FOLKLORE: GNAWA OR THE DIWAN OF SIDI BLAL - Descendant of the ancient empire of Sudan

EXTRACT : The "Gnawa" black brotherhoods, the Sidi Blal dîwân of popular Sufism, are part of the musical folklore that belongs to the collective and historical memory of peoples. They are very much alive in the Sud-Oranais region and are widespread throughout the Maghreb...

THE HISTORY OF THE AIN-SEFRA DIWAN The history of the Sidi Blal dîwân in Ain-Sefra is intertwined with that of the first Sudanese to arrive from the southern Saoura, northern Algeria and Morocco in the last third of the 18th century. Cheikh Ziane Mohammed, who died in 1995 at the age of 85, a musician in the master's cultural lineage who became a drummer in a jazz band in the 1940s, has the following account of his father Barka...

MAAROUF CELEBRATION In Ain-Sefra, the festival is celebrated on the Thursday closest to the September full moon. Usually, a month in advance, dancing tours are organized to collect money to buy the animals to be slaughtered for the "maârouf", as well as semolina and flour for the couscous. At the maqam, everyone got together for the carnival tour. The weather that day was sunny. In a colorful atmosphere, a large crowd took part in this itinerant festival that lit up the streets of the town, led by women of Sudanese origin, mixed-race "houriates" and white adepts, who carried small baskets filled with gray salt that they spread on the ground. Fanned out in front of them were the standards, followed by the animals to be immolated, held securely with ropes by affiliated young costals. The fowl were held at the feet by black cords, and the ram and billy goat had their foreheads adorned with azure-colored silk scarves called "tmama", donated by the devotees. At the front, the black bull was adorned with pieces of scarlet silk. Hanging from the horns were rosaries made of coral, small shells and copper amulets...

THE SACRIFICE The muqaddem moved towards the circle. He purified the animals to be immolated with water, washing their mouths and genitals. They were incensed while the small "jawi" benzoin brazier was passed over them. He took the bowls and, one by one, threw the henna and rice flour towards the four cardinal points, starting from the south with a wooden spoon, then put benzoin on the cassolette to purify the blades. After the incantation, a black woman brought forward a porcelain bowl, which she presented to him...

THE DIWAN ORGANIZATION In Ain-Sefra, in addition to the main open-air festival, there are dancing tours to collect money, and the occasional festival to ask for rain. The dîwân, can meet according to the case: For the healing of a sick person touched by the genies, religious or national holidays, invitations to weddings or in the home of one of its members for ecstatic "jdeb" dance sessions. We invoke Sidi Moussa-el-Bahri, Sidi Abdelkader Jilani, Ouali allah Baba Merzoug, Sidi Hamou...To take part in the ceremonies, you must be in a state of ritual purity and barefoot, and avoid talking and laughing. Inside the "maquam", the "qarqabou" and the "guimbri", a Sudanese threestring guitar with a warm, discreet sound, are played. The guimbri is responsible for the melodic line, whose contrast with the violent rhythm of the "qarqabou" contributes to establishing a mystical atmosphere. The "guimbri" player is one of the most sacred characters, holder of the tunes and songs that correspond to the various "douk-an-nâs" - Those People There - Genies, who, at his call, will come to possess the dancers...

THE PARTY Thursday saw several dîwan sessions to which Saïda affiliates were invited, led by the doyen of Algeria's Gnawa, the revered "Kano", over a hundred years old. He showed his baraka by performing several dances. The atmosphere was lyrical and cordial. It was mind-blowing. There was more order and rigor. All the scenes were filmed by a local camera. To the tune of "salat-ala-nbi", which opens the sessions, comes the tune of "Nagzou Nana Bari", with the dancers entering "boulala", clasping their hands behind their backs, but in a rather decorative fashion. Within 15 minutes, they were in a trance, flogging themselves to exhaustion, followed by the tune of "Changarmama", with its dangerous game of knives stuck in the belly in an abracadabratic manner. A true spectacle reminiscent of Voodoo séances...

This festival of the Sidi Blal dîwan in Aïn-Sefra is considered to be the first of its kind in the history of national folklore.

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La Perle du Désert publié à Londres et traduit à Berlin en 6 langues européennes.  8 eme récit historique : P.63 - Trad. Anglais.