
The Gnawa master, who plays the primary guitar-like instrument, the ghembri, takes center stage as he combines ritual poetry with traditional music and dance.
In the fiercely patriarchal society, the Gnawa master was always a man. However, with the arrival of Asmâa Hamzaoui, that began to change.
Her father, a Gnawa master, had wished to teach his son the art of playing the ghembri. Rachid al-Hamzaoui, however, was a father of only daughters, one of whom was exceptionally gifted but mischievous.
Thus, Hamzaoui succeeded in shattering the mold. She is now a celebrity in the Gnawa subculture, a long-oppressed group of street performers and panhandlers that is gaining popularity in Morocco and other countries.
2012 saw her make her stage debut at the yearly Gnawa music festival in Essaouira, a coastal town in southern France that serves as the cultural center of the Gnawa people.
“It was an enormous duty. Firstly, because the instrument belonged to my father. The good songs he had taught me had to be played. “I had to perform them accurately,” said Hamzaoui, who was once again the festival’s main attraction.
“And it was frightening – the first time a woman on the stage, playing Gnawa music, representing women.”
The number of Gnawa people in Morocco is unknown, but their history dates at least as far back as the slave trade in the sixteenth century.
Their music and culture were recognized as “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” in 2019 by UNESCO, the UN agency for cultural affairs.
“Gnawa is initially a Sufi brotherhood music paired with lyrics with a generally religious material, invoking ancestors and spirits,” according to UNESCO.
It claims that Gnawa culture is now regarded as a component of Morocco’s complex identity and culture.
“The Gnawa, especially in the city, practice a therapeutic possession ritual via all-night rhythm and trance ceremonies merging ancestral African practices, Arab-Muslim influences as well as native Berber cultural performances,” states Unesco.
Even the elders of the community seem to welcome the growing role of women; however, their main concern is that the rising popularity of Gnawa music and culture is pushing many young artists away from the spiritual asceticism that is at the heart of the community’s ethos and toward the pursuit of fame and fortune on the festival circuit.
Naji al-Sudani is one such elder who, from his modest shop, makes highly sought-after ghembris and drums. The steady stream of people who visit his small business to sit with him and get his blessings before their performance is proof of his legendary status in Gnawa circles.
His ancestry is in Sudan, as suggested by his name. Mahmood Guinea, the name of another fabled Gnawa master, alludes to Guinea in the present day.
“While having female performers might be beneficial, the main problem facing young people, in general, is humility – modesty, understanding the culture that has been passed down from elders and showing respect for it,” stated Sudani, a master musician known by the title of maâlem.
The fact is, having a title does not automatically make one a maâlem. Over time, by studying under the masters, you become a maâlem,” he continued.
However, some people, including Hamzaoui, want the music to lift them out of their financial hardships as well as spiritually due to the economic realities of modern-day Morocco.
Me and my sister are the only ones who bring this home for our parents. Both of our bills must be paid, and we pay theirs. “I have a son and numerous expenses to cover,” Hamzaoui remarked.
The Essaouira festival, which originally featured only Gnawa music, has changed in recent years to feature fusions with various genres.
From the festival’s founding in 1998 until now, renowned African-American musician Suleiman Hakim has been attending.
Being from the American jazz and blues tradition, he claims to have identified the common origins of many of the fundamental sounds in his genre—Gnawa music.
“That’s part of why it provides itself so well to fusions since there is something in both the Gnawa sounds as well as other African-derived sounds that speaks to a shared heritage and history,” he stated.
A wide range of people attend the festival, including both inquisitive tourists and Gnawa purists.
Fehd Benchemsi, a well-known Moroccan singer and actor, performed this year with his band, the Lallas.
“The festival has transformed a lot over the years but most of us still come to interact with the Gnawa masters – Essaouira is the core of Gnawa culture,” he stated.
“Coming here feels like a pilgrimage of sorts – while for some it’s deeply spiritual, for some it’s more focused on the celebratory elements of song and dance.”
Benchemsi is not alone, though, as more and more young Moroccans who were not raised in Gnawa culture are embracing it because they are drawn to its more esoteric spiritual aspect as well as the celebrations and music.
It shows an appreciation of Morocco’s ties to sub-Saharan Africa as well as the celebration of a culture belonging to a long-marginalized group in a society dominated by Arabs.