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The emerging generation of Moroccan women are infusing a fresh and inclusive energy into the time-honored tradition of Gnaoua, a spiritual musical form conventionally sequestered to the realm of men.
Gnaoua music, alternatively referred to as “tagnaouite,” has garnered international acclaim subsequent to its inscription by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019. At the Gnaoua World Music Festival held in Essaouira, a city on the southern coast of Morocco, which is deeply entrenched in the Gnaoua musical tradition, Asma Hamzaoui queried, “Why shouldn’t women be part of this dynamic?”
Asma Hamzaoui, a 26-year-old native of Casablanca, is among the trailblazers who have ventured into the domain of Gnaoua music, which amalgamates African rhythms with spiritual incantations and poetic elements. Under the tutelage of her father, a virtuoso in Gnaoua music, Hamzaoui was inducted into the art form at an early age. “I’ve accompanied him to his evening gatherings since I was seven years old,” recounted the intrepid musician, who in 2012, founded the ensemble “Bnat Timbouktou,” translated as “The Girls of Timbuktu.”
She continued, “I progressively assimilated the skills to play the guembri, a three-stringed lute constructed from camel skin. My father was assiduous in ensuring that I acquired a plethora of knowledge before I embarked on my solo pursuits.”
The all-female contingent left an indelible impression on festival attendees, with Hamzaoui rendering vocals and playing the guembri, whilst four other musicians played the qraqeb, or steel castanets. Their performance was in conjunction with the Amazones d’Afrique, another ensemble comprised solely of women, hailing from Mali.
Hamza Tahir, a festival attendee, proffered his insights: “It’s a remarkable feat to witness women engaged in Gnaoua music, which shouldn’t exclusively be the purview of men. They infuse a rejuvenating energy into this music.”
Meanwhile, buoyed by Bnat Timbouktou’s triumphant endeavours, Hind Ennaira, an emergent luminary in Gnaoua music, honed her ardor for tagnaouite in her hometown of Essaouira. The city, with its fortified citadel facing the Atlantic Ocean, is a crucible for this mystical musical tradition, which intertwines religious hymns invoking ancestors and spirits.
Gnaoua music, with its origins steeped in the practices of enslaved individuals and tracing its lineage to at least the 16th century, has undergone an evolution from predominantly private gatherings, where therapeutic rituals were conducted in tandem with the music, to an art form celebrated at public events encompassing concerts and festivals.
Ennaira characterizes her home city of Essaouira as the nurturing ground of tagnaouite, asserting, “It is a vibrant heritage that nurtures the soul. It is of vital importance that the younger generation cherishes it.” To the traditional ensemble, she introduced an innovative touch by incorporating a guitarist and a drummer.
“There were initial disparities, given their unfamiliarity with collaborating with a woman,” she acknowledged. “However, following some challenging exercises, they acclimated to my presence, and we achieved a harmonious synergy.”
Similarly, Yousra Mansour, the leading woman of the band Bab L’bluz, which fuses Gnaoua, rock and blues, encountered obstacles upon her entry into the music scene. She explained, “I encountered two primary impediments: the tacit assumption that this sphere is exclusively the domain of men, and the conservative perspectives towards the interpretation of traditional music.”
She further elaborated, “This is met with a lack of acceptance and even resistance by some of the more orthodox members of our society.” Mansour continued, “We replaced the bass with the guembri, and the guitar with the awisha (a smaller guembri), forming a dynamic ‘power trio’ reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, yet reimagined with traditional instruments.”
The 32-year-old vocalist ardently champions women’s liberties, confessing that “as a woman, my journey has been far from facile.” She lamented the scarcity of women in this domain and commended Asma Hamzaoui and Hind Ennaira, stating, “They are a testament to magnificence. It is challenging to navigate a domain predominantly inhabited by men, but we are witnessing the dawn of transformation.”
With AFP