The Sacred and the Profane : Gnaoua and World Music Festival, Essaouira, 2016
Choosing between the sacred and the profane has always been problematic; making that choice at an African music festival is a particularly difficult decision.
The Gnaoua and World Music Festival at Essaouira, Morocco, is a unique opportunity to see and enjoy animist African culture embedded within an Islamic country. Gnaoua music is widely considered to have been introduced to Morocco from sub-saharan Africa when Sultan Moulay Ismail introduced thousands of slaves to form his Black Guard armies. (more…)