Young Moroccan women are reviving the centuries-old art of Gnaoua, a spiritual musical repertoire previously reserved for men.
It earned widespread prominence after being designated as intangible cultural treasure by UNESCO in 2019.
“Why shouldn’t women be part of this dynamic?” asked Asma Hamzaoui at the Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira, a southern coastal city steeped in the musical tradition.
The 26-year-old Casablanca native is one of the first women to perform Gnaoua, which blends African rhythms with spiritual chants and poetry.
Her father, a Gnaoua master, initiated her into the artform at a young age.
“I’ve accompanied him to his evening gatherings since I was seven years old,” recounted the young woman, who in 2012 formed the group “Bnat Timbouktou”, or The Girls of Timbuktu.
“I gradually learned to play the guembri, a three-stringed lute made of camel skin. My father made sure that I learned as much as possible before I flew solo.”
The all-female ensemble astonished the audience, featuring Hamzaoui on vocals and the guembri, as well as four musicians on qraqeb steel castanets.
They performed alongside the Amazones d’Afrique, another all-female Mali group.
