Posts Tagged ‘Sufi’

Nass El Ghiwane – A Musical Tour De Force & The Rolling Stones of Africa

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Nass-el-Ghiwane

Nass El Ghiwane appeared on the scene in the late 1960’s in Morocco. Whenever mentioned in the Western literature, they are referred to as The Rolling Stones , as American Producer Martin Scorsese  once put it. They have been the most politicized of all the chaabbi-fusion groups and placed great emphasis on their lyrics, which are renowned throughout Morocco and North Africa. 

Nass-el-Ghiwane

History

Nass El Ghiwane are living legends who merged the rich repertoire of traditional Moroccan music with lyrics that sited political and social injustices. The group was formed by four young men from the poor district of Hay el Mohammadi in industrial Casablanca. Laarbi Batma (who came from the Chaouia region to Kariane Jdid) met Boujemaa Hagour (who came from the Tata (Morocco) region to Derb Moulay Cherif) through their mutual friend Omar Essayed.

Nass-el-Ghiwane

While performing the piece “Al Majdoub” in the theater troupe, Tayeb Essidiki, for Parisian crowds in the summer of 1969, they had the idea of using traditional music as a way to express themselves onstage. Hence Nass El Ghiwane was born. In a time where the only music available was middle-eastern pop music that sang about love, Nass el Ghiwane had prepared something new for Morocco: they mixed the Sufi chants and litanies of Zaouias (brotherhoods) like the Hmadcha and Aissawa with the elegant colloquial poetry of Melhoun adding to it the ancient rhythms of the Berbers and the healing dances of the mystical Gnaouas. Morocco just receiving its independence from the French and its population, still uncertain of what the future was hiding, was shocked and moved by the texts of Nass el Ghiwane: corruption, injustice and degradation of society. They were the first Moroccan band to mix such a diverse and rich heritage and to speak their minds even about the most forbidden subjects.

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Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Google on call Travel Exploration at (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Fes Festival of Sacred Music in Morocco

Friday, March 27th, 2009

fes-festival-of-sacred-musicThe Fes Festival of Sacred Music is one of the widest acclaimed world music events. For fifteen years the festival has been bringing together musicians and visitors from all around the world and uniting them in Morocco with the spiritual music from a variety of different cultures. The idea of the festival is to promote peace through the interfaith music, this years theme is “The Tree of Life.”

East and West meet to form a unique emotional and cultural experience uniting  the public with a shared sense of spirituality. The Fes Festival is one of the most popular festivals in Morocco. Artists come from France, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Senegal, Armenia, Poland, the U.S., India, Greece and Morocco to create a program with a wide range of art, entertainment, intellectual awareness, and spirituality. Every year the Fes Festival runs for a ten day series.

 

souad-massi1Promoting Peace

Each morning there are a series of round table discussions promoting dialogue on cultural awareness and understanding. While there was an increase in conflict in the Middle East it became a crucial goal to increase the understanding. The founders aimed to bring together the world in its many faiths regardless of  the historical atrocities. Musicians, authors and intellectuals come together in hopes to resolve pertinent issues of the times, discussing religion, democracy, music, social justice, conflict resolution and even climate change.

The Imperial City

Fes is known for its strong cultural, intellectual and spiritual presence. As a city at the heart of Moroccan civilization, and has been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. The evening concerts are held at Bab Makina, the entrance to the Royal Palace.  Afternoon concerts are held in the Dar Batha Museum, a slightly smaller area.

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Atmosphere

The drum is a crucial element for the spiritual music of the Fes Festival. The festival comes alive with Sufi chants, Pakistani qawwali chants, flamenco Christian saeta, Egyption madhi odes, sacred incantations of ancient Indian and Turkish whirling. Locals often fall into chants from the hypnotic rhythms, and the Muslim call to prayer echoes over the loud speakers through the city gates. 

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Wide Range Program

In recent years the festival has opened with Christian, Jewish and Muslim childrens chiors as a symbol of peace and unity. Along with the round table discussions and performances there are also film events, photography and art exhibits. This years program focuses on our origin, existance and individuality and will feature The Gospel According to John by Abed Azrie and Spiritual Songs from the Arab World lead by Sami Yussef. The festival will also focus on the balance between materialism and spirituality.

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Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Google on call Travel Exploration at (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Mystical Morocco’s Tour With The Master Musicians of Jajouka

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Master Musicians of Jajouka

The Master Musicians of Jajouka  is a group led by Bachir Attar, from the village of Jajouka near Ksar-el-Kebir in the southern Rif Mountains Northern Morocco. The inhabitants of this small village are from the Ahl Sherif (“the saintly”) tribe. The Attar clan of Jajouka is the founding family of Jajouka and keepers of one of the world’s oldest and most unique surviving musical traditions. The music and secrets of Jajouka have been passed down through generations from father to son, by some accounts for as long as 1,300 years. The musicians of Jajouka are taught from early childhood a complex music which is unique to Jajouka, until they finally become malims or masters. They possess baraka, (good luck) or the blessing of Allah, which gives them the power to heal, and the endurance required to play some of the most intense and complex music around. The Master Musicians of Jajouka are all descendants of one family, the Attars. Attar is a Sufi watchword and a deeply mystical name meaning “perfume maker”. 

Master Musicians of Jajouka

The instruments played by the Master Musicians of Jajouka are a flute called the lira, a double-reed instrument called the rhaita; it is similar to an oboe, but has a louder, more penetrating tone, a drum called the tebel made of goat-skin and played with two wooden sticks and a drum called the tarija.

 The music itself is considered to be part of the Sufi tradition of Islam. Prior to the colonization of Morocco by France and Spain, master musicians of the village were said to be the royal musicians of the sultans. In past centuries master musicians of the Jajouka village traditionally were excused by the country’s rulers from manual labor, goat-herding, and farming to concentrate on their music because the music’s powerful trance rhythms and droning woodwinds were traditionally considered to have the power to heal the sick.

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Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Google on call Travel Exploration at (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Travel Morocco: Learn to Play Gnawa Music

Friday, March 20th, 2009
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Watch this video of Moroccan musician and lecturer Yassir Chadly as he explains how to build a gimbri and the fundamentals of playing Gnawa Sufi music.

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Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Google on call Travel Exploration at (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.