by Geoff | Feb 12, 2020 | Aisha Qandisha, Essaouira, Gnaoua, Hamadcha, Morocco, Moulay Idriss Zerhouna, Northern Africa, Ouezzane, Sherif, Shrine, Sufi, Wazzan, Zaouia
UNFINISHED POST We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time. Little Gidding T.S. Elliott It may seem incongruous to entitle a page about Islamic and African culture with...
by Geoff | Feb 1, 2020 | Essaouira, Gnaoua, Morocco, Northern Africa, Zaouia
I had tried on three previous occasions to visit Sidna Blal, the zaouia des Gnawa, but the formidable woman who seemed to live there steadfastly refused all my entreaties to enter. Today I visited with this woman’s son, Youssef, a guimbri player training to...
by Geoff | Jan 31, 2020 | Artist, Gnaoua, Morocco, Music, Northern Africa, Zaouia
In 2016 I wrote an article called The Sacred and the Profane, describing the two forms of Gnaoua music ( see http://sannyassa.co.uk/sacred-profane-gnaoua-world-music-festival-essaouira-2016/ ). In that article I identified the paradox that lay ahead for the Gnaouia; ...
by Geoff | Jan 2, 2020 | Essaouira, Marabout, Morocco, Northern Africa, Regraga, Shrine, Sufi, Zaouia
The zaouia/koubba of Sidi Ishaq is located beautifully on the Atlantic coast. It is a short caleche ride along sandy tracks from the small town of Sidi Ishaq some 3 miles inland. The caleche park is situated in the centre of the town just off the R301 which...
by Geoff | Jan 1, 2020 | Gnaoua, Marabout, Marrakech, Morocco, Shrine, Sufi, Zaouia
A gaggle of older men in djellabas were sitting outside of the main entrance into the zaouia of Moulay Abdel Hussein, the grandfather of Moulay Brahim who’s tomb and zaouia resides a little further south in the foothills of the Atlas mountains. Both...
by Geoff | Dec 12, 2019 | Essaouira, Marabout, Morocco, Regraga, Shrine, Sufi, Zaouia
Rather than portraying each zaouia as a separate blog entry I have decided to present them in groups. Here are zaouias I have visited over the last week or so. They are located in the vicinity of Akermoud and Telmest, almost the furthest that the bus travels north...
