The Gnawa of Oujda: music at the margins in Morocco

Abstract

This paper describes some of my fieldwork encounters with the Gnawa, a group of eth- nic minority musicians living in Oujda , north-eastern Morocco, where I conducted re- search in 1994. I recount how I met the group and some impressions of the places where they lived and worked. After discussing the structure and nature of the musical events through which they interacted with the rest of the population , I describe their instruments and comment upon their repertoire. The economic and political circum- stances in which the Gnawa appear to live are considered, and I offer an explanation as to why women comprise the greater part of their audience. Returning to the perfor- mance itself, I observe its most dramatic high point, a gestured self-mutilation, which both raises the level of excitement of the event and serves to reinforce the belief in the Gnawa 's supernatural powers. Finally, the relationships between Gnawi music, local saintly figures and colour are discussed. I conclude that the group's precarious eco- nomic and social niche depends upon their manipulation of their ' otherness the maintenance of secrecy surrounding their practices, and the need of local women for the catharsis their rites allowed.