Gnawa
Encyclopedia
This name Gnawa is taken from one of the indigenous languages of the Sahara Desert called Tamazight. The phonology of this term according to the grammatical principles of Tamazight is as follows: Gnawi (singular), Gnawa (collective) and Gnawn (plural rarely used).
The Gnawa are an ethnic group whom, with the passing of time became a part of the Sufi order in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
This kingdom bordered Morocco and Algeria's southern borders, and had a 300 year blood war with Morocco, prior to both countries forging a long lasting peace accord (conducted between the Monarchs of both countries alone with a scribe). Evidence of this is found is the tribal oral tradition of both countries (Soussi, Riffi, & Ashanti tribes). The result of which saw unprecedented levels of marriages between the Gnawis (ancient Ghanaians) and Soussis of Morocco. A small percentage of this community (Gnawa/Ghanawa) were given to Morocco's monarch (Mulay
Mulay
Mulay, Mûlay, Bulay, or Molay for the Franks, was a general under the Mongol Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan at the end the 13th century. Mulay was part of the 1299–1300 Mongol offensive in Syria and Palestine, and remained with a small force to occupy the land after the departure of Ghazan. He also...
: to mean Emperor) as workers as a token and seal of the aforementioned accord. They traveled to Morocco by way of tribal caravans during (and external to) the hours of trade Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
.
Etymology
. Terms referring to Africans south of the Sahara desert as sub-Saharan and Black, while inoffensive and harmless in themselves, are sometimes considered by some to be racially inappropriate and offensive. An unfortunate history of Arab civilizations, European empires, and possibly even Phoenician/Carthaginian and Roman peoples, subtly attaching great stigma and dehumanization to such terms when describing those (Africans) whom, at that time, they considered to be sub-human has thus made such terms to be a source of offense for some.In Saharan countries, there is a term Al-Maghreb Al-Qadeem aka Old Maghreb (Ancient Trans-Saharan trading sphere of influence, cross culturalization and trade; primarily consisting of over 20 countries such as: present day Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(Taghaza
Taghaza
Taghaza is an abandoned salt-mining centre located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 17th century when it was abandoned and replaced by Taoudenni. Salt from the mines formed an important part of the...
), Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
(Djayr), Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
(Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
), Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
(Libu
Libu
The Libu were an ancient Berber tribe, from which the name Libya derives....
), Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(Kemet), Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Gambia, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Ancient Ghana (Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 . The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais...
), Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
were once one region, Burkino Faso, The Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
(also Taghaza), South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
(Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
), Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
(Kush
Kingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
), Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
etc.) and Al-Maghreb Al-Jadeed (New Maghreb)(only consisting of present day Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya). The other term (more ancient in use) in chelha is Tamazgha
Tamazgha
Tamazgha is a Berber word employed for the area more often known as the Maghreb or North Africa, covering the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Niger River, from Siwa Oasis to the Canary Islands....
referring to the above.
The word Agnaw (plural: ignawn), literally means 'deaf and dumb', this pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
word refers to those whom are considered intellectually unsophisticated. Also this linguistic pattern is solely used to refer to languages and inanimate objects - not for civilizations. With exceptions of Amazigh (Singular) and Imazighn (Plural) to mean noble and free. This isn't to be confused with the Gnawi/Ghanaian term Gnawi (to mean noble).
The ancient languages of the Gnawa People are: Bambara
Bambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...
, Ga
Ga language
The Ga language is a Kwa language spoken in Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. It has a phonemic distinction between 3 vowel lengths.-Classification:Ga is a Kwa language, part of the Niger–Congo family...
, Akan
Akan language
Akan, also known as Twi and Fante, is an Akan language that is the principal native language of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of that country, by about 52% of the population, and to a lesser extent across the border in eastern Côte d'Ivoire...
, Wolof
Wolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
, Tamahaq, Tamasheq, Chree etc. The King of Ancient Gnawi/Ghanaian Empire (Ouagadougou) was the Asantehene (King of the Ashanti Empire
Ashanti Empire
The Ashanti Empire , also Asanteman was a West Africa state of the Ashanti people, the Akan people of the Ashanti Region, now in Ghana. The Ashanti or Asante are a major ethnic group in Ghana, a powerful, militaristic and highly disciplined people of West Africa...
). This is confirmed by the name given to Ancient the ruler of the Empire.
Chelha refers to the Gnawi as Gnawa/Gnawi (singular) and Gnawn (plural). This term refers to Africans who originated from the Ancient Ghanawi/Ghanaian Empire aka Ouagadougou (not to be confused with the present day capital of Burkino Faso). A percentage of the Gnawis / Ghanawis who migrated, were given as slaves to Morocco's Mulay (Emperor) as a part of the Gnawi-Maghrebi tribal pact post Gnawi-Maghrebi Wars. It has been suggested that the Gnawis didn't speak Tamazight (dominant ancient language of the Sahara), however the Gnawis spoke their own form of Tamazight aka Gnawi or Tagnawit or even shorter Ga. Tamazight referring to language and Tifinagh referring to a culture's alphabet, there are various forms of Tamazight and Tifinagh throughout Africa. One common stereotype of Imazighen is that they, Imazighen, are solely light complexioned, never mixed with their fellow Africans and were of Arab extraction. when in actual fact the further south of the Sahara, the darker the complexion and the further north of the Sahara the lighter the complexion. Imazighen, while most times, olive-skinned in appearance, can oftentimes come in darker hues.
Another theory is that "Agnaw" was derived from the name of a city in the 11th century, in what is now western Mali, called Gana. In actual fact the name Ghana (to mean noble) is an ancient African name to which the Ashanti Kingdom espoused for their country's namesake and its ancient capital was Kumbi Saleh. It has often been said that there was no connection between the Ancient Ghanaian Empire Ouagadougou (which bordered Ancient Morocco, Algeria, Niger and Ancient Sudan) and Present Day Republic of Ghana in West Africa. In fact the connection between the two is the Ashanti Kingdom.
From the Amazigh word Agnaw (Gnawa in Darija
Darija
Darija is the group of Arabic dialects spoken by Maghrebi Arabic speakers. It is only used for oral communication, with Modern Standard Arabic used for written communication...
Moroccan colloquial Arabic) or from the Malian city Gana, the European words Guinea (English), Guinée (French), and Guinee (Dutch), were possibly likely derived. Most Ghanaians and other ancient kingdoms associated with them, would seriously debate this. As The Ancient Gnawi/Ghanaian Empire Ougadougou was renowned throughout Africa.
History
The Gnawa population is generally believed to originate from the SahelSahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
ian region of West and Central Africa, which had long and extensive trading and political ties with the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
and Algeria specifically, including gold and slave trades.
Popular history particularly incorrectly credits the Moroccan Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur's alleged 'conquest' in 1591 of part of the Songhai Empire
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...
, in particular Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
, with bringing large numbers of captives and slaves back across the Sahara to form the Gnawa. However, the slave and gold trade with Southern Saharan African Nations had existed for centuries prior to al-Mansur's alleged 'conquest'. As was previously stated the Gnawa/Ghanawa were and still are a people whom .
While adopting Islam, Gnawa continued to celebrate ritual possession during rituals where they are devoted to the practice of the dances of possession
Spiritual possession
Spirit possession is a paranormal or supernatural event in which it is said that spirits, gods, demons, animas, extraterrestrials, or other disincarnate or extraterrestrial entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behaviour...
and fright. This rite of possession is called Jedba , and proceeds the night (laila) that is animated jointly by a master musician (maâlem) accompanied by his troupe. Gnawa music mixes classical Islamic Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
with pre-Islamic African traditions, whether local or sub-Saharan.
Many modern Western scholars see parallels between African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
music such as the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, that is rooted in African-American American slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
songs, and Gnawa music as well as Sufi tariqa. This influence also resonates from other spiritual Saharan groups such as the Bori
Bori
Bori is a town and arrondissement located in the N’Dali commune of the Borgou Department of Benin....
in Nigeria, the Stambouli in Tunisia, the Sambani in Libya, the Bilali in Algeria and those outside Africa such as the Voodoo religion or the Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
in Brazil. These similarities in the artistic and scriptural representations are seen by many scholars as reflecting a shared experience of many African diasporic groups.
Gnawa and music
The term Gnawa musicGnawa music
Gnawa music is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber, and Sufi religious songs and rhythms. It combines music and acrobatic dancing. The music is both a prayer and a celebration of life...
ians generally refers to people who also practice healing rituals, with apparent ties to pre-Islamic African animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
rites. In Moroccan popular culture, Gnawas, through their ceremonies, are considered to be experts in the magical treatment of scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
stings and psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
disorders. They heal diseases by the use of colors, condensed cultural imagery, perfumes and fright.
Gnawas play deeply hypnotic trance music, marked by low-toned, rhythmic sintir
Sintir
The sintir , also known as the Guembri , Gimbri or Hejhouj, is a three stringed skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people. It is approximately the size of a guitar, with a body carved from a log and covered on the playing side with camel. The camel skin has the same acoustic function...
melodies, call-and-response singing, hand clapping and cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s called krakeb
Krakebs
Krakebs or garagab ) are large metal castanet-like musical instruments which are the primary rhythmic component of Gnawa music. They are used primarily in Morocco and Algeria and are considered to be a hypnotic instrument, allowing people to be engulfed in a trance-like state....
(plural of karkaba). Gnawa ceremonies use music and dance to evoke ancestral saints who can drive out evil, cure psychological ills, or remedy scorpion stings.
Gnawa music has won an international profile and appeal. Many Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
musicians including Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
, Randy Weston
Randy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
, Adam Rudolph
Adam Rudolph
Adam Rudolph is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post bop and world fusion media, probably most notable to date for his work with Yusef Lateef...
, Tucker Martine
Tucker Martine
Tucker Martine is an American, Grammy nominated record producer, musician and composer who has worked with artists such as My Morning Jacket, Mudhoney, Bill Frisell, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, R.E.M., Laura Veirs, Spoon, and Tift Merritt...
, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, have drawn on and collaborated with Gnawa musicians. Some traditionalists regard modern collaborations as a mixed blessing, leaving or modifying sacred traditions for more explicitly commercial goals. International recording artists such as Hassan Hakmoun
Hassan Hakmoun
Hassan Hakmoun is a Los Angeles-based Moroccan Gnawa musician.-Early life:Hakmoun was born to a family of musicians who introduced him to the musical world of the Gnawa. By age four, he performed alongside snake charmers and fire-breathers on Marrakech streets. His mother is known throughout the...
have introduced Gnawa music and dance to Western audiences through their recordings and concert performances.
The centre for Gnawa music is Essaouira
Essaouira
Mogador redirects here, for the hamlet in Surrey see Mogador, Surrey.Essaouira is a city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast. Since the 16th century, the city has also been known by its Portuguese name of Mogador or Mogadore...
in the south of Morocco where the Gnaoua World Music Festival
Gnaoua World Music Festival
The Gnaoua World Music Festival is a Gnawa music festival held annually in Essaouira, Morocco.The festival provides a platform for exchanges and a meeting point of music and dialogue between foreign artists and the mystical Gnaoua musicians...
is held annually. The Gnawa of Marrakesh hold their annual festival at the sanctuary of Moulay Brahim
Moulay Brahim
Moulay Brahim or Moulay Brahim ben Ahmed Mghari , also called Tayr Lejbel , was a well-known Moroccan sufi saint. He was the grandson of Abdallah ben Houssein al-Hassani, who was the founder of the zawiya of Tameslouht, one of the greatest Zawiyyas in the region of Marrakech...
in the Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
.
External links
- Gnawa.net
- http://www.vodeo.tv/4-33-3982-des-gnawa-dans-le-bocage.html
- http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=video&no=1052
- http://prep-cncfr.seevia.com/idc/data/Cnc/Recherche/fiche2.asp?idf=3313
- Essaouira at WorldMusicCentral.org
- gnawa at brickhaus.com
- Dar Gnawa Website