The Gnawa Lions: paths towards learning ritual music in contemporary Morocco

Abstract

This article outlines the pressures on young gnawa musicians embarking on a career in contemporary Morocco. The influences of the popular music industry provide new options for those looking to learn and advance. They can choose to engage the traditional system of apprenticeship or navigate their career outside it. This article outlines the pathway and expectations built into an apprenticeship-based mode of learning and becoming gnawa. It then moves to explore the opportunities and pressures that affect those who chose to sidestep the established system. Young performers who do so adeptly respond to their audiences’ desires and can find success, though they may measure it differently. Even so, however, they struggle for respect from the larger gnawa community. I examine how these artists strategise their careers between traditional and novel educational systems. They prioritise skills that are important to their movement through the popular music industry. This does not preclude opportunities for ritual performance, though it does affect how and where they find work. While some fail due to a poor knowledge of repertoire or a lack of experience, others utilise a nuanced understanding of their changing audience's tastes to animate possession innovatively and effectively. Even when they are not as adept at moving spirits in ritual, they master moving bodies in concerts.

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