Gnawa music: the guembri, the qraqeb and the lila

Roots

UNESCO, which added Gnawa to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019, describes it as a set of musical events, performances, fraternal practices and healing rituals that mix the secular with the sacred. It grew among communities descended from enslaved people, at least from the 16th century, and absorbed Sufi devotion along the way.

The instruments

The guembri, also written gimbri or sintir, is a long-necked lute with a wooden body covered in skin and three gut strings. It is played by the maalem, the master musician, who leads the group and sings.

Around him, musicians play qraqeb, pairs of large iron castanets held in each hand, and answer his calls. The steady, hypnotic rhythm is meant to carry listeners for hours.

The lila

The central ceremony is the lila, an all-night gathering of music, incense, colours and dance in which participants may enter trance. It moves through a sequence of spirits and saints, each with its own songs and colours. Lilas are held in homes and in the lodges of the brotherhoods, for healing, blessing or celebration.

From ritual to festival

Gnawa musicians have long played in public too, in squares such as Jemaa el-Fna in Marrakech. Since 1998 the Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira has brought the masters on stage with jazz, blues and other musicians, and Gnawa has become a meeting point for musicians from around the world.

From qraqeb to crab claws

The Clap Back design turns a pair of Gnawa qraqeb into the claws of a crab: the metallic percussion of the ceremony reimagined as a character from the coast.