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 | Nov 16, 2019 | Gnaoua, Morocco, Music
“You will fly over the ocean,” he continued, “by the power of baraka, the blessing of Sidi Moulay Brahim, tair lajbal, indicating the spirit bird that flies over the Atlas Mountains” Memoir of a Berber by Hassan Ouakrim The young girl got up from the cushion...
by Geoff | Jun 6, 2019 | Meknes, Morocco, Sufi
Late on my final afternoon in Meknes in early June 2019 I decided to investigate an interesting religious building I had seen whilst travelling to the holy pilgrimage town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun by bus several days earlier. This building was situated next to a...
by Geoff | May 23, 2016 | Morocco, Northern Africa
Despite its less traditional interpretation of Muslim faith, Morocco remains a devout country. Mosques remain the centres where Islam is worshipped, but a series of other religious institutions, called Zaouias, have an immersive spiritual and civic role. These are...
