops provided through the slave trade, Almoravids defeated Alfonso VI of Castile in 1086 A.D. at the crucial battle of Zallaqa (near Badajoz). Arabic sources indicate that 4000 black soldiers participated in this famous battle. During the succeeding Almohad dynasty, the rulers had a private garrison of black soldiers, who also served as royal guards and during the rule of Muhammad an-Nasir, around 1200 A.D., their numbers reached 30,000. During this dynasty, the recruitment of enslaved blacks in the government became institutionalized, known as `Abid al-Makhzen, meaning “servants to the government.”

A third dynasty that used a large army of blacks was the Sa‘dis, who under the rule of Mawlay al-Mansur, invaded the Songhay Empire (in present day Mali) in 1591 A.D., which allowed them direct access to acquiring more black slaves for military purposes. In the late 17^th century, Mawlay Isma`il gave orders to enslave all blacks including free black people to create his own army. Of course an act completely against the Islamic law, but he did it anyway.

In addition to the conscription of the blacks in the army, enslaved Black West Africans were assigned numerous occupations, including tasks in the home, farm, mines, oases, and ports. In many towns, slaves were primarily women who performed domestic labor or were concubines to the affluent class, while rural slaves were mainly male and worked in farming. Gradually, enslaved black people were freed either by manumission, by running away, or because their masters were forced to grant them freedom under different circumstances. After many generations, these freed black slaves eventually formed their own families and communities, such as those of the Gnawa mystic order.

Elements of pre-Islamic West African animism such as the belief in the spirit world are fundamental to the Gnawa order. For the Gnawa, the spirit world is inhabited by ancestral spirits who, among other spiritual creatures, can be used for either good or evil purposes. Ancestors are believed to act as intermediaries between the living and the supreme god, and the Gnawa communicate with their ancestors through prayer and sacrifice. The spirit world is also invoked through special ceremonies, constituted by drumming, clapping, the sound of the castanets, and dances, all designed to enlist the aid of ancestral saints to protect human beings from evil spirits and other predicaments, such as helping persons recover from an illness or a misfortune. These rites often involve spectacular trances through which contact with and appeal to ancestral spirits may be gained.

Even while adopting Islam, Gnawa did not totally abandon their animist traditions but rather continued to observe ritual possession. They combined Islamic tradition with pre-Islamic African traditions, whether local or sub-Saharan West African. After their conversion to Islam, while probably still in their country of origin, the Gnawa adopted Bilal as their ancestor and saint patron. Bilal was the first black person to convert to Islam and to become a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. Claiming Bilal as a patrilineal figure was not only to emphasize the nobility of belonging to Bilal but also an attempt to legitimize their identity in Islamic terms.

Historically, as a racial minority, the Gnawa suffered much discrimination and injustice at the hands of the Arab-Berber majority within the regions that the Gnawa inhabit. Conscious of their difference and their blackness, they chose Bilal a black man as agnate. Bilal was a special man. Originally from Ethiopia, he was born into slavery. He converted to Islam while still in captivity and was tortured for his conversion by his master Umayya b. Khalaf. When Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, a very close friend to the Prophet Muhammad, heard about the valor of Bilal, he bought him and set him free in the name of Islam. Bilal became the personal servant/assistant of the Prophet. He was also the first muezzin—meaning “caller to prayer”—of the newly established Islamic community in Medina. This special relationship with the Prophet brought Bilal a special Baraka (a divine blessing). The Gnawa have constructed their Islamic identity by emphasizing a privileged status among Muslims - they converted to Islam even before Quraysh, the tribe to whom Muhammad belonged. Hence, it is not surprising to find the name of Bilal in many Gnawa songs. Additionally, to honor their spiritual and emotional link with Bilal and Islam, the Gnawa built a unique shrine in Essaouira dedicated to Bilal: the Zawiya Sidna Bilal, a place to celebrate their culture. Bilal is the symbol of the dialectic between Diaspora and homeland.

The Gnawa are a diasporic culture and one finds artistic and spiritual parallels between the Gnawa order and other spiritual black groups in Africa such as the bori in Nigeria and the stambouli in Tunisia, the sambani in Libya, the bilali in Algeria, and also outside Africa as in the case of the vodoun religion practiced in Caribbean countries (vodoun is a mix of Roman Catholic ritual elements and traditional rituals from Dahomey). The similarities in the artistic, spiritual and scriptural (e.g. related to Abrahamic written traditions) representations seem to reflect a shared experience of many African diasporic groups. The belief in possession and trance is crucial to Gnawa religious life. Music has served a patterned function in this belief and it is intrinsically linked to the Gnawa religious rituals and to their specific historic and cultural memories. It is their specific historic and cultural memories celebrated and invoked in songs, dances and musical chants that the Gnawa claim to provide access to the spiritual realm.

The Gnawa have influenced other Berber/Arab mystic orders or brotherhoods, as in the case of the Issawiya (16^th century) and Hamdushiya (17^th century). These brotherhoods added new elements to the usual sufi devotional rituals, such as trances and contacts with spirits, most likely influenced by contact with the Gnawa order. But these Zawaya and other sufi Berber or Arabic orders have been far more socially accepted within the regions where they are found than that of the Gnawa. The Gnawa, as a spiritual order within Moroccan Islamic society, was marginalized and is still marginal. Through their musical ceremonies and trances, they claim to cure insanity and free people from malign influences. They believe that God is too powerful for bi-lateral communication and direct manifestation and thus God can only be reached through spiritual manifestations in our world. Hence, the Gnawa are generally not considered a mystic order proper because they do not seek the conventional personal union with the divine but rather contact with the spirit world which acts as an intermediary through which contact with the divine may be accomplished.

The Gnawa have found legitimacy for their cultural distinctiveness within the regions and societies they inhabit even given their unusual and often marginalized religious rites, ceremonies, and musical practices. The images conveyed in their songs construct a coherent representation of displacement, dispossession, deprivation, misery and nostalgia for a land and a former life kept alive through their unique musical and ceremonial practices. The historical experience of the Gnawa sketched in this essay is very similar to those found in all forced diasporas. Through their ceremonies, their songs and gatherings, these people made restitution not of an "imagined community" but a real one to reconcile a fragmented past. The Gnawa provide a fascinating story of how they re/constructed their identity against a broken cultural continuity.

The Gnawa have, over many generations, productively negotiated their forced presence in Morocco to create acceptance and group solidarity. Unlike the conventional question in Black America, "Who are we?," the Gnawa ask, "Who have we become?” Similar to the model of “creolization” – the integration of freed black slaves into the French cultural landscape of the American state of Louisiana , the Gnawa have created a model of their own creolization and integration into the Moroccan social landscape. This is one of the most crucial and striking differences between blacks in America and blacks in Morocco.

Over the past fifty years in North Africa, Gnawa music, like the blues in America, has spread and attracted practitioners from other ethnic groups, in this case Berber and Arab. Although most present-day Gnawa musicians are metisse and speak Arabic and Berber, some West African religious words and phrases do survive even though their meaning is lost. In Morocco, Gnawa music is found mainly where black people live in a relatively large number; large enough to form a distinctive community like the ones in Marrakech and Essaouira. These two cities are known historically to have had slave markets connected to the trans-Saharan slave trade.

Gnawa people have created a distinct space in Moroccan society. They play a social and spiritual role and in recent decades have become well-known public performers. Public, non-ceremonial performances outside the Gnawa mystic order is a recent development. In order to survive, the Gnawa have turned the mystical aspect of their music into a musical art. In the 1970’s, when the only popular music available was the Middle Eastern type, some Moroccan artists start to look into other Moroccan traditions. Some of the best examples are Nass al-Ghiwan who were inspired by the Gnawa mystic order to create an original Moroccan pop music. One of the members of the band was Abd er-Rahman Paco who was himself a Gnawa master musician from Essaouira. Gnawa music has engendered a popular style of pop music for mere entertainment such as Nass al-Ghiwan and Jil-Jilala. These two bands were the most listened to in Morocco in the 70’s and 80’s. In the 90’s, other groups emerged such as Nass Marrakech who blend traditional music with new songs that connect with contemporary themes and audiences. Yet, for the Gnawa, their music is primarily spiritual and used for healing purposes.

However, curiously, Gnawa music, similar to jazz in America, is not recognized as a national music. The national Moroccan music is the Andalusian music, which developed, in "Muslim" and came to with the expulsion of the Moors in 1502 A.D.. Gnawa music has inspired the development of popular Moroccan music in general and is analogically similar to the African-American spirituals, gospels, and eventually the genre known as “the blues,” also founded by former slaves. Gnawa music provides a perspective through which we may view the history of blacks in . It is a medium to discover and recover the African roots that still live on in Morocco.

Recently, Western musicians interested in African traditional music, have “discovered” the music of the Gnawa. As a result, many collaborations have ensued with famous jazz artists such as Randy Weston. The Gnawa are modernizing their style to make it more secular and with more commercial appeal. With these recent developments and their appeal to tourists, the Moroccan government in 1997established The Gnawa and World Music Festival in Essaouira.

Q&A with Banning Eyre

B.E: What do we know about slavery in Morocco before the Arabs came, even before the Romans came?

Chouki el Hamel: There was always slavery. Berbers were slaving blacks. Blacks were also enslaving other people. But before the coming of the Arabs, black West Africa was not perceived like a huge pool of slaves. It did not have great slave markets. That was a development that came with the Islamization of Africa. So with the Islamization of Africa there was an increase of the trans-Saharan trade. It is the conquest, actually, that stimulated this need for black soldiers. So there was a huge demand for enslaved people from West Africa. And why? It is because, legally, you can slave only people perceived to be “pagan.” And the area that was perceived to be “pagan” was the area of the Sudan and beyond that.

The race question came during the Crusades where Europe emerged as a strong power, and basically, the enslaved people who came from areas in Europe were diminishing. So the Arabs and Berbers dynasties that ruled North Africa turned, of course, south. And then slowly it became color slavery. So that is why I have said that in many dynasties, that ruled Morocco for instance, they relied on black soldiers. And during Mawlay Isma`il, it went even further because he enslaved all blacks, including the free ones, including the Muslims. That is an act that is actually outright illegal in Islam, but he did it. But the muftis, judges and scholars of Islam in Fez were against that. They went against the voices that had influence on the society, they were sometimes killed. We have evidence that one of them was killed. His name is Gassus. He was a very strong voice against the enslavement black Muslims.

B.E: How, ultimately, did slavery disappear from Morocco?

Chouki el Hamel: I don't know of any text that formerly and officially abolished slavery. Slavery just went away with the coming of the colonization in 1912. Slowly, and gradually, slavery just died. It stopped existing because it was no longer needed. For instance, I'll give you just one example. In the south of Morocco, until recently under colonialism, the black people, especially Haratin in the southern oases, in the area of Aqqa or Tata, blacks did not own land. The Berbers owned the land. Some were not slaves, but they worked as sharecroppers. And they were called khammasin. They worked as farmers on the land that belonged to the Berbers, and they got a fifth of the harvest. But they never owned the land. And it is through colonization, when the capitalist system was introduced, and cash was introduced, some of these black people who worked as sharecroppers went to Europe. They were able to have enough cash to buy the land. So it was through colonialism and the general capitalist system that these people who were marginalized, who were not entitled to own land, they suddenly had cash. And cash of course is power. So they bought land, and this has created a social mobility in the south of Morocco.

B.E: When Afropop Worldwide went to Morocco in 2004, we found the very first two CDs by Nass el Ghiwan. They were just bootlegs, but rare stuff?

Chouki el Hamel: Nass el Ghiwan emerged, actually, from very poor neighborhoods. Their songs were what we call engaged, engaged for social causes. They were singing basically for the voiceless people. They represented them, their oppression and their misery and also subjects that were taboos. Some of them actually suffered for that. They went to jail because of that. They really reflect the cultural legacy in a way of the Gnawa. Because of the times, when there were Egyptian songs playing on the radio all the time, and these people came along, and said, we have to look at Moroccan traditions, what is authentic. And they looked into the Gnawa. And some members of Nass al-Ghiwan and Jil-Jilala were actually Gnawa.

B.E: They were widely influential also. I remember interviewing Khaled in Algeria, and him saying that Nass el Ghiwan really inspired him when he was young. To hear this local sound elevated to this level of high popularity. That's an interesting collateral effect that you would not necessarily predict?

Chouki el Hamel: And now, there is a step even further, because we have westerners involved, right? You have a lot of jazz and even popular music artists they come and collaborate with the Gnawa. Randy Weston comes to mind, but he is not the first one. Dizzy Gillespie went to Tunisia, right? So they all look for this, the African roots. Even in the early sixties. They were aware of this Diaspora. I think the artists were onto something. The artists, they are pioneers in making the other Diaspora actually known to the world. By the “other Diaspora,” I am talking about the internal African Diaspora, which is the Diaspora of black Africans in North Africa and the Mediterranean.

B.E: So it was not so much historians and writers who led the way on this. It was musicians?

Chouki el Hamel: If you like, hearing music is more powerful, more influential, than reading books sometimes.

…Just the same, if books are your cup of tea, here’s Chouki el Hamel’s Selected Bibliography:

Abu, Madyan, and Vincent J. Cornell. The way of Abu Madyan : doctrinal and poetic works of Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Husayn al-Ansari (c. 509/1115-16-594/1198), Golden palm series. Cambridge, U.K.: Islamic Texts Society, 1996.

Brunel, Rene. Essai sur la confrérie religieuse des 'Aissaouas au Maroc: Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1926.

Diène, Doudou. La Chaîne et le lien : une vision de la traite négrière, Mémoire des peuples. Paris: Editions Unesco, 1998.

Diouf, Sylviane. Servants of Allah : African Muslims enslaved in the Americas. New York: New York University Press, 1998.

El Hamel, Chouki, “Blacks and Slavery in Morocco: The Question of the Haratin at the End of the Seventeenth Century,” in Disaporic Africa. A Reader, ed. by Michael Gomez, New York University Press, 2006.

Ennaji, Mohammed. Serving the master : slavery and society in nineteenth-century Morocco. 1st ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Laroui, Abd Allah. The history of the Maghrib : an interpretive essay. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977.

Pâques, Viviana. L'Arbre cosmique dans la pensée populaire et dans la vie quotidienne du Nord-Ouest africain, etc, [Université de Paris. Travaux et mémoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie. no. 70.]: pp. 702. pl. XVII. Paris, 1964.

Pâques, Viviana. La religion des esclaves : recherches sur la confrérie marocaine des Gnawa. Bergamo: Moretti & Vitali, 1991.

Willis, John Ralph, ed. Slaves and Slavery in Muslim Africa. Vol. 1: Islam and the Ideology of Slavery. Totowa, N.J: Frank Cass, 1985.