Simply put, Gnawa is the music of formerly enslaved black Africans who integrated into the culture and society of Morocco. It is used as a model to preserve the traditions and folklore music of their ancestors.
This genre of music has risen to prominence and is said to heal people possessed by possessing spirits, it is one of the most popular styles of North African music. It has not only attracted fans worldwide but also interested famous European and American musicians.
Gnawa reflects the effect of black African culture on Moroccans. The African touch is clearly reflected in the dances and the garments the singers wear. The term Gnawa can thus mean in a historical context; ‘the black people’.
Gnawa also represents a religious and spiritual order followed by those who call themselves; Gnawa. Leaders and ardent followers of the Gnawa spiritual order believe in the existence of higher beings called ‘spirits’, and these spirits represent the souls of their ancestors who can be called upon for various reasons.
To add, Gnawa is a music genre now native to Morocco, especially the southern Moroccan city of Essaouira. It is a music that tells the Gnawa ancestral story of enslavement, migration and spirituality.
The Gnawa Muallems (Gnawa Masters) along with their band of musicians are usually dressed in colourful costumes decorated with cowrie shells.
Their musical instruments consist of three major instruments namely; the metallic castanets, the three-stringed bass lute also known traditionally as Guembri and the drum.
Persons who have experienced a Gnawa band in action testify to the hypnotic effect of the music. The Muallems boldly assert their ability to ‘hook’ a crowd to the power of the music they produce.
The beat of the drum represents the heartbeat and the accompanying instruments draw in the listener’s focus to the drum’s beat.
The Gnawa music heals persons afflicted with mental disorders and many other personal problems of emotional nature because the mysterious healing properties of the music tend to pull a troubled listener into its acoustic ambience where healing takes place.
