Gnawa-Events in Utrecht

Gnawa is a spiritual and rhythmic music genre originating from Morocco, rooted in the ancestral traditions of enslaved Sub-Saharan West Africans. Central to its sound is the three-stringed sintir or guembri lute, providing deep, percussive bass lines accompanied by the metallic, clattering rhythms of qraqeb castanets. Characterized by hypnotic, repetitive cycles and call-and-response vocals, the music typically serves a ritualistic purpose to induce healing trances during ceremonies known as lila. While traditionally sacred, Gnawa has evolved into a significant global influence, sharing profound semantic links with the blues and jazz through its structural focus on syncopation and soulful expression within its traditional context.