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Introduction

Also known as the Maghrib, the geographical region of North Africa traditionally describes the present-day nations of Morocco (including the region of western Sahara), Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. The term Maghrib originates from the Arabic gharb (“west”) and maghrib (“sunset”) in opposition to the Arabic sharq or mashriq (“east” or “sunrise”), typically called the Levant or land east of Libya. Even though Egypt is geographically part of the African continent, it is most often sociopolitically included in the Middle East (see the Oxford Bibliographies article on West Asia). Throughout history, North Africa has been a region of diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religions. These affiliations have often crossed national and geographic boundaries. The recorded history of the region stretches back to the Phoenician sea traders, Carthaginians, and Greeks crisscrossing the Mediterranean in the 1st millennium BCE. The region fell under Roman control from c. 200 BCE to 300 CE after which it came under Visigoth and Byzantine governance from c. 300 CE to 650 CE. In the 7th century, Arab-Islamic conquests took over the region and various regimes maintained control until the 16th century when the Ottoman Turks took over Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia until the 19th century. Morocco continued to be ruled by successive Arab-Berber Muslim dynasties until the 19th century. Starting in the 11th century, and especially after the fall of Grenada in 1492, Muslims who had controlled parts of the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th century, a region known as al-Andalus, were forced to leave. Most migrated to North Africa, bringing with them their so-called Andalusi music traditions. During the 19th and 20th centuries, regions of North Africa became French colonies (Algeria) or protectorates (Tunisia and Morocco) or under Italian colonial rule (Libya). Throughout the 20th century, national independence movements established the present-day nation-states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. There is a growing field of music scholarship dedicated to the study of North African music history, performance practice, traditional, and popular music genres and organology. Most historical accounts of North African music focus on the 20th century onward. Earlier histories of music remain understudied. However, authors have written on music in pre-Islamic and early Islamic history throughout North Africa. Studies of North African music and performance are often organized by genre, nationality, or more localized regions and/or ethnolinguistic groups. More recently, scholars have focused on studies of North African diaspora communities in Europe, Israel, and Canada. Scholars also discuss the role of media and technology, theories of globalization, issues of gender and cross-cultural music projects that integrate aspects of North African traditions.

General Overviews

These works provide general histories and categorizations of genres of musical traditions in North Africa. Al-Mahdī 1986 gives a history of Arab classical music and al-Mahdī 1990, and al-Mahdī 1993 offer discussion of music modes, scales, and instruments. Elsner 1991 looks at the formation of new musical traditions in North Africa, focusing on Egypt and Algeria. Likewise, Langlois 1996, Langlois 2005, and Langlois 2009 give brief, English-language overviews of music genres and the impact of media and technology in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, connecting these musical traditions with issues of morality, nationalism, and language politics. Guettat 1980 gives one of the only French language overviews discussing the music history and genres of the region, focusing on the early history and its connection to the Andalusian tradition.

al-Mahdī, Sāliḥ. Al-Mūsīqā al-‘Arabiyyah: Tārīkhuhā wa ’Adabuhā. Tunis: al-Dār al-Tūnisiyyah lil-Nashr, 1986.
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Gives an overview of the history and development of Arab classical music from the earliest mentions of music in Islamic history until the 20th century. The author organizes the early histories of Arabic music by individual performers and then divides the “modern movements” (al-ḥarakah al-mu‘aṣirah) geographically. Includes significant sections on North African musical history as well as the historical development of various classical instruments and song texts.
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al-Mahdī, Sāliḥ. ’Īqā‘āt al-Mūsīqā al-‘Arabiyyah wa ’Ashkāluhā. Tunis: al-Mu’asasah al-Waṭaniyyah lil-Tarjamah wa al-Taḥqīq wa al-Dirāsāt, 1990.
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An in-depth study of the classical Arabic rhythmic modes, with a focus on the 1932 Cairo music conference. Discusses medieval writers on Arab music al-Farabi, al-Kindi, and Ibn Sina (Avicenna), as well as the changes that took place in these modes following the Cairo conference in the various Arab countries. Includes indices with Arab song examples in Western notation and lyrics.
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al-Mahdī, Sāliḥ. Al-Mūsīqā al-‘Arabiyyah: Maqāmāt wa Dirāsāt. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1993.
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Examines the various classical scales in Arab music, giving their medieval origins in both the Middle East and North Africa. Includes song texts for the various scales. More than half of the book is dedicated to musical studies of the various scales, using Western notation, designed for pedagogy and performance.
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Elsner, Jürgen. “Formation of New Music Traditions in the Arab Countries of North Africa.” Studies in Ethnomusicology 1 (1991): 32–45.
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Reviews various music traditions in North Africa. Elsner examines how religious practices such as Ramadan and mass media developments such as radio and television have impacted music. Special attention is given to the traditions and transformations of music in Egypt and Algeria.
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Guettat, Mahmoud. La Musique classique du Maghreb. Paris: Sindbad, 1980.
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Guettat traces classical music of the Maghrib beginning in the Jahiliyya or pre-Islamic period. The book includes descriptions of poetry, music genres, instruments, performers, and music and society. After addressing pre-Islamic music and poetry, the author focuses on music during the introduction of Islam beginning in the 9th century, Andalusian traditions and the influence of Ziryab, and genres such as muwashshaḥ, zajal, and nūbāt.
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Langlois, Tony. “Music and Contending Identities in the Maghreb.” In Nationalism, Minorities and Diasporas. Edited by Kirsten E. Schulze, Martin Stokes, and Colm Campbell, 203–216. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 1996.
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Langlois discusses issues surrounding music and identity in Morocco and Algeria. His essay includes discussions of music at the local, regional, and national levels. Differences in language, religion, culture, and disputes over borders complicate notions of national identity. Also included in his chapter are social and moral issues surrounding music, the creation of musical heritage through reifying Andalusian music, and brief discussions of genres such as gharnāṭī and raï.
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Langlois, Tony. “Outside-In: Music, New Media and Tradition in North Africa.” In The Mediterranean in Music: Critical Perspectives, Common Concerns, Cultural Differences. Edited by David Cooper and Kevin Dawe, 97–114. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
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Langlois considers the consumption of media and musics in Morocco and Algeria. He discusses the space and place of music within traditional views of morality and gender in the home and community. The author argues music can both transgress and support ideas of morality and gender and that the consumption of music and media creates greater awareness of internal cultural diversity.
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Langlois, Tony. “Music and Politics in North Africa.” In Music and the Play of Power in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Edited by Laudan Nooshin, 207–228. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009.
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This chapter examines gharnāṭī, Gnāwah music and raï in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Langlois illustrates how music in North Africa is interconnected with concepts of nation, religion, and language and discusses the impact of global or “transcultural” factors on the discourse about and transmission and consumption of music.
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Reference Works

Went 1998 briefly discusses the music of North Africa with a focus on Tuareg traditions in the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music volume on Africa (volume 1) and Danielson, et al. 2002 include extensive sections on multiple topics related to North African music spanning Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and the Andalusian tradition in the Garland Encyclopedia volume on the Middle East (volume 6), illustrating how the region stands within diverse geographical and cultural crossroads. Elsner 1994 offers one of the few German-language reference resources on North African music, and Reynolds 2000 discusses the interconnectedness of music, poetry, and literature in Andalusian traditions. Mahfoufi 2007 addresses the rhythms, genres, and examples of Berber musical traditions across North Africa, and Davis, et al. 2005 examines traditions at the national and local levels.

Danielson, Virginia, Scott Marcus, and Dwight Reynolds, eds. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East. Vol. 6. New York: Garland, 2002.
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Various sections of this volume discuss music in North Africa. Topics include raï, Berber popular music in performance, “the use of Western notation in Tunisian art music,” “music of the Maghribi Jews in North Africa and Israel,” Andalusian musical heritage, nūbah in Morocco, “Urban Music in Algeria,” wedding music in the Atlas mountains, Gnāwah and trance performance in Rabat, Moroccan malḥūn, the career of Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger in Tunisia, “Patronage and Policy in Tunisian Art Music,” Tunisian ‘Īsawiyyah and Djerban Jewish music.
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Davis, Ruth, Dave Laing, Philip Ciantar, Abdalla M. Sebai, and Richard Jankowsky. “North Africa.” In Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. Vol. 6. Edited by John Shepherd, et al., 64–81. London: Continuum, 2005.
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Short entries on Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, western Sahara, and Casablanca offer an overview of music in these locales. Entries include a bibliography and discography.
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Elsner, Jürgen. “Nordafrika.” In Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Sachteil 7. Edited by Ludwig Finscher, 223–250. Kassel, Germany: Bärenreiter, 1994.
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Outlines various music cultures including urban, rural, Arab, Berber, trance, and religious ceremonies and popular musics. Includes a section on the influence of “Western” music and a lengthy bibliography that lists publications from the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Mahfoufi, Mehenna. Musiques du monde berbère. Paris: Ibis, 2007.
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This interactive text invites readers to listen to musical excerpts and follow specific instructions to engage with and answer questions about the music. Mahfoufi provides brief commentary on each example of Berber music from North Africa. He addresses topics such as rhythm, genre, the discovery of Berber music by Europeans and the migration of oral and instrumental music from the 19th to the early 21st century.
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Reynolds, Dwight F. “Music.” In Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, The Literature of Al-Andalus. Edited by Maria Rosa Menocal, Raymond P. Scheindlin, and Michael Sells, 60–82. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
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Historical overview of musical traditions of al-Andalus including the muwashshaḥ, zajal, Iberian Christian Mozarabic liturgy, Sufi traditions, and the malḥūn. Also includes historical source studies dating back to the 10th century such as Arabic treatises on music by al-Farabi.
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Went, Caroline Card. “North Africa.” In The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 1, Africa. Edited by Ruth M. Stone. New York: Routledge, 1998.
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Includes brief discussion of music in North Africa including an introduction and discussion of musical culture, performance, instruments and various genres of music and dance in Tuareg society.
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Journals

Several peer-reviewed journals are dedicated to discussing aspects of music and performance in North Africa and the Mediterranean and/or seek to publish research by scholars living in or originating from the continent of Africa. The Journal of Musical Arts in Africa includes a broad range of articles related to music on the African continent. Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa also publishes articles that relate to African music with a special emphasis on publishing new research by scholars from the African continent. Music and Anthropology presents articles and reviews from a range of disciplines on music in the region of the Mediterranean.

Journal of Musical Arts in Africa.
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Published annually, features articles and reviews of books, recordings, audiovisual media, and software related to performance, education, and studies of music on the African continent.
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Music and Anthropology: Journal of Musical Anthropology of the Mediterranean.
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Online peer-reviewed journal that presents articles from various disciplines that discuss the human and social dimensions of music in the Mediterranean. The journal broadly conceives the Mediterranean as an intersection of many borders, cultures, and identities, thus providing a rich context for music research.
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Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa.
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Articles and reviews of books, music, and compact discs on any topic related to music of the African continent. Published biannually and aims to present a “unified African voice for African music research.”
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National and Regional Studies

Studies of North African music are often nation-specific, particularly those studies conducted in the second half of the 20th century, after the establishment of independent nation-states in North Africa. Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria have received greater attention than Libya, an area that remains understudied.

Morocco

Sources dedicated to Moroccan music range from general overviews to studies of discreet topics. Aydūn 1992 and the Schuyler give general overviews of the breadth of the Moroccan musical tradition. Waugh 2005 addresses the role of Sufi dhikr in Moroccan society, Kapchan 2003 focuses on the gendered musical celebration called nashāṭ, and al-Fāsī 1986 gives a detailed study of the history and structures of the al-malḥūn musical tradition. Both Baldassarre 2003 and Langlois 2009 examine the increasing influence of media and technology on Moroccan music and Kapchan 1996 explores issues of gender and socioeconomic class in female performance in the public sphere. Langlois 1999 provides a case study of the female A’issawa musicians of Oujda, Morocco, and how music performance intersects with issues of gender and class.

al-Fāsī, Muḥammad. Ma‘lamat al-Malḥūn. 2 vols. Rabat, Morocco: Maṭbū‘āt ’Akādīmiyyat al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah, 1986.
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Comprises the comprehensive history and development of the Moroccan urban musical genre of rhyming couplets (al-malḥūn). Includes detailed sections on many of the famous Moroccan singers of this genre, song texts, scales, and rhythms and the social role of this music in Moroccan society.
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Aydūn, Ahmad. Musiques du Maroc. Casablanca, Morocco: EDDIF, 1992.
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Discusses “traditional” or “art” music genres such as gharnāṭī, Andalusi, and malḥūn, music of rwais, and “popular” musics such as dances, popular song, Sufi music and rhythmic sections such as the daqqah. The book concludes with a section on “modern” song, “urban” popular music and the eclectic music of the Moroccan group Nāss al-Ghiwān.
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Baldassarre, Antonio. “Moroccan World Beat Through the Media.” In Mediterranean Mosaic: Popular Music and Global Sounds. Edited by Goffredo Plastino, 79–100. New York: Routledge, 2003.
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Focuses on the relationship between Moroccan music and mass media. The chapter gives an overview of mass media and national identity in the 20th century, with a focus on radio and television broadcasting and digital technology after 1960. Baldassarre examines how media transformed local music traditions of popular culture and the effect of globalization on these traditions.
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Kapchan, Deborah. Gender on the Market: Moroccan Women and the Revoicing of Tradition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.
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Kapchan studies the marketplace as a space where women can transcend social and cultural barriers and create a public venue for social and expressive forms of performance. The author focuses on female performance in Beni Mellal, Morocco, and discusses such issues as the embodiment of performance, genres of verbal and nonverbal art, and the effects of social class on female performance.
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Kapchan, Deborah. “Nashaṭ: The Gender of Musical Celebration in Morocco.” In Music and Gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean. Edited by Tullia Magrini, 251–265. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
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Focuses on nashāṭ, a state of celebration related to Moroccan carnivalesque and ludic events. She examines how nashāṭ is coded feminine in the Moroccan imagination and explores the roles of gender and class in creating and producing this celebratory state.
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Langlois, Tony. “Heard but Not Seen: Music among the A’issawa Women of Oujda, Morocco.” Music and Anthropology 4 (1999).
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Describes music and ritual in A’issawa society in Oujda, Morocco, including the practice of ululation, song texts, and accompaniment. Langlois states that the ritual defines gender and class identities in Oujda society and provides an outlet for emotional expression and political power. Audio examples are embedded in the article.
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Langlois, Tony. “Pirates of the Mediterranean: Moroccan Music Video and Technology.” Music, Sound and the Moving Image 3 (2009): 71–85.
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Examines how technology and global media has changed the domestic space of Moroccan culture. Langlois discusses the sale and consumption of music videos, the infiltration of foreign musics and the concept of globalization as observed during his field work in Fez and Oujda.
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Schuyler, Philip. Morocco. In Grove Music Online. 2001.
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Provides an introduction to musical cultures and styles of Morocco. Includes discussions on musical instruments and the traditions of Andalusian, malḥūn, shikhāt, rwais, indyazn, Qur’anic recitation and call to prayer, gnāwah performance, fusion styles, music recording and consumption. Concludes with bibliography and discography. Available by subscription only.
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Waugh, Earle H. Memory, Music, and Religion: Morocco’s Mystical Chanters. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2005.
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Waugh examines Sufi chanters in Morocco and the role of memory in Moroccan Sufi culture. He discusses the importance of dhikr or Islamic remembrance in Moroccan Sufi chant. The author uses the concepts of dhikr and memory as a window into exploring the processes of reinventing local Sufi tradition and culture with a focus on religious texts and the profession and practice of chanters.
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Atlas and Rif Mountains

The Atlas Mountains run through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia and are mostly populated by various Berber ethnolinguistic groups. Studies of Moroccan Berber music are most often organized by region (Atlas and Rif Mountains) or by ethnolinguistic group (see Moroccan Berbers). The Rif Mountains are located in the north of Morocco, stretching from Tangier to the Algerian border and are thought to be an extension of the Baetic Mountains of Spain. Harries and Raamouch 1971 addresses the function of music in Amazigh society by focusing on popular songs and their performance. Lortat-Jacob 1981 looks at communal performances in the Infdwak society and Lortat-Jacob 1980 provides a broader study of the musical traditions in a variety of High Atlas mountain villages. Essyad 1967 examines dance music, instrumentation, and song analysis in the Atlas Mountains, and Joseph 2003 traces the role of gender in public expression among women of the Rif Mountains.

Essyad, Ahmed. “La Musique berbère au Maroc.” In La Musique dans la vie: L’Afrique, ses prolongements, ses voisins. Edited by Tolia Nikiprowetzky, 241–260. Paris: Office de coopération radiophonique, 1967.
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A brief essay that addresses local music traditions in the Atlas Mountains. Essyad gives special attention to dance music, ahidūs of the Middle Atlas and the aḥwāsh in the High and Anti-Atlas, and the role of amateur and professional musicians. The article concludes with discussions of musical instruments and analysis of rhythms, melody, and intervals in the music.
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Harries, J., and M. Raamouch. “Berber Popular Songs of the Middle Atlas.” African Language Studies 12 (1971): 52–70.
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Focuses on popular songs of Amizigh in Morocco. The authors provide an overview of Amazigh music, dance and poetry, and detailed description of the structure, creation and performance of these art forms. Connects the interweaving of verses in popular song with the action of Amazigh women weaving. The essay includes transcriptions of song with transliterated song texts and English translations.
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Joseph, Terri Brint. “Poetry as a Strategy of Power: The Case of Riffian Berber Women.” In Music and Gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean. Edited by Tullia Magrini, 233–250. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
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Examines the role of wedding songs composed and performed by Riffian Berber women between the ages of thirteen and twenty. Illustrates how songs allow women to express thoughts and opinions that may otherwise be taboo in the public sphere. Examples include songs the critique trends in society, such as emigration to Europe, disapproval of the government, or as a means to discourage unwanted marriage suitors.
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Lortat-Jacob, Bernard. Musique et fêtes au Haut-Atlas. Paris: Société française de musicologie, 1980.
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Lortat-Jacob examines the local music traditions among villages in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The book discusses the profession of poets and musicians and music genres including vocal music, dances, and the function of music in community celebrations and ceremonies. The author gives detailed descriptions of musical instruments, music scales, and performance. A glossary of song texts translated into French and a recording of music examples is included.
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Lortat-Jacob, Bernard. “Community Music as an Obstacle to Professionalism: A Berber Example.” Ethnomusicology 25 (1981): 87–98.
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Lortat-Jacob examines the idea of collective music in Infḍwak society in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Notes that the societal emphasis of the community in daily life and traditional celebrations and rituals favors the communal performance of music over professional or solo musicmaking. Addresses poetry, song, and public performance based on his fieldwork.
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Algeria

Few studies offer an overview of the diverse musical traditions in Algeria. Instead, sources focus on specific genres (see Raï and Andalusian Traditions) or specific ethnolinguistic groups (see Kabyles and Tuareg). Sources in this section offer brief histories, song analyses, and examples of and commentary on transcriptions and recordings. Elsner 1991 focuses on classical instrumentation and their origins. Bartók 1997 includes transcriptions of Arab folk music and related commentary from the composer’s 1913 travels to Algeria. Kárpati 2000 provides a history of Bartók’s travels in Algeria and shows how the composer incorporated Algerian melodies into his classical music compositions. Reynolds 1995 and the Langlois article provide overviews of the various genres of Algerian music, including Andalusian traditions, raï, Berber traditions and Arab folk music.

Bartók, Béla. Béla Bartók Studies in Ethnomusicology. Edited by Benjamin Suchoff. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.
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Suchoff published Bartók’s notes and transcriptions from his 1913 trip to Biskra, Algeria. Bartók distinguishes between “city” and “peasant” or “folk” music. He compares music from Algeria to folk music from Eastern Europe. His notes include systematic lists of instruments, musical scales, rhythms, and other observations on music from Biskra. The transcriptions include dance melodies and endnotes that give detailed descriptions on the music samples.
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Elsner, Jürgen. “The Forms of Classical Algerian Instrumental Music.” Studies in Ethnomusicology 1 (1991): 20–31.
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A brief history of “classical” instrumental music in Algeria. According to Elsner, genres such as the nūbah reveal Turkish and Persian influence. Included in the article are several of Elsner’s own transcriptions of tushia from Algiers and Tlemcen and a bashraf from Constantine along with commentary.
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Kárpati, János. “Bartók in North Africa: A Unique Fieldwork and Its Impact on His Music.” In Bartók Perspectives. Edited by Elliott Antokoletz, Victoria Fischer, and Benjamin Suchoff, 171–184. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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Kárpati traces Bartók’s preparation for and travels to Algeria in 1913. Kárpati, who traveled to Algeria himself in the 1960s, includes excerpts from Bartók’s travel correspondence and samples of unpublished transcriptions in the composer’s hand. After Kárpati discusses Bartók’s reasons for traveling and his experience there, he offers examples of how Algerian music influenced the composer’s own works.
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Langlois, Tony. “Algeria.” In Grove Music Online. 2001.
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Offers a beneficial overview on musical styles and genres in Algeria including Andalusian, Sha‘bī, Sharqī, Raï, Berber and non-Berber musics. Includes a helpful bibliography of written sources and recordings.
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Reynolds, Dwight F. “Musics of Algeria: Selected Recordings.” Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 29 (1995): 16–21.
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Provides a brief overview of selected recordings of Algerian music traditions. Reynolds divides the recordings into five categories: Andalusian, Urban Popular, Arabic-language Folk Traditions, Berber and Saharan, and Modern or “Pop-raï.” Recordings date from the 1950s to the 1990s.
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Tunisia

Publications on Tunisian music include historical accounts and descriptions of specific music traditions. Abassi 2000 gives a history of Tunisian music from 1900 to 1950, Chelbi 1985 provides an overview of Tunisian classical and popular musical genres, Davis 1999 presents an overview of Tunisian music history from ancient times to the present, and Guettat 1982 discusses the history and genres of Tunisian musical traditions. Al-Mahdī and Al-Marzūqī 1981 and Davis 1997 discuss the Rashīdiyyah Institute for Tunisian Music, Davis 2009 examines Jewish song traditions on the Tunisian island of Djerba, and Ferchiou 1991 explores performance and music in Tunisian possession cults (also see Stambalī).

Abassi, Hamadi. Tunis Chant et danse 1900–1950. Tunis: Alif–Les Éditions de la Mediterranée et les Éditions du Layeur, 2000.
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Abassi focuses on Tunisian music and dance from 1900–1950, a period when Tunisia was a French protectorate. Offers short descriptions of fifteen artists along with colorful illustrations. The book includes a CD with twenty-three music examples featuring the artists discussed in the text.
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Al-Mahdī, Sāliḥ, and Muḥammad al-Marzūqī. Al-Ma‘had al-Rashīdī lil-Mūsīqā al-Tūnisiyyah. Tunis: al-Sharikah al-Tūnisiyyah li-Funūn al-Rasm, 1981.
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Gives a brief history of the Rashīdiyyah Music Institute in Tunisia, founded in 1934. Includes descriptions of the various activities of the institute, and gives a list of the past presidents of the institute and their notable contributions to the Tunisian literary and cultural scene between 1934 and 1980. Contains the names of various musical groups and composers who studied and taught at the Institute and concerts held there.
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Chelbi, Mustapha. Musique et société en Tunisie. Tunis: Éditions Salammbô, 1985.
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Discusses the state of popular and traditional music in Tunisia. Chelbi examines music genres, composers, and performers and includes an appendix with the Arabic text of songs discussed in the book. The author also notes the effect of mass media on music, how songs are transmitted, marketed and sold, music education in Tunisian schools and institutions and the popularity of music and performers from outside of Tunisia.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. “Traditional Arab Music Ensembles in Tunis: Modernising al-Turāth in the Shadow of Egypt.” Asian Music 28 (1997): 73–108.
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Examines the establishment of the Rashīdiyyah Institute in Tunis and its subsequent influence on regional ensembles in Tunisia. Davis also discusses the institute’s relationships with Egyptian ensembles, particularly the Arab Music Ensemble in Cairo, and the Rashīdiyyah after Tunisian independence into the 1990s.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. “Trends in Tunisian Musical Scholarship: A Critical Survey.” In Music, Folklore and Culture: Essays in Honour of Jerko Bezić. Edited by Naila Ceribašić and Grozdana Marošević, 133–144. Zagreb: Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research Croatian Musicological Society, 1999.
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A short overview of Tunisia’s history stretching back to 814 BC. Davis surveys Tunisian music scholarship including manuscript sources from as early as Ahmed ben Yūsuf al-Tifăshi al-Gafsī’s (b. 1184–d. 1253) Fast al-khitāb fī madārik al-hawās al-khams li-ulī al-albāb. Pays special attention to the work of Robert Lachmann (b. 1882–d. 1938) and Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger (b. 1872–d. 1932), the establishment of the Rashīdiyyah and recent initiatives committed to supporting music research in Tunisia.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. “Jews, Women and the Power to be Heard: Chanting the Early Tunisian Ughniyya to the Present Day.” In Music and the Play of Power in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Edited by Laudan Nooshin, 187–206. SOAS Musicology Series. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009.
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Traces the history of Jewish song traditions in Tunisia, focusing on the Jewish community of Djerba and primary sources on Tunisian song from the 19th and 20th centuries. Also examines how political events and nationalist agendas throughout the 20th century influenced these traditions. For further reading, see: Davis, Ruth Frances. “Some Relations between Three Piyyutim from Djerba and Three Arab Songs.” The Maghreb Review 11 (1986): 134–144.
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Davis, Ruth Frances, and Leo J. Plenckers. Tunisia. In Grove Music Online. 2001.
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Brief overview of the history and performance practice of ma’lūf, Sufi religious traditions, Berber and Arab Bedouin music, and a discussion on media technology and music. Offers examples of modes and rhythms, bibliography, and discography.
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Ferchiou, Sophie. “The Possession Cults of Tunisia: A Religious System Functioning as a System of Reference and a Social Field for Performing Actions.” In Women’s Medicine: The Zar-Bori Cult in Africa and Beyond. Edited by I. M. Lewis, Ahmed Al-Safi, and Sayyid Hurreiz, 209–218. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991.
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Examines various “possession cults” in Tunisia including the congregation of Sidi Bel Hassen Essadli, stambalī and Saida al-Manoubiya. Ferchiou discusses these cults in the context of Tunisia after independence. The chapter concludes by exploring the relationship between the continuance of these practices in Tunisia with socioeconomics and gender.
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Guettat, Mahmoud. “‘Visages dans la musique tunisienne’.” Revue de l’Institut des Belles lettres arabes 45 (1982): 227–240.
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Guettat gives an overview of music in Tunisia, dividing the article into the following sections: Traditional Music (such as ma’lūf, nūbah and muwashshaḥ), Popular Music (examples include music for dance and social ceremonies and rituals), Religious Music, and Modern Music (or music that was influenced by “outside” influences such as music from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon). The author discusses the history, composition, and notable composers and includes tables of scales and rhythmic formulas.
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Libya

The music of Libya is understudied and deserves greater attention. Brandily has specifically focused on musical traditions in Libya in her entry on Libya in Grove Music Online. Brandily 1986 addresses the topic of “popular” music in Libya, including both state-sponsored and local musical traditions. Brandily 1993 provides an overview of various musical genres, instrumentation, and practices since the early 20th century.

Brandily, Monique. “Qu’exprime-t-on par et dans la musique traditionnelle? Quelques exemples libyens.” Maghreb Review 11 (1986): 53–57.
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A brief overview of what is often called “traditional” or “popular” music in Libya. Topics include official musics of the state, descriptions of artisan instrument makers and local or regional musics. Short descriptions of music and society, specifically music for weddings and other ritual ceremonies, and music and poetry are also included.
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Brandily, Monique. “La Pratique musicale traditionnelle en Libye et ses instruments.” The Maghreb Review 28 (1993): 116–134.
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Presents a general overview of traditional music genres and practices in Libya. Brandily includes a systematic description of traditional musical instruments, performance practice, and the function of music in Libyan society. The article draws on research from other Libyan music scholars, reaching back into the early 20th century.
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Brandily, Monique. Libya. In Grove Music Online. 2001.
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General overview of music repertories, musical instruments, and the musician profession in Libya. Includes bibliography.
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Diasporas

North African diaspora communities have grown throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in Europe and North America, in addition to Jewish diaspora communities in Israel. The genre of raï has been given particular attention in understanding the creation and transformation of identity in diaspora communities. See also Raï.

France

The majority of diaspora scholarship focuses on French North Africans in Paris and Marseille. These studies discuss the role of music in creating individual and communal identity in France and the transformation of music genres and styles within these communities. Bariki 1986 analyzes Radio-Gazelle’s programming marketed for the North African diaspora in Marseille, and Gross, et al. 1992 discusses the content and context of the radio programming Ramadan Nights. Derderian 1996 traces the history of music traditions within North African immigrant communities and their descendants in France. Kapchan 2009 looks at Sufi music among females of North African descent in southern France. Both Marranci 2000 and Miliani 1995 address popular music genres, such as raï, and their relationship with the immigrant youth populations in France.

Bariki, Salah Eddine. “Identité religieuse, identité culturelle en situation immigrée.” In Nouveaux Enjeux culturels au maghreb. Edited by Jean-Robert Henry, et al., 427–445. Paris: Éditions du CNRS, 1986.
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A portion of this article discusses Radio-Gazelle, a station that caters to the North African diaspora in Marseille. Bariki describes the station’s music and topical discussion programming and the community’s view of the radio station.
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Derderian, Richard L. “Popular Music from the North African Immigrant Community: Multiculturalism in Contemporary France, 1945–94.” Contemporary French Civilization 20 (Summer 1996): 205–219.
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Examines four stages of North African immigrants in France: transition of migrant workers to more permanent community of families from 1945 to 1974; immigrant children and music as a form of expression and identity from 1974 to 1981; beur music and cultural diversity from 1981 to 1984; and music in light of anti-immigration sentiment in France from 1984 to 1996. Gives special attention to three musicians: Mounsi, Karim Kacel, and Rachid Taha.
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Gross, Joan, David McMurray, and Ted Swedenburg. “Rai, Rap and Ramadan Nights: Franco-Maghribi Cultural Identities.” Middle East Report 178 (September–October 1992): 11–16.
DOI: 10.2307/3012981 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
A brief overview of Ramadan Nights radio programming in France that allows callers to request songs or offer their thoughts on life, politics, and religion. The authors discuss the popularity of raï and rap in “Franco-Maghribi” culture and how music serves as a vehicle to express culture and confront racism and identity politics. The article discusses various musical figures and bands including Cheb Khaled and Carte de Séjour.
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Kapchan, Deborah. “Singing Community/Remembering in Common: Sufi Liturgy and North African Identity in Southern France.” International Journal of Community Music 2 (2009): 9–23.
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Discusses the practice of Sufi liturgy and the presence of Sufi religious community among females of North African descent in southern France. Kapchan considers the challenges being Muslim and North African in a nation where the government promotes secularism and bans “ostentatious” symbols of religiosity in the public sphere.
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Marranci, Gabriele. “A Complex Identity and Its Musical Representation: Beurs and Raï Music in Paris.” Music and Anthropology 5 (2000).
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Examines the relationship between raï and Algerian immigration in Barbès and the 18th arrondissement in Paris. Marranci discusses how raï music is important to the identity of young Algerian immigrants living in Paris and the diversity of raï styles within these communities.
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Miliani, Hadj. “Banlieues entre rap et raï.” Hommes and Migrations 1191 (1995): 24–30.
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Miliani explores the musical style of young singers and bands from North and Sub-Saharan African immigrant populations living in the banlieues in France during the 1980s and 1990s. Miliani discusses how hybridized music styles that mix rap, raï, reggae, and rock allow youth an opportunity to express their views on issues such as racism, identity, and stereotypes of French banlieues and immigrant populations in France.
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United Kingdom, Canada, Israel

In addition to France, scholars have also focused on immigrant communities in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel. Cohen 1987 discusses a Jewish community of Tunisian descent in Montreal, Davis 2009 and Davis 2010 examine Tunisian Jewish musical traditions on the island of Djerba and Israeli Jews of Tunisian descent who conduct an annual pilgrimage to Djerba. Gibert 2011 offers an ethnographic discussion of the North African Arts Association in London, and Landau 2011 explores the migration and consumption of music through the life of a Moroccan immigrant.

Cohen, Judith R. “‘Ya Salió de la Mar’: Judeo-Spanish Wedding Songs Among Moroccan Jews in Canada.” In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Edited by Ellen Koskoff, 55–68. New York: Greenwood, 1987.
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Cohen discusses the tradition of vernacular wedding songs as sung by women of Moroccan descent in Montreal. She delineates the four main themes of wedding songs, erotic, pragmatic, frivolous, religious, and describes the common performance practice of these songs.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. “Time, Place and Jewish Music: Mapping the Multiple Journeys of ‘Andik bahriyya, ya rais’.” In The Musical Anthropology of the Mediterranean: In Memory of Tullia Magrini. Edited by Philip V. Bohlman, Marcello Sorce Keller, and Loris Azzaroni, 47–58. Bologna, Italy: Clueb, 2009.
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This short essay examines the annual pilgrimage by Israeli Jews of Tunisian descent to the Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba. Davis discusses how time and place are understood, experienced, and remembered through the pilgrimage and celebrations at Ghriba. The Arabic model of the traditional Griba song “Shalom nassim baaretz” (“Andikbaḥriyya, yara’is”) is used as a window to view intercultural exchange and migration across the Mediterranean.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. “Time, Place and Memory: Music for a North African Jewish Pilgrimage.” In Music and (Dis)placement: Diasporas, Mobilities, and Dislocations in Europe and Beyond. Edited by Erik Levi and Florian Scheding, 71–88. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2010.
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Traces the music history of the Jewish community from the island of Djerba. She examines the symbolic significance of the music rituals and the repertories and practices that have remained virtually unchanged despite globalization, tourism, and transformations in the island’s population and demographics. This emphasis on cultural memory and nostalgia is a sustaining force in continuing the annual pilgrimage of Djerban Jews in Tunisia and from the diaspora to the Ghriba synagogue and their musical heritage.
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Gibert, Marie-Pierre. “Transnational Ties and Local Involvement: North African Musicians In and Beyond London.” Music and Arts in Action 3 (2011): 92–115.
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Examines the North African Arts Association based in Ladbroke Grove in London as a case study in understanding the tensions between music, politics, and identity at the local, national, and transnational levels among North African immigrants in the UK and France. Topics include the navigation of religious, socioeconomic, and political stereotypes and the use of music to serve various agendas and interests of Maghribi communities.
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Landau, Carolyn. “‘My Own Little Morocco at Home’: A Biographical Account of Migration, Mediation and Music Consumption.” In Migrating Music. Edited by Byron Dueck and Jason Toynbee, 38–54. Open University Sociology and CRESC Book Series: Culture, Economy and the Social. London: Routledge, 2011.
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Landau studies the correlation between music consumption and the negotiation of identity, following the life of Mohamed, a Moroccan Amazigh who moved from Ait Abbou to the city of Fez and then to the nations of France, Denmark, Canada, and Britain. Each migration brought new musical surroundings introducing Mohamed to new genres of music and forms of music marketing and consumerism and mass media.
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Ethnolinguistic Groups

Populations that identify as ethnically and/or linguistically distinct from North African Arabs have unique musical traditions and, except for Gnāwah, are often categorized under the amorphous term “Berber.” Many of these groups transcend national borders and borrow aspects of other cultural and musical characteristics. Certainly, these populations are by no means unconnected. Interrelationships and overlap among ethnolinguistic groups reveal the complexity of North African racial, ethnic, and national identities. The representative sections listed here do not address every ethnolinguistic group in North Africa and many ethnic music traditions of this diverse region deserve greater attention. Studies of music and performance of specific ethnolinguistic groups have focused on the categories of Tuareg, Kabyles, Tashlḥīt, Huwārah, and Gnāwah.

Tuareg

Tuareg societies live predominantly in the regions of the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, including portions of southern Algeria and Libya and northern Mali and Niger. The representative articles listed here concern Tuareg populations in North Africa, mostly in southern Algeria. Nikiprowetzky discusses various genres of Tuareg music in the Grove Music Online article. Brandes 1990 focuses on female performers in the Kel Ahaggar community in southern Algeria and Brandes 1989 analyzes the community’s use of the imzād, a one-stringed instrument played by females. Födermayr 1966–1967 examines melodies, scales, song forms and texts from forty-three Tuareg songs collected in 1935 in the Ahaggar region of southern Algeria. Seddik-Arkam 2006 addresses the impact of upheaval and change in the Tuareg communities in Ahaggar.

Brandes, Edda. Die Imẓad-Musik der Kel-Ahaggar-Frauen in Süd-Algerien. Göttingen, Germany: Edition Re, 1989.
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Brandes discusses the imzād a one-stringed instrument played by female Tuaregs in the Kel Ahaggar community in southern Algeria. The book examines imzād repertoire offering descriptions of its history, function in society, and stylistic characteristics of the melody, rhythm, and performance practice. Brandes includes several pages of imzād song transcriptions and audio examples on cassette.
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Brandes, Edda. “The Relation of Women’s Music to Men’s Music in Southern Algeria.” In Music, Gender and Culture. Edited by Marcia Herndon and Susanne Ziegler, 115–130. Wilhelmshaven, Germany: Florian Noetzel Verlag, 1990.
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The role of gender in speech, dress, musical performance and the making of instruments in Kel Ahaggar Tuareg society in and around Tamanrasset, Algeria. Brandes discusses popular song texts and addresses the relationship between music, family, and society.
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Födermayr, Franz. “The Arabian Influence in the Tuareg Music.” African Music 4 (1966–1967): 25–37.
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Födermayr examines forty-three Tuareg songs, mostly from the Ahaggar region of southern Algeria, as collected and transcribed by Ludwig Zöhror in 1935. The article analyzes song melodies, scales, form, and texts with musical examples and gives brief background descriptions of some of the song examples. The author highlights specific similarities between the Tuareg songs and North African and Middle Eastern song genres, such as the qaṣīdah.
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Nikiprowetzky, Tolia. Tuareg Music. In Grove Music Online. 2001.
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Brief discussion on Tuareg music styles, musical instruments, and the role of gender in performance. Includes bibliography of written sources and recordings.
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Seddik-Arkam, Faiza. “La Musique traditionnelle face à la maladie et à la possession chez les Touaregs de l’Ahaggar (Sud de l’Algérie).” Cahiers de musiques traditionnelles 19 (2006): 139–159.
DOI: 10.2307/40240638 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Examines the impact of upheaval and change in the Tuareg communities in Ahaggar in southern Algeria on music and cultural traditions. The article discusses the relationship between music, medicine, trance and spirit possession. Seddik-Arkam argues that ritual celebrations such as tindi and tazengharet provide a source of identity and community for Tuareg society.
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Kabyles

Kabyles are the largest group of Berbers in Algeria. From the mid- to late 19th century, French authorities and scholars were captivated by Kabyle culture, believing that Kabyles were the preeminent Berbers of North Africa. This resulted in various publications and reports on Kabyle culture and influenced policies and laws in French Algeria. Since the Berber Spring, sparked by a protest in Tizi Ouzou in 1980, there has been a renaissance of Kabyle culture and heritage. Goodman 2005 discusses how Kabyle music has aided in the construction of a distinct Berber identity in and outside of Algeria since 1980. Goodman 1996 examines how Kabyle youth dance traditions have impacted gender relations within the Kabyle community. Mahfoufi 2002 analyzes Kabyle songs collected from Paris, Algiers and Kabyle villages during the Algerian War of Independence, and Mahfoufi 2006 discusses songs collected from Kabyle villages in the post-1962 era.

Goodman, Jane E. “Dancing Towards ‘La Mixité’: Berber Associations and Cultural Change in Algeria.” Middle East Report 200 (July–September 1996): 16–19.
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Discusses how Kabyle youth use dance to create “la mixité,” female-male interactions during public ceremonies and celebrations. Goodman addresses how the varying perspectives on female-male interactions in Kabyle culture. Although “la mixité” may offer Kabyle women greater freedom in society, the performance of “la mixité” is controlled by men.
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Goodman, Jane E. Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to Video. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005.
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Goodman explores the construction of Berber cultural identity through and for the world stage. Beginning with a description of the Berber Spring of 1980 and the reawakening of Amazigh identity among Kabyles and international awareness of Berber culture, the author shows how the circulation of Kabyle songs and texts became an important apparatus for constructing Berber identity, both locally and globally.
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Mahfoufi, Mehenna. Chants Kabyles de la guerre d’indépendance: Algérie 1954–1962. Paris: Séguier, 2002.
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Examines Kabyle songs collected in Paris, Algiers, and Kabyle villages. Mahfoufi discusses their connections to the Algerian War, singers and composers of the songs and the text and musical analysis of these songs. Includes song transcriptions and texts with French translation.
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Mahfoufi, Mehenna. Chants de femmes en Kabyle: Fêtes et rites au village. Algiers: CNRPAH, 2006.
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Discusses Kabyle songs performed during village festivals and social events including birth, marriage, love songs, battle songs, lullabies, funeral, and religious songs. Mahfoufi includes song transcriptions with an audio CD, French translations of Kabyle texts with commentary on the performance context, role of musicians, instrumental accompaniment, and analysis of musical form.
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Moroccan Berbers

The term Moroccan Berbers denotes the many diverse, non-Arab societies and cultures within Morocco. Studies of Moroccan Berber music can also be found under the regional heading Atlas and Rif Mountains. Dell and Elmedlaoui 2008 focuses on the metrical form of musical texts in Berber songs from western Morocco. Schuyler 1984, Schuyler 1979, and Schuyler 1985 have discussed the performance traditions of Ishlḥīn Berbers in western and southwestern Morocco. In all three of these publications, Schuyler pays special attention to the role of professional musicians, rwais, in Ishlḥīn society. Baldasarre 1999 discusses music in Huwārah Berber society in southern Morocco and its movement from the local to the global sphere. Kárpati 1961 provides an analysis of Berber songs collected from fieldwork in the Atlas Mountains in 1958, including song texts and performance practices. Olsen 1997 describes music traditions of Tamazight Berbers living in the regions of the Atlas Mountains, including performance practices and the social context of these performances. Joseph 2003 (cited under Atlas and Rif Mountains) analyzes how females in Riffian Berber societies use wedding songs as a means to communicate social and political critiques and personal sentiments.

Baldassarre, Antonio. “With the Daughters of the Houara (Morocco): From Fieldwork to World Music.” Music and Anthropology 4 (1999).
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Examines the music of Berber women in southern Morocco. Baldassarre discusses gender roles in collective religious practice and describes the relationship between music and social gatherings and celebrations. Lastly, he considers how these distinct music practices have been transformed into a world music genre, bearing the influence of outside musics from Asia and Europe.
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Dell, François, and Mohamed Elmedlaoui. Poetic Meter and Musical Form in Tashlhiyt Berber Songs. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 2008.
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Studies the metrical form of texts in Tashlhiyt Berber songs from western Morocco. Includes English translation of texts, analysis of musical structure and accompanying audio CD of song samples.
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Kárpati, János. “Mélodie, vers et structure strophique dans la musique berbère (imazighen) du Maroc central.” Studia musicologica Academiae scientiarum hungaricae 3.4 (1961): 451–473.
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Based on the author’s 1958 fieldwork in the Atlas Mountains. Discusses the rhythm, melody, harmony, and modes of Berber songs. Notes the performance contexts of songs including specific celebrations and dances. Includes song texts with French translation.
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Olsen, Miriam Rovsing. Chants et danses de l’Atlas. Paris: Cité de la musique/Actes sud, 1997.
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Describes music traditions of Tamazight Berbers living in the regions of the Atlas Mountains. Discusses connection between music and poetry, performance practice, song genres, music in daily life (such as in agricultural work), and marriage celebrations. Relates the lives of professional musicians such as the rwais and shikhāt and notes the types of musical instruments used. A Spanish translation of this book is also available: Olsen, Miriam Rovsing. Canciones y danzas del Atlas. Translated by Icíar Alonso Araguás (Tres Cantos: Ediciones Akal, 1999).
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Schuyler, Philip D. “The Rwais and Ahwash: Opposing Tendencies in Moroccan Music and Society.” The World of Music 21 (1979): 65–80.
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Schuyler discusses music among the Tashlḥīt-speaking Berbers (Ishlḥīn) of southwestern Morocco. He focuses on “professional music” performed by rwais. The article offers information on Ishlḥīn society, poetry, and music. Schuyler argues that the rwais act as mediators in Ishlḥīn communities because their songs texts often offer political, religious, and moral messages and personal narratives from their travels.
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Schuyler, Philip D. “Berber Professional Musicians in Performance.” In Performance Practice: Ethnomusicological Perspectives. Edited by Gerard Béhague, 91–148. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1984.
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Schuyler discusses the professional musicians (rwais) from the Tashlḥīt-speaking region of southwestern Morocco. The essay examines performance practice, structural and topical elements of poetry and music and the social aspects of performance. He concludes by exploring the marketing of performances and recordings by rwais in cabarets, restaurants, movie and tent theaters, concert halls, and on radio programs.
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Schuyler, Philip D. “The Rwais and the Zawia: Professional Musicians and the Rural Religious Elite in Southwestern Morocco.” Asian Music 17 (1985): 114–131.
DOI: 10.2307/833744 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Based on the author’s fieldwork in Marrakesh and villages in the High Atlas and Sous regions in southwestern Morocco from 1975–1977. Schuyler discusses the relationship between music and Islam by examining the relationship between rwais, professional musicians, and zawai, elite religious figures in Ishlḥīn society.
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Gnāwah

Gnāwah societies in Morocco are thought to be originally from West Africa brought north centuries ago through slave trade. Today, Gnāwah music and ritual are performed by various people of Gnāwah and non-Gnāwah descent in Morocco and globally. The studies listed here examine Gnāwah performance including rituals of healing and trance that incorporate aspects of Islam and other religions of West Africa. Chlyeh 1999 provides an overview of the Gnāwah musical traditions, including key figures and practices. Kapchan 2002 discusses the collaboration between a Gnāwah spirit master and an AfricanAmerican jazz pianist to illustrate the complexity of musical traditions in the context of globalization. Kapchan 2007 analyzes the ritual life of the Gnāwah, with special emphasis on female practitioners of the musical traditions. Langlois 1998 examines a specific Gnāwah community in the northeastern Moroccan border town of Oujda. Schuyler 1981 discusses how the Gnāwah view music ceremonies as a powerful means of communication. Majdouli 2007 examines the officials of the Gnāwah, called mu‘allim, and their role in the performance of rituals.

Chlyeh, Abdelhafid. Les Gnaoua du Maroc. Paris: Éditions La Pensée sauvage, 1999.
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A brief overview of the musical traditions of the Gnāwah. Chlyeh offers some background history of the Gnāwah including key figures. The book outlines ritual practices, role of the medium-therapists voyantes-thérapeutes, spiritual possession and trance, and descriptions of Gnāwah musicians and musical instruments.
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Kapchan, Deborah. “Possessing Gnawa Culture: Displaying Sound, Creating History in an Unofficial Museum.” Music and Anthropology 7 (2002).
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Examines the relationship and musical collaboration between Gnāwah spirit master Abdullah El-Gourd and AfricanAmerican jazz pianist and composer Randy Weston. Kapchan uses these two figures as a window into understanding the concept of possession, aesthetics, and culture in the world music market. She discusses how AfricanAmerican history was appropriated into Moroccan history and the processes of creating and imagining historical and cultural identity.
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Kapchan, Deborah. Traveling Spirit Masters: Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global Marketplace. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2007.
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Explores ritual life of Gnāwah, specifically focusing on women practitioners and overseers of ceremonies. The book examines possession, trance, and the practice of Gnāwah music in Morocco, France, and the United States. The author discusses how sound, movement, language, and performance can transform local and global identities and examines how these cultural practices have been commodified in the tourist and world music markets.
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Langlois, Tony. “The Gnawa of Oujda: Music at the Margins in Morocco.” The World of Music 40 (1998): 135–157.
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Draws from the author’s fieldwork in 1994 in the northeastern border town of Oujda, Morocco. Explores how Gnāwah music brings questions of gender, socioeconomics, and identity to the fore and musical rituals are often performed primarily for the community’s less educated and poorer females. Lastly, Langlois discusses how the Gnāwah manipulate their minority identity to form an economic and social niche that capitalizes on their Otherness in Oujda.
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Majdouli, Zineb. Trajectoires des musiciens gnawa: Approche ethnographique des cérémonies domestiques et des festivals de musiques du monde. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2007.
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Discusses the evolution of the role of mu‘allim, officials of Gnāwah ceremonies, in domestic rituals and at the Festival of Essaouira. Examines theatricality in Gnāwah rituals, the performances of Gnāwah troupes around the world, and public reception of these performances.
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Schuyler, Philip D. “Music and Meaning among the Gnawa Religious Brotherhood of Morocco.” The World of Music 23.1 (1981): 3–13.
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Explores how Gnāwah view music as a powerful means of communication. Describes Gnāwah musical ceremonies and rituals, musical instruments, song texts, melody, and performance. Article appears in English and with summaries in German and French.
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Genre-Specific Studies

Studies of specific genres of North African music include raï, a genre that has received much attention, both in examining the genre’s history and practice in Algeria, France, and around the world. Other genre-specific studies discuss stambalī and ma’lūf in Tunisia and Andalusian music traditions throughout North Africa. These categories provide a convenient means for understanding North African music. However, genre categories often overlap and borrow characteristics both among each other and from styles and genres outside of the region.

Raï

Scholarship on raï may be divided into two categories: overviews and history and studies of contemporary issues and debates, such as gender, globalization, and diaspora communities. Daoudi and Miliani 1996 and Daoudi 2000 offer overviews of raï and Virolle-Souibes 1995 recounts the history and spread of the genre in addition to noting popular performers of raï. McMurray and Swedenburg 1991 briefly discusses issues of power and politics. DeAngelis 2003 examines raï as a transnational and maghribi phenomenon, addressing issues of politics, religion, and the music industry.

Daoudi, Bouziane. Le Raï (Raï). Paris: Librio Musique, 2000.
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Daoudi gives an overview of the genre of raï, including its emergence during French colonialism, the importance of Oran as a center for raï and its dispersion into rural villages. The book discusses transformations of the genre, such as “pop raï” and “beur raï.” The final chapters focus on specific raï artists such as Cheb Mami, Khaled, and Faudel.
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Daoudi, Bouziane, and Hadj Miliani. L’Aventure du raï: Musique et société. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1996.
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Traces the history and development of raï as a social and artistic phenomenon in Algeria and France. The authors discuss raï in Oran from 1890 to 1975 with special focus on the genre between the world wars and during the Algerian war of independence. Daoudi and Miliani then examine Tunisian and Egyptian musical influence on raï and developments of the genre after 1975 with recording technology and movie production.
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DeAngelis, Angelica Maria. “Moi aussi, je suis musulman: Rai, Islam, and Masculinity in Maghrebi Transnational Identity.” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics 23 (2003): 276–308.
DOI: 10.2307/1350083 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Examines raï as a complex site of gendered and transnational Maghreb identity. Discusses the constructed relationships between raï, Islam, politics, and the music industry. Specifically addresses the influence of the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) and FLN (National Liberation Front) on raï. Concludes by discussing raï in a globalized context as a world music genre and the masculinization of the genre.
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Langlois, Tony. Raï. In Grove Music Online. 2001.
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Briefly discusses origins of raï, evolution of “pop-raï,” and overview of popular raï performers. Concludes with bibliography and discography.
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McMurray, David, and Ted Swedenburg. “Rai Tide Rising.” Middle East Report 169 (March–April 1991): 39–42.
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Offers an overview of raï cultural politics in North Africa throughout the 20th century. They include a vignette on ways in which Arab music, including raï and Gnāwah music, “invaded” the United States and another on the “ethnowave” where Middle Eastern, North African, and European musicians and music styles mix.
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Virolle-Souibes, Marie. La Chanson raï: de l’Algérie profonde à la scène internationale. Paris: Éditions Karthala, 1995.
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Discusses the international spread of raï from western Algeria. The author explains resistance to and debates on raï, the history of the genre, popular raï figures and the cultural and social significance of this music. Extracts of this book are also published in: Marie Virolle, “The Role of Women in Raï Music.” Music and Anthropology 4 (1999).
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Contemporary Issues and Debates

Contemporary issues and debates surrounding raï include discussions of gender, socioeconomics, globalization, and the transformation and creation of hybrid raï forms such as “pop” and “beur” raï (Marranci 2003, Marranci 2005). Virolle 2003 examines the role of female contributors to raï, giving case studies of specific performers. Schade-Poulsen 1999 presents the genre of raï as a window into understanding the culture and socioeconomics of Algerian male society. Tenaille 2002 explores the dynamics of raï in Algeria and France, comparing communities in Algiers, Marseille, Paris, and Lyon. Schade-Poulsen 1997 and Langlois 1996 present the early history of raï in Oran and its transformation into a global phenomenon. Marranci 2003 discusses the transformation of local raï traditions into what she terms “pop-raï” and its global marketing. Marranci 2005 gives a meta-history of raï, first examining the 19th-century roots of raï in Oran, then tracing the mediation of raï in Algerian immigrant communities in France and the creation of what she terms “Beur-raï.”

Langlois, Tony. “The Local and the Global in North African Popular Music.” Popular Music 15 (October 1996): 259–274.
DOI: 10.1017/S0261143000008266 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Langlois argues that “local” and “global” forms of raï are not fully distinct but, rather, have a complex relationship, often overlapping in meaning and usage. He examines local forms of raï in the “raï capitals” of Oran, Oujda, and “global” forms throughout North Africa and Europe. Discusses how raï musicians and producers utilize technology devices, such as multi-tracking, and borrow “outside” musical styles.
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Marranci, Gabriele. “Pop-Raï: From a ‘Local’ Tradition to Globalization.” In Mediterranean Mosaic: Popular Music and Global Sounds. Edited by Goffredo Plastino, 101–120. New York: Routledge, 2003.
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Argues that transculturation and musical exchange plays a fundamental role in raï music. The article observes the transformation of pop-raï from a local musical tradition to a global music phenomenon with global marketing. The author gives specific attention to the raï figures Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami, Rachid Taha, and Faudel Bellou. Marranci also examines raï in the context of musical exoticism, “postcolonial Orientalism,” and “Glocalization.”
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Marranci, Gabriele. “Algerian Raï into Beur Raï: The Music of Return.” In The Mediterranean in Music: Critical Perspectives, Common Concerns, Cultural Differences. Edited by David Cooper and Kevin Dawe, 197–206. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
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Marranci gives a brief history of raï from the end of the 19th century, examining how internal migration in Algeria from rural towns to urban coastal cities such as Oran influenced music traditions and innovations. The chapter then considers how raï developed and transformed among Algerian immigrant communities in France, especially focusing on what the author terms “Beur-raï” and how this genre expresses unique issues and needs.
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Schade-Poulsen, Marc. “Which World? On the Diffusion of Algerian Raï to the West.” In Siting Culture. Edited by Karen Fog Olwig and Kirsten Hastrup, 59–85. London: Routledge, 1997.
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Traces the diffusion of raï beginning in the 1980s from cabarets of Oran and its migration into the West, thus becoming a “world music” genre. The chapter discusses raï as a cultural commodity and examines the transformation of the social life of raï within local, national and global contexts.
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Schade-Poulsen, Marc. Men and Popular Music in Algeria: The Social Significance of Raï. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999.
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Presents a study of “the social life of raï.” The author uses the genre of raï as a window into understanding Algerian male society. After a short history of raï from the 1970s, Schade-Poulsen discusses how raï became a voice of young Algerian men as they struggled with questions of love, relationships, politics, poverty, and coming of age.
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Tenaille, Frank. Le Raï: De la bâtardise à la reconnaissance internationale. Paris: Cité de la musique/Actes sud, 2002.
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Discusses the genre, recording, and performance of raï in Algeria and France. Topics include precursors to “modern raï,” intersections between Algerian and French politics and the music genre, gender, and performance including a chapter on cheikhas, raï and Islam, and raï in diaspora communities in Paris, Marseille, and Lyon. Tenaille also examines the importance of raï to Algerian identity.
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Virolle, Marie. “Representations and Female Roles in the Raï Song.” In Music and Gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean. Edited by Tullia Magrini, 215–232. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
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Explores female contributions to and participation in raï. She discusses specific female figures, such as Cheikha Rimitti, and offers examples of how gender is portrayed in raï song texts. The chapter concludes by examining the influence of raï on the understanding of gender roles and norms in Algerian society.
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Stambalī

The practice of stambalī music and dance incorporates aspects of trance and spirit possession. Jankowsky 2006, Jankowsky 2007, and Jankowsky 2010 discuss the history and practice of stambalī, aspects of stambalī as an internal musical Other, and issues surrounding the supernatural in academic discourse. Somer and Saadon 2000 examines stambalī as practiced by Tunisian Jews in Israel.

Jankowsky, Richard C. “Black Spirits, White Saints: Music, Spirit Possession, and Sub-Saharans in Tunisia.” Ethnomusicology 50 (Fall 2006): 373–410.
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Based on the author’s fieldwork in Tunisia, Jankowsky examines the trans-Saharan migrations of stambalī trance music. Discusses stambalī as a musical Other in Tunisia and details the ritual aspects of the practice, including the relationship between music, healing, and the possession of spirits and saints.
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Jankowsky, Richard C. “Music, Spirit Possession and the In-Between: Ethnomusicological Inquiry and the Challenge of Trance.” Ethnomusicology Forum 16 (November 2007): 185–208.
DOI: 10.1080/17411910701554021 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Uses Tunisian stambalī music as a case study in how to approach the relationship between music, trance, possession, and the limits of empiricism and academic discourse to understanding firsthand accounts about and experiences of the supernatural.
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Jankowsky, Richard C. Sṭambélī: Music, Trance, and Alterity in Tunisia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
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Jankowsky’s ethnography examines the practice of stambalī, healing trance music in Tunisia. He illustrates that due to the 18th- and 19th-century slave origins of the practitioners, the sounds of stambalī music are not viewed as Tunisian but, instead, as an internal Other. In addition to discussing how stambalī musicians actualize ritual knowledge in performance, Jankowski addresses the tensions of national and transnational imagination and identity.
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Somer, Eli, and Meir Saadon. “Stambali: Dissociative Possession and Trance in a Tunisian Healing Dance.” Transcultural Psychiatry 37 (2000): 580–600.
DOI: 10.1177/136346150003700406 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Discusses the practice of stambalī, among the Tunisian Jewish diaspora community in Israel. The authors discuss historical writings about stambalī and cite their own observations of the ritual practice in a small working-class town in Israel. Somer and Saadon argue that the continued practice of stambalī attempts to reconstruct Judeo-Arab traditions of North African and strengthen the cultural identity of North African Jews living in Israel.
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Andalusian Traditions

Andalusian music-poetic traditions include music categorized as Arab-Andalusi, gharnāṭī, nūbah, and ma’lūf. These traditions are performed in rural and urban regions across North Africa. In the sources listed here, Bougherara 2002 and Glasser 2008 study the history of Andalusian music; Bougherara taking the long view, from the Arabo-Islamic conquests to the present and Glasser focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries. Davis 1996 addresses the ways in which ma’lūf is an ambiguous musical genre that combines art and popular music. Davis 2004 provides an analysis of the historical changes that took place in Tunisian music throughout the 20th century. Al-Hamruni 2003 examines ma’lūf and its historical performances at an annual music festival held in Testour, Tunisia, in the second half of the 20th century. Marouf 1995 is an edited volume that explores various aspects of these traditions throughout North Africa and beyond. Shannon 2007 discusses Andalusian music traditions from a trans-Mediterranean perspective, focusing on how this tradition has been performed and received in Syria and Morocco. Tuwaymi 1980 provides examples of eleven nūbahs and their variations as performed in Morocco.

Al-Hamruni, Ahmad. Tastūr: al-Ma’lūf wa al-Mahrajān. Tunis: al-Maghāribiyyah lil-Ṭibā‘ahwa al-Nashr wa al-’Ishhār, 2003.
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Chronicles the history of the traditional music festival, held in Testour, Tunisia, between 1967 and 2000. Gives explanations and examples of the musical genre of ma’lūf, locating it within the broader context of North African classical music. Includes records of all North African musicians and composers who attended this music festival during its history and the costs, attendance, song texts, and notable performances of the festival.
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Bougherara, Hadri. Voyage sentimental en musique arabo-andalouse. Paris: Éditions Paris-Méditerranée, 2002.
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Bougherara discusses the history of and key figures in Andalusian ṭarab al-gharnāṭī. The book discusses ṭarab during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods and transformations of the music form during the Arabo-Islamic conquests. Other topics include nūbah, poetry, and notable Tlemcen musician Cheikh Boudalfa. The book concludes with lists of musicians, musical examples, and texts.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. “The Art/Popular Music Paradigm and the Tunisian Ma’lūf.” Popular Music 15 (October 1996): 313–323.
DOI: 10.1017/S0261143000008308 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Davis uses the genre of Tunisian ma’lūf to critique the problematic paradigm of art and popular music in the Arab world. Ma’lūf is often attributed to an Ottoman court patron yet has ties to academic and state institutions, social and religious celebrations, and urban popular music. This diverse and sometimes ambivalent musical genre reveals the inadequacies of using labels such as art, folk, traditional, and popular to understand ma’lūf.
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Davis, Ruth Frances. Ma’lūf: Reflections on the Arab Andalusian Music of Tunisia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2004.
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Davis traces the multiple histories of and transformations in Tunisian music traditions from the early 20th century. Examines outside influences from “the West” and Egypt on Tunisian music. Topics include the nūbah, the life and work of Baron d’Erlanger, Rashīdiyyah Institute, the effects of Tunisia’s cultural policy on ma’lūf in the town of Testour post-1956, and the effect of mass media on ma’lūf. Also see: Davis, Ruth Frances. “Reinterpreting Songs of the Past: Ma’lūf Ensembles in Tunisia since the 1930s.” Musica e Storia 5 (1997): 215–229; and Davis, Ruth Frances. “Cultural Policy and the Tunisian Ma’lūf: Redefining a Tradition.” Ethnomusicology 41 (1997): 1–21.
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Glasser, Jonathan. “Genealogies of al-Andalus: Music and Patrimony in the Modern Maghreb.” PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2008.
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Explores the history and migration of Andalusi music, focusing on 19th and 20th century practices of these musical traditions in North Africa. Specific topics include music and print culture, concepts of memory and authority, music and cultural revival, musical practices in Oujda, Morocco, and the genre and performance of nūbah.
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Marouf, Nadir, ed. Le Chant Arabo-Andalou: Essai sur le Rurbain ou la topique de la norme et de la marge dans le patrimonie musical arabe. Paris: Éditions l’Harmattan, 1995.
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Fourteen essays on Andalusi music in North Africa. Topics include music genres, repertory, scales, and structure, poetry and discussions about rural, urban, and local forms and transformations of musics in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen.
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Shannon, Jonathan H. “Performing al-Andalus, Remembering al-Andalus: Mediterranean Soundings from Mashriq to Maghrib.” The Journal of American Folklore 120.477 (2007): 308–334.
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Explores concepts of al-Andalus and Andalusian music in the construction of cultural identity at the local, national, and transnational level. Focuses on the musical practices, consumption, and promotion of Andalusian music in Syria and Morocco. Discusses the history and heritage of Andalusian music and the significance of this genre from a trans-Mediterranean perspective.
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Tuwaymī, al-Ḥājj Idrīs bin Jallūn al-. Al-Turāth al-‘Arabī al-Maghribī fī al-Mūsīqā: Musta‘malāt Nūbāt al-Ṭarab al-Andalusī al-Maghribī. Al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ: Maṭbaʻat al-Rāyis, 1980.
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A series of studies on eleven examples from the Andalusian nūbah song genre and their variations as performed in Morocco, based on a famous text by al-Ḥāyik. Includes song texts, notation, performance instructions, and historical contextualization.
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Popular Musics of the Twentieth Century

In the 20th century, there have been a number of studies published on specific musical groups, some of which represented various political and social movements in North Africa. Al-Sayyid 2002 and Dernouny and Zoulef 1980 examine the Moroccan protest music group, Nās al-Ghīwān, al-Sayyid providing full song texts and Dernouny and Zoulef analyzing the various origins of the song styles incorporated in the music. Mahfoufi 2008 discusses the life of Algerian musician Cheikh El-Hasnaoui and his role in enhancing Kabyle cultural identity. Manshūrāt al-jam‘iyyah al-maghribiyyah lil-baḥth wa al-tabādul al-thaqāfī 2002 is a volume dedicated to Amazigh musical culture, focusing on the music group Ousmane.

Al-Sayyid, ‘Umar. Kalām al-Ghīwān. Al-Dār al-Bayḍā’: Maṭba‘at al-Najāḥ al-Jadīdah, 2002.
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Contains the complete song lyrics for a Moroccan music group named Nās al-Ghīwān, who became popular in Morocco and in France beginning in 1971. Includes an introduction by Moroccan scholar Hasan Najmi, who explains the importance of popular music as a reflection of Moroccan culture and political protest.
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Dernouny, Mohammed, and Boujemâa Zoulef. “Naissance d’un chant protestataire: Le groupe marocain Nass El Ghiwane.” Peuples méditerranéens/Mediterranean Peoples 12 (1980): 3–31.
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Discusses the Moroccan protest music group Nās al-Ghīwān. Their music shows diverse influences including Arab, Gnāwah, Egyptian, and Lebanese and folk musics. Many of their songs are based on popular poems sung in Arabic dialect. Songs also address political and humanitarian issues.
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Mahfoufi, Mehenna. Cheikh El-Hasnaoui: Chanteur algérien moraliste et libertaire. Paris: Ibis, 2008.
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A biography of the life of Cheikh El-Hasnaoui (birth name Mohammed Khelouat, b. 1910–d. 2002), an Algerian musician who performed Arab and Kabyle songs. Discusses El-Hasnaoui’s life, education, recordings, concerts, and participation as a spokesperson for Kabyle music culture. Includes a recording of three audio tracks.
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Manshūrāt al-jam‘iyyah al-maghribiyyah lil-baḥth wa al-tabādul al-thaqāfī, ed. Al-Mūsīqā al-’amāzīghiyyah wa ’irādat al-tajdīd:majmū‘at ’Usmān. Rabat, Morocco: Al-Ṭibā‘ah Phediprint, 2002.
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An edited volume by the Maghribi organization for research and cultural exchange, focusing on Amazigh music in Morocco. More specifically, this volume examines the work of the Ousmane Ensemble, a musical group that toured North Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, raising awareness of Amazigh culture. Includes an index with the texts of many of Ousmane’s songs.
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Women as Professional Performers

Aspects of female performance and performers are discussed throughout literature on North African music. The sources listed here specifically focus on female individual performers or ensembles and the profession of female performers and musicians. Jones 1987 presents a history of female musicians in Tunisia, Ciucci 2005, Ciucci 2006, and Ciucci 2010 explore shikhāt, professional female singers and dancers in Morocco, addressing issues of gender, politics, and social mores. Ciucci 2010 focuses on a specific type of poetry sung by the shikhāt called ‘aita and the interplay of these performances with issues of gender, Orientalism, and sexuality.

Ciucci, Alessandra. “Les Musiciennes professionnelles au Maroc.” Cahiers de musiques traditionnelles 18 (2005): 183–200.
DOI: 10.2307/40240561 Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »
Examines shikhāt, professional female singers and dancers in Morocco. Ciucci discusses the societal concept of honor and the public perception of shikhāt.
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Ciucci, Alessandra. “From Social Marginality to Artistic Centrality: The Case of Moroccan Shikhat.” In Shared Musics and Minority Identities: Papers from the Third Meeting of the “Music and Minorities” Study Group of the International Council for Traditional Music. Edited by Naila Ceribašić and Erica Haskell, 81–92. Zagreb, Croatia: Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, 2006.
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The essay discusses shikhāt, female singer-dancers who are often socially marginalized. Ciucci argues that shikhāt are perceived to be promiscuous and disreputable due to restrictive ideas on women’s roles in society. Shikhāt alter their performance to address male or female audiences. In turn, female audiences relate to shikhāt differently from male audiences. Through performance, shikhāt transcend social mores leading audience members to do the same.
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Ciucci, Alessandra. “De-Orientalizing the ‘Aita and Re-Orienting the Shikhat.” In French Orientalism: Culture, Politics, and the Imagined Other. Edited by Desmond Hosford and Chong J. Wojtkowski, 71–96. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2010.
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Discusses the ‘aita, a genre of sung poetry performed in the regions in and around the Moroccan Atlantic plains by professional female singer-dancers or shikhāt. Ciucci examines how government officials politicized the ‘aita, officially incorporating it into Moroccan cultural heritage in the 1990s. Her essay addresses issues of sexuality, gender, colonialism, and Orientalism in performances of the ‘aita by shikhāt.
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Jones, L. Jafran. “A Sociohistorical Perspective on Tunisian Women as Professional Musicians.” In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Edited by Ellen Koskoff, 69–84. New York: Greenwood, 1987.
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Surveys female professional musicians in Tunisia beginning around the 10th century into the late 20th century. Topics include the history of the qiyān and jawārī (loosely translated by Jones as “singing slave girls”), aljīyā (translated as “Christian slave girls”), sheikhat Umm Bīya, the Rashīdiyyah’s impact on female musicians, the creation of a national “Women’s Day” (Yawm al-Mar’a), and music education for women in the 20th century.
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North Africa
by
Kristy Barbacane
LAST REVIEWED: 05 May 2017
LAST MODIFIED: 19 March 2013
DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199757824-0104

Introduction

General Overviews

Reference Works

Journals

National and Regional Studies

Morocco

Atlas and Rif Mountains

Algeria

Tunisia

Libya

Diasporas

France

United Kingdom, Canada, Israel

Ethnolinguistic Groups

Tuareg

Kabyles

Moroccan Berbers

Gnāwah

Genre-Specific Studies

Raï

Contemporary Issues and Debates

Stambalī

Andalusian Traditions

Popular Musics of the Twentieth Century

Women as Professional Performers

Music

Article

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section North Africa

Related Articles Expand or collapse the "related articles" sectionabout

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North Africa byKristy BarbacaneLAST REVIEWED: 05 May 2017LAST MODIFIED: 19 March 2013DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199757824-0104

Introduction

General Overviews

Reference Works

Journals

National and Regional Studies

Morocco

Atlas and Rif Mountains

Algeria

Tunisia

Libya

Diasporas

France

United Kingdom, Canada, Israel

Ethnolinguistic Groups

Tuareg

Kabyles

Moroccan Berbers

Gnāwah

Genre-Specific Studies

Raï

Contemporary Issues and Debates

Stambalī

Andalusian Traditions

Popular Musics of the Twentieth Century

Women as Professional Performers

Music

Article

Related Articles Expand or collapse the "related articles" section about

North Africa
by
Kristy Barbacane
LAST REVIEWED: 05 May 2017
LAST MODIFIED: 19 March 2013
DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199757824-0104