3rd edition of the
Festival in the City
May 29th to June 6th 2004
Sufi Nights
- Free entrance
-
Sufism
Sufism is the inner
dimension of Islam and is the "way of the heart".
In this context, the heart is the human faculty described as
neither rationality, nor sentimentality; It is the faculty which
allows a person to perceive the vibration of the Divine Presence
in the midst of the world and of life.
In order to attaché oneself to the heart in permanent
contemplation, Sufism is organized into brotherhoods (turuq, or
"ways", the singular is tariqa). Each tariqa has developed
its own methods of initiation, practices and symbolisms, based
on Islam and the Koran. These practices allow one to reach and
purify the "heart".
Amongst the rites performed in groups, there are recited or silent
litanies, intellectual meditations, singing, music, dance, and
sometimes ecstasy which is expressed by the "Hadra"
(the "Presence").
Concerts' program
Saturday May 29th - 11:00
PM
- Tariqa Ouazzania - Addakirin Group (Ouazzane -
Rabat)
Sunday May 30th - 11:00
PM
Monday May 31st - 11:00
PM
- Tariqa Aïssaouia - M'Kaddemin selection (Fes)
Tuesday June 1st - 11:00
PM
- Tariqa Ktania - Saad Temsamani (Tangier)
Wednesday June 2nd - 11:00
PM
- Tariqa Haraquia - Fakirat Group (Tetouan)
Thursday June 3rd - 11:00
PM
- The Saqallya Khamrya (Fès)
Friday June 4th - 11:00
PM
Saturday, June 5th - 11:00
PM
- Goubbahi of the Debbaghas (Tanners' corporation) (Fes)
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Tariqas' presentation
Tariqa Ouazzania - Groupe Addakirines (Ouazzane - Rabat)
It is reported that the great theologian Mohyidin Annawawi Achafiyi
(13-14th C.), coming from the East, established a zaouia (Sufi
lodge) in the Algerian desert which he called Zaouia Touat. The
disciples gathered there for the prayers, devotional singing (sama')
and the recitation of a devotional ode called Hizb Touat. Later
another zaouia was founded in Morocco, among the Tazarine tribe.
Subsequently, the Cherifs of Ouazzane, beginnging with Moulay
Abdellah Cherif (17th C.) and continuing with his descendents,
perpetuated the recitation of the Hizb Touat and of deveotional
singing (samaa). Eventually, several other zaouias appeared in
the urban centers of Morocco, including five in the city of Fès.
Tariqa Jilalia (Fès)
The Jilalia Sufi order is a spiritual path that is widespread
in the Muslim World. It was founded in the 12th century by the
great saint Moulay Abdelqader Jilani in Iraq. He is considered
to be one of the most eminent theologians and Sufi masters. The
centers attached to his school propagated themselves widely, especially
in the Islamic West. The Jilalia path, also known as the Qadiria
Kadiria, gives great importance to spiritual realization by means
of the practice of dikr (invocation, remembrance of divine names
and formula), of samâa (devotional singing) and the continuous
search for nobility of comportment. The groups of the tariqa uses
musical instruments during their sessions of sama', such as the
bendir, the qasba, and the tbel The group animating this allaila
(the evening), is composed of the Moqaddem Abdelkhader Mouiha,
the performing artists Mohamed Kassab, Abderrahim Marrakchi, Daoudi
Kacem Benjelloun, and Messari Idriss. This will be a lovely evening
marked by kassidas (poetic odes) and songs in praise of God.
Tariqa Aïssawas - a selection of the M'Kaddemines (Fès)
The Aïssawa religious brotherhood, which goes back to Sheikh
Mohamed Ben Aïssa, who passed away in 1526 in Meknès,
derives its origins from the Sufi tradition. At his death, his
disciples continued the education of the mouridins (devotees)
whose principal activity consisted of reading and reciting the
Quran and chanting hymns in praise of the Prophet Mohamed. The
music and chants of the Aïssawas, practiced with percussion
instruments, large trumpets and voices, divided into soloists
and choirs, are known for their therapeutic virtues and their
ability to provoke spectacular trances among the participants.
The great celebration of the cult of the founding sheikh, which
takes place every year on the occasion of the holiday marking
the Prophet's birthday (mouloud), is an impressive event which
brings together all the members of the brotherhood, who come from
every corner of Morocco. Under the influence of malhoun and the
Arab-Andalusian musical tradition, the music of the Aïssawas
of Fès is more refined that that of the other Moroccan
branches of this Sufi order.
Tariqa Kettania - Saad Temsamani (Tangier)
Having been plunged since his youth in the vast heritage of the
songs and music of Sufi brotherhoods, Saâd Temsamani is
depository of a knowledge specific to Morocco. Grandson of the
sheikh Mohamed Temsamani of Tanger, he was initiated to Sufi songs
in the context of the Kettania zaouïa and later completed
his apprenticeship by studying Anadulsian music. Under his direction,
the Kettania brotherhood group will present a diverse collection
of traditional spiritual songs of the Sufi tradition as it is
perpetuated in the zaouias of Morocco.
Tariqa Harraquia - Faqirates Group (Tétouan)
Founded about two centuries ago, by the saint Sidi Mohamed El
Harraq of Tetouan, disciple of the saint Moulay Larbi Darkkaoui,
this Sufi order is currently lead by the saint Sidi El Ghali Harraq
grandson of the founding sheikh. Every Friday, reciters and musicians
gather at the zaouia for religious singing and the hadra (sacred
dances). These séances may sometimes include intellectual
discussions around Koranic or Sufi texts. It is one of the few
Sufi orders in Morocco where the utilization of melodic instruments
is associated with the ritual of sama' (devotional signing).
The Khamria Sakaliya (Fès)
The Skali Cherifs (descendents of the Prophet) of Fès
can be traced back to the saint Moulay Ahmed Skali, whose tomb
is much venerated in this city. He was a great Sufi of the end
of the 17th century. The zaouia of Moulay Ahmed Skali has for
centuries been one of the meeting places of the great figures
of Fès in search of spirituality and devotion. There one
can engage in the regular practice of dikr and séances
of sama'. These typically culminate in the practice of the Sufi
Khamria (or hadra), a kind of corporal expression of spiritual
ecstasy.
Tariqa Hamdouchia (Fès)
The Hmadcha brotherhood or Sufi order goes back to the saint
Ali Ben Hamdouch, who lived in the 17th century, under the reign
of the Moroccan sovereign Moulay Ismaïl, a contemporary of
King Louis XIV. The lila (evening) begins with the traditional
entry of the flag bearers of the brotherhood, accompanied by incantations
and praises to the Prophet. Then qasidas (poems) are chanted.
The songs and dances grow in intensity, attaining their paroxysm,
only to begin again by renewed invocations and incantations.
Goubbahi des Debbaghas
The Debbagha ensemble, rooted in the tanners guild, makes use
of a repertoire of songs and rhythms called goubbahi which is
related to the malhoun style, so well-known in Morocco. Al malhoun
is the most elaborate form of versification in Moroccan Arabic
dialectic. The origins of this vast corpus of poems, which oscillates
between the popular and the scholarly, preserved by means of singing
traditions and manuscripts, goes back to the 12th century, in
the region of Tafilalet, in the south of Morocco. The most ancient
roots of malhoun can be traced back to the period of the Almohades
dynasty when itinerant bards, appreciated for their panegyrics
and recitations of early Islamic history, embellished by the multiple
additions of popular imagination. Later, attracting the attention
of urban scholars and men of letters, the malhoun incorporated
elements of classical poetry and Andalusian zajal (rhymed prose).
The malhoun qasida explores diverse themes of social and religious
life, and in this latter domain these poems express a range of
manifestations of faith, through invocations of Allah and eulogies
to the Prophet. Under these latter aspects, solid and ancient
ties are preserved with the religious brotherhoods, links which
quite often overlap with those woven between craft and trade guilds.
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