Home"Alala Yellali"

"Alala Yellali"

« Alala Yellali »

Women, Musical Genre and Gender Identities in Chaabi Music, from Morocco to the Diasporas

Femmes, genre musical et identités de genre dans la musique chaabi, du Maroc aux diasporas

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Published on Wednesday, April 03, 2024

Abstract

The aim of this conference is to take stock of knowledge about one of the most widespread genres of Moroccan popular music: ša‘bī ('popular', commonly written chaabi), as well as the role of women in its history, transmission and practice. We want to bring together academics (ethno-musicologists, anthropologists, historians, linguists), artists (musicians, dancers, singers, actors) and other specialists (instrument makers, cultural workers, event providers) as part of a wider event, the Habibi Chaabi Festival, which will include concerts, screenings, musical workshops and popular festivals.

Announcement

Argument

The aim of this conference is to take stock of knowledge about one of the most widespread genres of Moroccan popular music: ša‘bī ('popular', commonly written chaabi), as well as the role of women in its history, transmission and practice. We want to bring together academics (ethno-musicologists, anthropologists, historians, linguists), artists (musicians, dancers, singers, actors) and other specialists (instrument makers, cultural workers, event providers) as part of a wider event, the Habibi Chaabi Festival, which will include concerts, screenings, musical workshops and popular festivals. 

The event is being organised as part of the 60th anniversary of Moroccan immigration to Belgium. Moroccan nationality is the most important foreign nationality in Belgium (Statbel 2020). In the musical sphere, it includes celebrities such as Tiiw-Tiiw and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, as well as a rich tradition of Andalusian, Sufi, Daqqa, Gnawa or Ša‘bī music, the majority of whose public figures are men.

The lack of female presence in the public sphere is not a prerogative of the Moroccan community and has been the subject of societal debate for years (Centre National Musique 2023). In the Moroccan context, both at home and in the diaspora, being a woman and pursuing a career as a musician is a difficult journey. That situation has improved slightly in recent years in Morocco: not only are female musicians gaining in visibility (Stirn 2017), but some are taking up instruments and the role of bandleader previously assigned to men, such as Gnawiya Asma Hamzaoui. These careers and the fame of older female singers in Morocco contrast with the invisibility of Moroccan women on the Belgian cultural scene (Sechehaye and Amezian 2023).

This observation is the starting point for this conference, which focuses on musical genre and gender identity. Firstly, we would like to work on the description of the ša‘bī as a musical genre: although the term means 'popular', it does not refer to all genres of Moroccan popular music. Made up of pieces built on a rhythm of the same name, ša‘bī draws on many genres, brings together all kinds of generations and concerns different regions, religious practices (Elbaz 2021) and performance contexts. Emblematic in the country and in the diaspora, the ša‘bī is widely listened to and broadcast, and no major event takes place without its presence. It is the Moroccan genre that gets crowds dancing, sometimes to the point of unbridled joy (našāṭ, Kapchan 2003), to the very limits of consciousness.

Ethnomusicologist Ciucci defines ša‘bī as "a category at the intersection of tradition (taqālīd), heritage (turāṯ), and a notion of the term 'popular' as that which is 'widely disseminated by the media and enjoyed by many people'" (Ciucci 2022, 7). We will explore and go into this definition in depth, look at the emergence of the genre, its history and geography, but also describe the repertoire, its musical systems, instruments, timbres, techniques, texts and poetic forms. Given the links between ša‘bī and other musical 'niches' (Jankowsky 2021) in Morocco and elsewhere, our symposium could also welcome work on female practices in similar popular genres in North Africa (e.g. figures such as Rainette l'Oranaise, Everett 2023) and in the Amazigh world (such as the practice of izran in the Rif, Fatoum 2023).

Our second topic looks at the role of women in the emergence, transmission and practice of ša‘bī, both in Morocco and in diaspora communities. Traditionally, Moroccan repertoires follow a gendered distribution of roles: music is sometimes played by men only (Davila 2013, Aydoun 2016, Witulski 2018), sometimes by women (Baldassare 1999, Brint Joseph 2003, Ciucci 2005); in other cases, men and women may have different musical roles (Génini 1988, El Mazned 2017); and in more recent genres (Salois 2014), both sexes may occupy the same musical positions

Questioning the place of women (Kapchan 1996) inevitably leads to questioning gender and the role of men (Ciucci 2022). Throughout history, gendered constructions have been shaped and reinforced by musical practice, but also mobilised and negotiated in situations of ambiguity and transgression such as queer practices (El Hakim & Nawny 2023). In this way, the conference will also address the themes of non-adherence to gendered societal norms and the gender fluidity made possible by certain musical practices.

These topics will be discussed from a perspective combining artistic and academic disciplines, both in Morocco and in the diaspora. Hicham Aidi (2023) states that decolonizing knowledge on Moroccan music "would call for a re-evaluation of Moroccan popular culture, listing a range of artists, figures and practices that needed reassessment", while stressing that this process is already underway for genres such as ‘aiṭa (quoting Najmi 2007). We also believe that working from the Moroccan diaspora, in conjunction with cultural and community stakeholders, can provide other perspectives and nuance dichotomies such as global North/South, Western/Eastern, Arab/European and to bring into play the complexities of post-colonial reality by addressing questions of relocation (Zibouh 2021, Guillot 2023), transnational circulations (El Asri 2011, Everett 2023) and resistance (Portelli & Sechehaye 2022). 

Perspectives also depend on access to first-hand information in the field, which is often limited by the gender, origin and/or status of the interviewers. With this in mind, we feel it is important to highlight the multiplicity of voices of male and female researchers, whether of Moroccan origin or not, living in Morocco or not, taking into account the different levels and qualities of access to the diversity of fields, accounts and immersion experiences. Therefore, our conference welcomes proposals for individual papers and panels. As part of the wider Chaabi Habibi festival, non-academic proposals and cultural programming (concerts, screenings, workshops). 

Submission guidelines

Topics can include but are not reduced to following aspects:

  • Ša‘bī music history within and outside Morocco: Emergence, influences and key figures, commercial aspects, circulations, performance contexts
  • Ša‘bī music: Description and analysis of pieces, regional styles, categorization, study of old and new instruments, musical timbres and techniques, links with other musical genres and their aesthetics
  • Ša‘bī textual and poetic content: analysis of lyrics, poetic forms, analysis of languages
  • Gender in ša‘bī music: roles, aesthetics, functions and transformation
  • Dance, bodies and embodied knowledge in ša‘bī
  • As part of the wider Chaabi Habibi Festival: artistic reflection, creation, performance, documentary and/or exhibition on ša‘bī music and its heritage

Abstracts

  • Individual proposals, joint communications, panels, roundtables, screenings or artistic performances proposals are welcome.
  • Papers may be delivered in English and French, if possible with a PowerPoint.

Abstracts should be sent to womeninmoroccanchaabi2024@gmail.com

by 15 April 2024

They must include the language and title of the proposal. For the papers, an abstract in English or French (300 words max) and a biography (100 words max) of each speaker.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 30 May.

Please note that all expenses (transport, accommodation, meals) are the responsibility of the participants. If this is an obstacle to your attendance, please contact us at womeninmoroccanchaabi2024@gmail.com

Keynotes    

  • Alessandra Ciucci, Columbia University, USA
  • Vanessa Paloma Elbaz, University of Cambridge, UK
  • Ghassan El-Hakim & Amine Nawny, Kabareh Cheikhates, MA
  • Fatima Zibouh, Université de Liège, BE

Artists    

  • B’net Chaabi Orchestr
  • Essaouira Mogador
  • Fatmas de Belgica
  • Bab’Zouz
  • Kabareh Cheikhates

Scientific committee

  • Laïla Amezian (HalfmOon)
  • Marie-Alexis Colin (ULB, Laboratoire de Musicologie)
  • Edouard Degay Delpeuch (ULB, Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Mondes Contemporains / Fassiphone)
  • Sami Everett (Aix-Marseille Université / University of Cambridge)
  • Allia Guillot (Sorbonne Université)
  • Caroline Marcoux-Gendron (Université du Québec à Montréal / OICRM)
  • Marco Martiniello (Université de Liège, Centre d’Etudes de l’Ethnicité et des Migrations)
  • Hélène Sechehaye (FNRS / ULB, Laboratoire de Musicologie)
  • Stéphanie Weisser (ULB, Laboratoire de Musicologie)
  • Fatima Zibouh (Université de Liège, Centre d’Etudes de l’Ethnicité et des Migrations)

Organising committee

  • Laïla Amezian (HalfmOon)
  • Edouard Degay Delpeuch (ULB / Fassiphone)
  • Marie-Alexis Colin (ULB)
  • Xavier Luffin(ULB)
  • Marco Martiniello (ULiège)
  • Hélène Sechehaye (FNRS/ULB)

Partners

  • Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique
  • HalfmOon asbl
  • Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences Sociales (ULB)
  • Institut des Hautes Etudes de Belgique
  • Observatoire Interdisciplinaire de Création et de recherche en Musique (UMontréal)
  • Laboratoire de Musicologie de l’ULB
  • ULB Culture
  • Observatoire des Mondes Arabes et Musulmans de l’ULB
  • Université de Liège
  • Centre d’Etudes de l’Ethnicité et des Migrations
  • ICTMD Belgium, Société belge de Musicologie

Bibliography

Aidi, Hisham. 2023. "Decolonizing Gnawa Music." In Souffles Monde 1 [ https://www.soufflesmonde.com/posts/decolonizing-gnawa-music, acc. 7 Dec. 2023].

Aydoun, Ahmed. 2016. Musiques du Maroc. Casablanca: Eddif.

Baldassare, Antonio. 1999. "With the Daughters of the Houara (Morocco): from fieldwork to World Music." Music and Anthropologyhttps://www.umbc.edu/MA/index/number4/baldassarre/baldae11.htm, acc. 4 April, 2021.

Brint Joseph, Terri. 2003. "Poetry as Strategy of Power: the Case of Riffian Berber Women." In Music and Gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean, ed. by Tullia Magrini. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 233-250.

Centre National de la Musique. 2023. État des Lieux de la présence des femmes dans la filière musicale. Paris: Centre National de la Musique. 

Ciucci, Alessandra. 2005. "Les musiciennes professionnelles au Maroc." Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie 18, 183-200.

  • 2022. The Voice of the Rural. Music, Poetry, and Masculinity Among Migrant Moroccan Men in Umbria. Chicago – London: The University of Chicago Press.

Davila, Carl. 2013. Al-Āla: History, Society and Text. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag.

El Asri, Farid. 2011. Islam en musiques. Constructions identitaires et champ musical européen. PhD diss., Université Catholique de Louvain.

Elbaz, Vanessa Paloma. 2021. "Popular Music in Morocco. A Common Language between Jews and Muslims." Seminar hosted by the University of Connecticut and the Université Internationale de Rabat.

El-Hakim, Ghassan and Amine Nawny/Cheikha Warda. 2023. Workshop "Initiations Kabareh Cheikhats" given during Festival Voix de Femmes, Liège (Belgium).

El Mazned, Brahim (ed.) 2017. Aïta. Chikhates et Chioukhs de l’Aïta. [Agadir]: Atlas Azawan.

Everett, Sami. 2023. ""Zouj": Dialogical Interactions in Judeo-Arab maghribi popular music." 14th Symposium of the ICTM Mediterranean Music Study Group, Marseille.

Fatoum, 2023. Izran Amazigh Poetry. Given at an ICTMD Talk at Muziekpublique (Brussels). 

Génini, Izza. 1988. Aita. Maroc/France: OHRA, 27’. 

Guillot, Allia. "La 'fusion' gnawa: une étude ethnomusicologique dans les diasporas marocaines." Ethnomusicology seminar, Sorbonne Université, 13 October 2023.

Jankowsky, Richard. 2021. Ambient Sufism. Ritual Niches and the Social Work of Musical Form. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Kapchan, Deborah. 1996. Gender on the Market. Moroccan Women and the Revoicing of Tradition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

  • 2003. "Nashaṭ: the Gender of Musical Celebration in Morocco." Music and Gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean, ed. Tullia Magrini. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 251-265.

Najmi, Hassan. 2007. Ghina’ al-‘ita: al-Sh’ir al-Shafawi wa-l-Musiqa al-Taqlidiya fi al-Maghrib. Casablanca: Dar Tubqal li-l-Nashr.

Portelli, Stefano and Hélène Sechehaye. 2022. Gnawa Rumi: Musica Diasporica Marocchina in Italia. 12-track CD and 72-page booklet. Udine: Nota.

Salois Kendra. 2014. "Make Some Noise, Drari: Embodied Listening and Counterpublic Formations in Moroccan Hip Hop."Anthropological Quarterly 87 (4), 1017-1048.

Sechehaye, Hélène and Laïla Amezian. 2023. "Des idoles subversives: femmes musiciennes sur le devant de la scène ša‘bī à Bruxelles". Revue belge de musicologie 77, 129-150. 

Stirn, Rita. 2017. Morocco’s Women in Music. Rabat: Marsam.

Witulski, Christopher. 2018. The Gnawa Lions. Authenticity and Opportunity in Moroccan Ritual Music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Zibouh, Fatima. 2021. Les expressions culturelles et artistiques des Belgo-Marocains à Bruxelles. PhD diss, Université de Liège.

Places

  • Maison des sciences humaines - Université Libre de Bruxelles 50, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt
    Brussels, Belgium (1050)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Monday, April 15, 2024

Keywords

  • chaabi, migration, Maroc, Belgique, ethnomusicologie, genre, femmes, musique populaire, diaspora

Contact(s)

  • Hélène Sechehaye
    courriel : womeninmoroccanchaabi2024 [at] gmail [dot] com

Information source

  • Hélène Sechehaye
    courriel : womeninmoroccanchaabi2024 [at] gmail [dot] com

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« "Alala Yellali" », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, April 03, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/w5lv

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