Gnawa Musician playing and singing in Marrakech
Gnawa musican. They are the descendents of slaves originating from Black Africa who established brotherhoods throughout Morocco. They are made up of master musicians (maâlem), metal castanet players, clairvoyants, mediums and their followers. During the celebration the maâlem and his group call on the saints and supernatural entities to take possession of their followers who fall into trance. Their ritual can be compared to Haïtian voodoo and Brazilian macumba. Gnawas play deeply hypnotic trance music, marked by low-toned, rhythmic sintir melodies, call-and-response singing, hand clapping and cymbals called krakeb (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.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Marrakech Morocco
Photo credit: © Gordon Bell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, bright, chanting, colours, decedents, gnawa, hat, hypnotic, maalem, marrakesh, morocco, music, musician, north, singing, slaves, spinning, tassel, trance
