Moroccan Mysticism: An Infusion of Judaism and Islam

Morocco is one of the most culturally rich countries in the world due to its extensive history; one major reason for its rich cultural heritage is due to the fact that numerous empires controlled the country over the centuries, and each ruler established different policies toward the foreign communities occupying the territory. Because of this history, Morocco today is an infusion of numerous different peoples, religions, cultures, and traditions from throughout the world, and these diverse cultures are still evident in the culture today. These cultures include the native North African Amazigh people, the Gnawa people, Arabs, Europeans, and until recently a large Jewish population. Accompanying this diverse population of people were the religions of Islam, Judaism, and to some extent repercussions of Christianity from Europe. Because these cultures and religions coexisted in close proximity for such a long period of time, overtime they came to share mutual practices that all sects claimed to own; one major area which shared commonalities among the different religions and peoples are Morocco’s saints and spirits.

Two major religions that shared spiritual and cultural practices and still continue to do so today are Islam and Judaism. Although in the 1900s many of the Moroccan Jews moved out of the country to either Israel to Europe, they still maintained rich cultural traditions that date back to ancient times in Morocco. For Bruce Maddy:

“According to Moroccan Muslim collective memory, Moroccan Jews are native to the country, pre-dating the arrival of Islam, and essentially going back to the beginning of recorded history, a status rarely enjoyed by Jews elsewhere… the ancient history of Jews of North Africa in general and Morocco in particular is underpinned by a corpus of legends drawing on very old and rich oral traditions”.^[i]

One major area in which Judaism and Islam shared commonalities and still do today is in the arena of spirituality and sainthood. These common attributes are visible in numerous ways, including mystical practices, the worshipping of saints, as well as Moroccan folklore; they are all evident amongst the Arab, Berber, Gnawa and Jewish populations. Haim Zafrani argues that;

“The analogous mental structures of the Jewish and Muslim (Arab and Berber) populations have given rise, in the Maghreb, to a literature and a folklore in which the Jewish cultural substratum and the Arabo- Berber heritage combine together in an original creation”.^[ii]

Today saints are still a popular part of Moroccan culture, and many saints are shared in both the Islamic and Jewish traditions; presently, Moroccans worship over 100 saints that are considered holy in Islam and Judaism and whose origins can be traced from Jewish tradition.^[iii] One great example of this phenomenon that still exists today is a Rabbi of Moroccan origin that is credited with founding the Chavrei Babakuk community, which transformed into a Jewish religious sect called Moroccan Hassidism; this group is still present in Israel today.^[iv] This Rabbi is considered a saint in the Moroccan Hassidic tradition, and Jews and well as many Muslims consider him as holy, for he “embodies simultaneously images of Moroccan saints and Ashkenazi Hassidic rabbis”.^[v]

One interesting aspect of this saint in particular is the culture of pilgrimage that surrounds his followers both in Morocco and Israel. “Moroccan and other North African Jews developed a special tradition of pilgrimage to and hilluloth [memorial feasts] at saints’ graves. In Israel, Moroccan immigrants have preserved and revived this tradition”.^[vi] Although it is not explicitly stated that this rabbi is a declared saint in the Islamic tradition, many aspects of worship that surround him in the Muslim community are common to the worship of other Muslim Moroccan saints. Additionally, the concept of the veneration of saints is common to both Jews and Muslims in Morocco, and the way the practice is carried out is explicit and unique to North Africa. In order to fully understand this concept of saints and veneration, it is important to define what a saint is in Moroccan culture, in order to not confuse this conception with other interpretations of sainthood in different religious traditions:

Veneration of saints plays a central role in Moroccan Jewish life and is an important component of their ethnic identity… [a] saint possesses supernatural powers which enable him to influence events and people and to intercede with God on their behalf. These powers do not fade when the saint dies and can continue to benefit his adherents. Among Moroccan Jews, faith in saints is strongly entwined with the Jewish mystical tradition and with the Maraboutistic element that characterizes North African Islam. What differentiated these… from ordinary mortals was their ability to perform miracles; to cure the sick, eliminate danger, protect, and rescue. A person who had received a miracle often became the saint’s ‘slave’: that is, a special relationship developed between the saint and the “slave” who submitted completely to the saint and accepted his every pronouncement. ^[vii]

In his article regarding saint shrines throughout Morocco, Paul Freeman from the University of California names this culture of sainthood as “The Marabout Cult in Morocco”.^[viii] He further explains in his essay that Marabout shrines are common sights when traveling in Morocco, and are located in cities, mountains, villages, and along rivers that lead down towards the Sahara. These shrines are identifiable due to their uniform appearance, which is that of a small and windowless white dome that often is surrounded by a wall.^[ix] “They are… sacred spots, where a holy man has spent time or is buried… [people] go there to pray and make offerings in hope of receiving baraka, the power of grace from God.”^[x] People travel to these sights to visit for days or weeks at a time, and often many of these visitors suffer from physical or mental disease; these calamities are thought to be caused by evil forces, so the afflicted visit these shrines in hopes of gaining the grace needed to ward off the evil spirits and therefore become healthy.^[xi] Today, many of the saints that are worshipped by both Jews and Muslims are located in cities that historically had large Jewish populations, like Fez and Marrakesh. However, the tombs of many deceased saints can be seen in numerous cities throughout Morocco, including Rabat.

In addition to pilgrimage being a unique aspect of spirituality in Morocco, the veneration of saints also plays a large role in Moroccan sainthood. In his article about saint veneration among the Jews in Morocco, Issachar Ben-Ami states that he has found 25 female saints throughout the country that are mutually celebrated by both Muslims and Jews.^[xii] One thing that both Judaism and Islam share in common regarding Moroccan saints is the categorization of said saints into three sections. The first are saints that are declared as saints only after they have died; the second are saints who were canonized while still living, and the third are saints who appeared to people in dreams and other forms after death and were therefore declared holy.^[xiii] Other than this categorization, there is also a hierarchy of saints regarding their locations within the country. There are local saints, who are worshipped by small villages that historically hold a special connection and affinity for this person; after this there are regional saints who are worshipped by a number of villages or an entire city, and finally there are national saints that are venerated uniformly by all Jews and a large number of Moroccan Muslims, and many people from all around the country go on pilgrimages to venerate their graves.^[xiv] Because of this shared hierarchy and types of saints, the concept of sainthood has been crucial to both Muslims and Jews living within the region; due to this fact, both religions tend to claim ownership of the saints in their respective religious traditions.

Another party that plays a large role in the belief of spirits and thus has influenced Jewish and Muslim culture in Morocco is that of the Gnawa people. Although they do not have much influence in regards to sainthood in Morocco, they have heavily influenced the spiritual culture that exists among different religions and cultures in the region. These people are indigenous to Africa and were forcibly brought to Northern Africa from Timbuktu in the sixteenth century as slaves; thus many of them settled in Morocco.^[xv] This ethnic group of people did not adhere to Islam, although once living and assimilating to Morocco many of them did convert. Despite this fact, the Gnawa people did not abandon many of the cultural practices and beliefs they had held for centuries, including that of spirits. For Chouki El Hamel:

“They combined Islamic belief with pre- Islamic African traditions, whether local or sub- Saharan West African. Gnawa ‘spirit possession’ practices were not fundamentally outside of standard Moroccan Sufi practices, because firstly, the notion of a ‘spirit world’ is accepted in Islam- namely angels and jinns…and secondly, most sufi orders sought a form of spirit possession through study and meditation”.^[xvi]

The Gnawa people often expressed their belief in spirits through their infamous musical genre of “Gnawa music”. This music is characterized by its rhythmic and repetitive beat and is often referred to as trance music because listeners have been known to enter into a transient state while listening to it. The trance begins as a type of invasion, like an unwelcome visitor that violates and takes over the person’s body.^[xvii] In her article about Gnawa trance music, Margaret A. Mills explains that this spirit possession “invokes the historical affliction of slavery”, this affliction being the slavery of the Gnawa people.^[xviii]. However, after this initial affliction the person begins to understand how to master the spirit successfully in order to enter into a transient joy instead of torment.^[xix]

Gnawa music and spiritual traditions not only had an influence on Jewish mystical practices, but they also had a profound impact on Sufi practices within the region; in fact, many of the people that adhere to Sufism listen to Gnawa music for its trace effects. Considered the mystical side of Islam, Sufism is known for its many ritual practices that have affected the spiritual landscape of Morocco for centuries. Jamal J; Elias believes:

“Sufism is one of the most dynamic and interesting dimensions of Islamic religious and cultural expression…[it] refers to a number of schools of Islamic mystical philosophy and theology…they have exerted considerable influence over the varied expressions of popular piety and devotion to shrines found throughout the Islamic world.” ^[xx]

A perfect example of the infusion of Sufi mystical practices, Gnawa music, Jewish tradition, and Islamic practices all into one entity can be found in the historic city of Fez. Every year Fez holds an annual Sufi music festival called “The Festival of World Sacred Music” in which numerous musical talents from around the world perform.^[xxi] The festival is in honor of Moulay Idriss who founded Fez in 809.^[xxii] There is a traditional Moroccan gravesite to commemorate the sainthood of Moulay Idriss in Fez, and this is particularly interesting because Fez was a historically Jewish city. Among the groups who perform include specialists in Gnawa music, and additionally Sufi recitations of the Koran called “Dhikr” are among the music selection; this process of recitation is strikingly similar to Gnawa trance music, for the participants are known to enter into a state of ecstasy as the music and chant increases in time and rhythm.^[xxiii]

In addition to Fez, each year there is a similar music festival is held in Essaouira, however the main attraction of the event is Gnawa music. Many Sufis attend this as well, and the festival is widely known for its infamous trance music in which the audience gradually enters into a trace state while listening to the rhythmic beat of the music. Many people are unable to explain how this happens and attribute this occurrence to an unexplainable phenomenon, as stated previously by Margaret A. Mills in her article on Gnawa music.

Morocco’s immense cultural history is evident in the Jewish, Gnawa, and Islamic population. Despite the diversity of the region however, all three groups share similar practices regarding spirituality that have developed over the centuries as a result of coexisting together. Both Judaism and Islam share the same conception of sainthood, and even share many saints whose tombs can be seen throughout the country; both religions also share the concept of veneration and pilgrimage to these holy sites, as well as a belief in baraka. The best infusion of the different cultures and religions is evident in the Sufi music festival in Fez, a Jewish city, with Gnawa Music as one of its main attractions. History may never know where many of the saints and spirit beliefs originated, however they have equally impacted all the cultures and religions of Morocco.

References:

 [i] Bruce Maddy- Weitzman and Samir Ben- Layashi, “Myth, History and RealPolitik: Morocco and its Jewish Community,” Journal of Modern Jewish Studies (2010): 90

[ii] Haim Zafrani, “The Judeo- Muslim Cultural World in Morocco: Written and Spoken,” Diogenes (1999): 73- 74

[iii] Ben Ami, Issach, “Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco,” Wayne State University Press (1998): 2

[iv] Gil Daryn, “The Chavrei Habkuk Community and Its Veneration of Saints,” Ethnology, Vol. 37 Number 4 (1998): 351

[v] “The Chavrei Habkuk Community and Its Veneration of Saints” (1998) : 352

[vi] “The Chavrei Habkuk Community and Its Veneration of Saints” (1998) : 352

[vii] “The Chavrei Habkuk Community and Its Veneration of Saints” (1998): 353

[viii] Paul Freeman, “The Marabout Cult in Morocco,” Transcultural Psychiatry (1999) Vol. 36 Number 4 : 531

[ix] “The Marabout Cult in Morocco,” (1999): 351

[x] “The Marabout Cult in Morocco,” (1999): 352

[xi] “The Marabout Cult in Morocco” (1991): 351

[xii] Issachar Ben- Ami, “Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco.” Wayne State University Press (1998): 388

[xiii] “Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco,” (1991): 312

[xiv] “Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco,” (1991): 313

[xv] Tom McIntyre, “Music from the Middle East- Gnawa Music of Marrakesh/ Night Spirit Masters,” The Whole Earth Review (1995) : 35

[xvi] Chouki El Hamel, “Constructing a Diasporic Identity: Tracing the Origins of the Gnawa Spiritual Group in Morocco,” The Journal of African History, Vol. 49 Number 2 (2008): 249

[xvii] Margaret A. Mills, “Traveling Spirit Masters : Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global Marketplace,” Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 27 Number 503 (2014) : 1

[xviii] “Traveling Spirit Masters: Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global Marketplace,” (2014): 1

[xix] “Traveling Spirit Masters: Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global Marketplace,” (2014): 2

[xx] Jamal J. Elias, “Sufism” Iranian Studies, Vol. 31 Number ¾ “A Review of the Encyclopedia Iranica” (1998): 595

[xxi] Dr. Bruce Cook, “The 2001 Festival of World Sacred Music: An Annual Musical Event in Morocco Embodies and Reflects Sufi Traditions and Spirit,” International Journal of Humanities and Peace (2001): 54

[xxii] “The 2001 Festival of World Sacred Music : An Annual Musical Event in Morocco Embodies and Reflects Sufi Traditions and Spirit” (2001): 55

[xxiii] “The 2001 Festival of World Sacred Music : An Annual Musical Event in Morocco Embodies and Reflects Sufi Traditions and Spirit” (2001): 54