Music for healing: Black Gnawas and the ‘professional’ practice of dealing with spirits in southeastern Morocco

Abstract

In Morocco, people usually call Gnawa those communities of black Moroccans made up of descendants of slaves from sub-Saharan Africa (Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, and Guinea) who follow rituals merging Islamic traditions with pre-Islamic African traditions. Gnawa brotherhoods are organised into ‘houses’ called Dar Gnawa. Each house is led by a Mʿallem (a ritual master) who inherits his ancestor’s knowledge and is responsible for a group of apprentice musicians and dancers from the same town or from other places. Music and dancing are key elements in their religious ceremonies. Based on fieldwork carried out in 2012–2016 in a black community living in southeastern Morocco, a village in the desert, 50 km away from the border with Algeria, this article analyses the healing rituals performed by the brotherhood in the two Dar Gnawas in the town, in nearby villages, and in the annual festival. The aim of this article is to explain how Gnawas created their legitimacy and prestige as ‘professional’ healers.