Essaouira's Gnawa Festival

Hypnotic Beats in Morocco

Essaouira 

19/06/2001 - 

Tucked away on Morocco's Atlantic coast between Safi and Agadir, Essaouira is a treasure-trove of historic and cultural interest. The town was originally known as Mogador but acquired its Arabic name in the 18th century. Three centuries on, Essaouira has become a favourite holiday destination for European tourists and international windsurfers. But the reason RFI/musique was on hand this week was to report on the fourth edition of the Gnawa/World Music Festival, held behind the town's ancient ramparts from June 14th-17th.

Essaouira is a good two hours' drive from Marrakesh, but the tiny windswept town on the Atlantic coast has become a tourist Mecca in recent years, welcoming holiday-makers from around the world. The Essaouira phenomenon is nothing new, however. According to television producer Anaïs Prosaïc, Essaouira was already a popular destination in the 70s, with American musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and the Stones flocking here in search of authentic vibes. Meanwhile, American poets and authors including Paul Bowles celebrated the mystical charms of Morocco, a country which is both geographically and culturally speaking, a million miles away from the land of Uncle Sam.

In the 70s Essaouira's shocking red ramparts must have made a fitting backdrop to psychedelic trips, but these days the town's fortifications have been painted a more sober cream and the houses in the interior, most of which are currently undergoing extensive restoration work, are a pretty blue and white. The narrow roads and alleyways that run along the ramparts' interior are bustling with constant crowds and animation. Moroccan women dressed in traditional haïks which cover them from head to toe, cross the paths of young men jabbering excitedly on their way to the café or groups of wet-suited Europeans back from a spot of windsurfing at the local beach.

During the Gnawa festival this colourful crowd is also joined by groups of international musicians transporting their instruments through the medina by horse and cart (as more sophisticated forms of transport are unable to negotiate the old town's narrow streets). The hypnotic sounds of Gnawa music echo round the walls on all sides and in the evenings the local fridge repairer lends his workshop to a musician friend selling cassettes. In short, local Essaouirans needed little persuading to join in the fourth edition of the Gnawa/World Music festival.

The Roots of Gnawa

In recent years traditional Gnawa sounds have moved beyond the confines of religious brotherhoods and, thanks to innovative producers such as Bill Laswell and French bands like Gnawa Diffusion and l’Orchestre National de Barbès, reached the ears of music fans in the West.

The Gnawas actually trace their roots back to African slaves shipped over to Morocco in centuries past, but today the Gnawa brotherhoods are an integral part of Muslim society. Their music is performed according to time-honoured rituals, musicians sitting around the maâlem (master), positioned at the centre of the group. When the lila (the nocturnal rite of possession begins), the musicians beat out a hypnotic rhythm, calling out invocations to saints and mlouk (spirits). Meanwhile, the maâlem, positioned at the centre of the circle and playing the guenbri (a sort of three-stringed lute/handheld drum), performs a series of ritual gestures or carries out initiation rites. Gnawa music may also be played outside this religious ritual context as a simple musical expression of Gnawa culture and identity.

Essaouira's world music festival has established itself as a vibrant melting-pot of musical styles, opening up bridges between Gnawa culture and other genres. On Thursday night the audience gathered in front of the main stage at Bab Sbaâ were treated to a fascinating concert uniting the talents of Malian musician Cheick Tidiane Seck, French cellist Vincent Segal (responsible for the arrangements on Vanessa Paradis's new album) and the respected maâlem Hamida Boussou. (Boussou, who was born in Marrakesh but now lives in Casablanca, has already built up a strong following of French fans after performing at the Paris Jazz Festival).

The audience reconvened at the same spot on Friday night to listen to a concert by Hasna El Becharia, one of the rare female artists appearing at the Essaouira festival. The diva from the Algerian desert, who accompanies herself on guitar, performed an inspiring set with the Moroccan musician Majid Bekkas (an artist who has tried to take Gnawa sounds down new avenues by playing them on non-traditional instruments). But the crowning glory of this year's festival is set to be the concert by international Raï star Cheb Mami on Sunday night.

Local music fans, who have turned out in increasing force each day, appeared to appreciate the festival as much as the performers themselves. Thousands of young Moroccans pressed up against the stage eager to sing and dance the night away while, standing slightly further back from the spotlights' glare, extended families looked on with evident delight. The Essaouira festival has scored a huge hit with local townspeople, its popularity doubtless increased by the fact that concerts are free for all. But the fact that the festival is also capable of attracting its fair share of international stars means that Essaouira has also become a major musical event in its own right.

Valérie  Passelègue

Translation : Julie  Street