Since the 7th century, Morocco was involved in the trans-Saharan slave trade, a history that left a profound mark on its music. The descendants of enslaved Africans, known as the Gnawa, developed a fascinating musical tradition closely connected to the all-night trance rituals called lila. One of its most celebrated figures was Mahmoud Guinia, a sought-after collaborator of American improvisers such as Pharoah Sanders and Hamid Drake. His son, Houssam Guinia, now comes to Prague. He is remarkable not only for his artistry but also because he earned the title of maâlem—a distinction reserved for master musicians—before the age of thirty.
Although Gnawa music emerged within Black communities in a way that invites comparison with American blues, the two traditions differ greatly in both sound and social function. The backbone of Gnawa music consists of cyclical chants accompanied by the hypnotic pulse of the three-stringed bass lute guembri and the sharp, driving rhythms of metal castanets known as qraqeb. While blues bears witness to oppression and hope in the Western world, Gnawa serves as a direct channel to the spiritual realm of African cosmology and its powerful jinn spirits.
When Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin traveled to Marrakech in 1994, they recorded, among others, with Gnawa musicians. This music has long captivated American jazz artists as well. Saxophonist Patrick Brennan recalls: “The first time I heard Gnawa musicians, I was fascinated. In the singing, I heard blue notes familiar from the blues. The melodic structure reminded me of John Coltrane’s classic work.”
Houssam Guinia recorded his now cult-acclaimed album Dead of Night live in a single take in Casablanca, Morocco. The result is a deeply intimate and spiritual statement performed without the accompaniment of other instruments. On the album, Houssam sings songs he learned directly from his father.
Over the past two decades, Gnawa music has reached major stages around the world. The genre’s flagship event is the Gnaoua and World Music Festival of Essaouira, founded in 1998. (The spelling Gnaoua reflects the French transliteration of Gnawa.) Yet the authentic home of this music remains the private ritual sphere.
When a Moroccan family moves into a new house, it may invite a Gnawa ensemble to cleanse the home of harmful spirits. The lila ceremony continues until dawn. Until midnight, everyone—including women and children—takes part in the gathering. Afterwards, couscous is served, and the audience becomes predominantly male. From the very beginning, one witnesses an intoxication of sound and movement. It is a contagious form of ecstasy that arises in those rare moments when people become fully attuned to one another.
The lead musician—the maâlem—negotiates with individual spirits, each identified by specific colors and musical rhythms, seeking to ensure they cause no harm to the host. Musicians dance among candle flames and walk across glowing embers. Since 2019, the cultural practices and traditions of the Gnawa have been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
