Reviewed by:

• Blackness in Morocco: Gnawa Identity Through Music and Visual Culture by Cynthia J. Becker
• Cleo Jay

Since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, North Africa has been the topic of many books and articles, often focused on the role of women and ethnic groups in the revolts. In particular, Amazigh (Berber) minorities have become more visible after years of being marginalized; for example, they achieved official recognition of their languages and specific heritage in several countries. However, very little has been written about Black communities, despite the vibrant, popular Gnawa cultural movement in Morocco. In the racially-charged context of North Africa, Black immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa often face suspicion and discriminatory practices from majoritarian communities, police forces, and governments. With a growing number of migrants and refugees trying to cross into Europe, North African states are placed under tremendous pressure, and this creates tensions between local communities and new arrivals.

Cynthia Becker’s new book, Blackness in Morocco: Gnawa Identity through Music and Visual Culture is a welcome, needed, and topical addition to research on North African identities and contemporary culture. More specifically, it ties performance and music practices to the issue of race and the history of slavery, bringing a new outlook to studies on Gnawa communities and their history. It is an essential read for anyone interested in North African cultural and performance heritage, and, more generally, minority and race studies.

Becker takes a fieldwork-focused approach to research, bringing to the fore the voices of minorities that are often excluded from national discourse. She adopts an ethnographic methodology, fully immersing herself within communities for long periods of time and documenting practices that are central to their sense of identity. Blackness in Morocco focuses on Gnawa performance practices and their spiritual rituals, both unique within the North African cultural landscape. Her previous book Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity (2006) looked at the quotidian lives of women in marginalized areas, who play a vital role in preserving local dialects and traditions. Some of the key themes of this earlier research reappear here: a focus on marginalized groups, particularly women, and the idea of empowerment through creative or spiritual practices. Becker particularly teases out the ways differences are celebrated through performance, and how African ancestral heritage perpetuates despite postcolonial policies that sought to streamline North African identities around a pan-Arab ideology.

‘Gnawa’ in Morocco can carry a number of different meanings: a specific type of musical performance that usually involves drumming, spiritual events, or, more generally, a descriptor for Black Moroccan communities. Gnawa, Becker writes, is “a connection to Blackness…[with] a mythological and symbolic quality”; it is, she continues, a marker both of ‘Otherness’ and authenticity (4), with this latter term understood as emerging through hereditary lines within families of spiritual practitioners and musicians. Descended from Black African slaves, the Gnawa community developed its own codes and rites, different from mainstream Moroccan culture, while, at the same time, playing a very specific role within it. Renowned and sought out specifically for their musical skills and healing powers, Gnawa people inspire respect and awe within majoritarian Moroccan culture.

A key strength of Becker’s book is her decades long commitment to the community and her rigorous research process. She spent years attending events and interviewing musicians, spiritual healers, diviners, and other members of the Gnawa community. Becker discusses the Orientalist lens through which Gnawa performances are often viewed, as well as their contemporary commercialization as part of a growing tourist industry. To avoid a voyeuristic position, she adopts a participatory role, fully partaking in the performances and rituals about which she later writes. She also particularly focuses on the experience of female practitioners, notably absent from much of the existing literature. Indeed, Blackness in Morocco includes one of the few contemporary accounts describing a ‘lila,’ spirit possession events that are central to Gnawa spiritual practices. Her work provides us with a rare and detailed insight into these ceremonies, which are usually closed to outsiders, a point to which I return below...

审阅者：

• 摩洛哥的黑人：通过音乐和视觉文化的格纳瓦身份（Cynthia J. Becker）
• 克莱奥·杰伊

自 2011 年阿拉伯之春起义以来，北非一直是许多书籍和文章的主题，通常关注妇女和少数民族群体在起义中的作用。特别是，阿马齐格（柏柏尔）少数民族在多年被边缘化之后变得更加引人注目；例如，他们的语言和特定遗产在一些国家得到了官方承认。然而，尽管摩洛哥的格纳瓦文化运动充满活力、流行，但关于黑人社区的文章却很少。在北非充满种族歧视的背景下，来自撒哈拉以南非洲的黑人移民经常面临来自多数社区、警察部队和政府的怀疑和歧视行为。随着越来越多的移民和难民试图进入欧洲，北非国家面临巨大压力，这导致当地社区和新移民之间关系紧张。

辛西娅·贝克尔的新书《摩洛哥的黑人：通过音乐和视觉文化实现格纳瓦身份》是对北非身份和当代文化研究的欢迎、必要和热门补充。更具体地说，它将表演和音乐实践与种族问题和奴隶制历史联系起来，为格纳瓦社区及其历史的研究带来了新的前景。对于任何对北非文化和表演遗产，以及更广泛的少数民族和种族研究感兴趣的人来说，这是一本必读的书。

贝克尔采取以实地考察为重点的研究方法，使经常被排除在国家话语之外的少数群体的声音脱颖而出。她采用民族志方法，长期完全沉浸在社区中，记录对他们的身份感至关重要的实践。摩洛哥的黑人注重格纳瓦 (Gnawa) 的表演实践及其精神仪式，这两者在北非文化景观中都是独一无二的。她的上一本书《摩洛哥的阿马齐格艺术：塑造柏柏尔身份的女性》（2006 年）着眼于边缘化地区妇女的日常生活，她们在保护当地方言和传统方面发挥着至关重要的作用。这项早期研究的一些关键主题在这里再次出现：关注边缘化群体，特别是女性，以及通过创造性或精神实践赋予权力的想法。贝克尔特别梳理了通过表演来庆祝差异的方式，以及尽管后殖民政策试图围绕泛阿拉伯意识形态简化北非身份，但非洲祖先的遗产如何得以延续。

在摩洛哥，“Gnawa”可以承载多种不同的含义：一种特定类型的音乐表演，通常涉及鼓乐、精神活动，或者更一般地说，是对摩洛哥黑人社区的描述。贝克尔写道，格纳瓦是“与黑人的联系……具有神话和象征意义”；她继续说道，它是“他者性”和真实性的标志（4），后一个术语被理解为通过精神实践者和音乐家家庭的世袭传承而出现。格纳瓦社区是非洲黑人奴隶的后裔，他们制定了自己的规范和仪式，与摩洛哥主流文化不同，同时在其中发挥着非常特殊的作用。格纳瓦人因其音乐技巧和治愈能力而闻名并受到特别追捧，他们在摩洛哥多数文化中激发了尊重和敬畏。

贝克尔这本书的一个关键优势是她数十年来对社区的承诺和严格的研究过程。她花了数年时间参加活动并采访音乐家、精神治疗师、占卜师和格纳瓦社区的其他成员。贝克尔讨论了人们经常通过东方主义视角来观看格纳瓦表演，以及作为不断发展的旅游业一部分的当代商业化。为了避免偷窥的立场，她采取了参与性的角色，充分参与了她后来所写的表演和仪式。她还特别关注女性从业者的经历，特别是现有的许多文献中都没有提到这一点。事实上，《摩洛哥的黑人》是当代为数不多的描述“lila”的叙述之一，“lila”是格纳瓦精神实践的核心精神附身事件。她的作品为我们提供了对这些仪式的罕见而详细的了解，这些仪式通常不对外人开放，我将在下面回到这一点......