MI week 10

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Syncretism from an Islamic perspective: spirit propitiation/healing groups and practices combining Islamic and sub-saharan Africa: Gnawa and Zar


Tuesday (10a)

GNAWA


Due

Read/listen/browse the “Gnawa Stories” website: https://www.ibiblio.org/gnawastories/

Be prepared to outline the history and rituals of the Gnawa in class.


Using jstor locate one recent scholarly article about Gnawa or Gnawa music, including:

  • Gnawa history
  • current ethnography of Gnawa, their social life, rituals and music
  • Gnawa folklorization, festivalization, popularization, fusion, locally and globally

Lcate some relevant online media.

Prepare to present your article and media in class by:

  • summarizing the content, illustrated with an online example or two (video, audio, image, map...)
  • offering a critique in light of the “Gnawa stories” website, and what you have learned about music and Islam in the course thus far. Feel free to raise questions as much as answering them - standard practice for a critique.

Submit a one-page summary/critique of your article (along with the article's title/author/date) on eClass 10a. Please do this before class so that I can access the materials for your in-class presentation.

Class

Intro to Gnawa and its globalization

Some lilas:

History: how the Gnawas came to Morocco...

Gnawa fusions: jazz, funk, hiphop, festival

Student presentations as per above.

Thursday (10b)

GNAWA and ZAR


Due

  • Read/listen/watch:
  • Write: one page on similarities and differences between Gnawa and Zar. Consider: the people, the ritual, the music - but also the ways this music has been folklorized and turned international. How, when, and where does the performance retain a spiritual significance, and why is that significance at other times and places eliminated? What are the reasons why the two traditions may be similar? Why are there differences? Submit this page on 10b (eClass).

Class

  • Those who didn't present a reading on Gnawa last time, please do so this time.
  • Introduction to Zar
  • Folklorization, world music, belly dance...(use of ayub rhythm)
  • Discussion: comparison of Gnawa and Zar; spirit/healing groups in Islam...