The Berbers of the Haha region have a particular culture characterised by the «ahouach», a type of music, accompanied by songs, dances and a poem called «amarg», with two main instruments: the «ribab» – a one string instrument – and the «nakos» – percussion.

The Gangas, coming from this culture, are black Berbers who have been present in the region since the 16th century at the time when they worked  in the sugar refineries located on the edge of the river Ksob. They perform a particular type of amarg, mostly improvised, accompanied by crotales and drums.

They are the inhabitants of Chiadma. The Berber Regraga were the descendents of the  7 saints apostles of Islam. During a trip to the Mecca, they learnt the new religion and they were told by the Prophet to spread Islam to the Maghreb.
Every spring they carry out a pilgrimage of 44 sacred places that starts around the 22nd March and ends around 30th April: «the spring of Regraga».

They bring the Baraka when they do their «daour» (trip), they practise a ritual of carpophores of the ground and of the ocean. In exchange they receive gifts from the  peasants of Chiadma.
At every stop you can find a fun fair and a souk where you can admire the «halqua», folkloristic shows with singers and dancers –the «chikhates» - that celebrate the « aita» a type of music that comes from the Bedouin singing.

The Daour of the Regraga ends at Sidi Messaoud Boutritiche, in the province of Had Draa, where a spectacular moussem takes place.

The Gnaouas come from different horizons:  old slaves of Morocco, builders who came for the construction of the port and the Kasbah or to protect the Sultan...They took part to the formation of the brotherhood of the Gnaouas of Sidna Bilal. Bilal was an Abyssinian black slave freed by the Prophet, who converted into Islam and who became the first muezzin in charge of the prayer call.

In Essaouira we find this brotherhood in the Zaouia,  which is located in the west part of the city, near the district of Mellah.

We know the Gnaouas through the festivals and though the recognized artists, who play a «profane» music, made of songs accompanied by the crotales, the «qraqeb» and big drums, the «Tbal» that gives rhythm to acrobatic dances.

Originally the Gnaouas practised a type of trance music for the «lila». Similar to the voodoo, this ritual of possession takes place in the night when some «possessed» followers are healed during the celebration.

The musicians invoke the entities – the «mlouk» or «melk» if singular. They utilise a «guembri», a three string lute played by the Maallem as well as the qraqeb, without any drums. Different incenses are often burned according to the entities invoked.

A clairvoyant prepares the necessary accessories and clothes. The mlouk joins the followers in trance who have been covered by their melk’s colours. They place knifes, candels and a bowl of water on him, symbols of its entity that are necessary to the execution of the dance.

It is rare for a visitor to assist to these types of rituals, but we can however dance at the frenzied rhythm of the Gnaoua music and appreciate the words that tell their history and recall their beliefs.

Founded  in Meknes in the 16th century by Sidi Aissa, the brotherhood of Aissaoua is directly connected to the soufie tradition. The ritual, called «Hadra» starts with a «dikr», a kind of mystic poem. The song is accompanied by a guembre, drums, «bendir» and an oboe, «gheita».

It is thanks to the instrumental part that  the ecstatic dances start, the «jedba», as well as other dances that mime the animal world. Sometimes, possession dances take place, the «hadra gnaouia» where the mlouk are invoked to heal the dancers.

The brotherhood of Hamadcha is more recent. It was created at the end of the 17th century by Sidi Ali Ben Hamdouch, their rituals are very similar to the ones of the Aissaoua. Their hadra also starts with a mystic poem like the one that invokes the master of shindig. During the trances that accompany the music some followers harm themselves, they are called the followers of Ahmed Dghroughi, (one of the followers of Sidi Ali Ben Hamdouch).

In Essaouira a moussem of Hamadcha takes place every year and it gathers the groups of Essaouira and from other cities like Safi, Fez, Marrakech...

It is called Malhoun «a large corpus of poems that perpetues a tradition of songs and manuscripts (...)».
Its rhythms come from the arab-andalusian music. The «qasida»  (poetic text) is very often written in Arabic dialect and the songs are accompanied by music and precise rhythms. It is divided into couplets from 8 to 16 vers, and has a short chorus that breaks the monotony of the Malhoun song.

The song is accompanied by numerous string and percussion instruments, as well as violins, luth, Tarija, daff, handqa...

On the 10th day of the Muslim year (month of Moharram)  the Achoura festival is celebrated. It is the equivalent of Christmas, New Year and the Carnival.
During this festival, children cross the city roads and hit the small drums (« tarijat ») made of ceramic and stretched skin. We call it  «dakka».

On the evening of the 9th day in Essaouira groups of people sing poetic, religious and profane songs in their districts, which are called « rzoun ». This festival was the occasion for the two large city communities (the Chabanat in the east and the Beni Antar in the west) to compete against each other with improvisations and insults.

In Morocco the festival of the Achoura takes a spiritual and social dimension. It is a day of sharing and charity that reminds people the obligation to do charity, the «Zakat», in order to assist the poorest.

On the following day of the Achoura the «Zem-Zem» takes place (in memory of the ones who went to the  Mecca). Children have the total freedom of spraying neighbours, friends and passer-by!

More recently, in the 50s and 60s Essaouira became the meeting point of numerous rock legends (Cat Stevens, Jimmy Hendrix...) who started several legends.

It is said that Jimmy Hendrix arrived in 1969 in Casablanca from Paris with 2 friends to visit Morocco. He stayed at big hotels in 3 cities, one of them was in  Essaouira.
The name of the hotel where he stayed remain unknown, some people say it was Riad Al Madina (the former Hotel Pacha) others say it was the Hotel des Iles.

So that the rumours are rife about this short visit: it has been said that he played with the city musicians but nothing can confirm this belief. At the same time, it has been said that he wrote «Castle in the sand» when he discovered the Borj El Baroud, the ancient sultan palace, at the end of the bay. This song was composed in 1967 and his trip took place in 1969!

Even more known is the legend that he wanted to buy the village of Diabat and that he left a long descendant after his stay! These groundless rumours cannot be proven today but they enrich the city folklore.

One thing is however sure, rock legends who came to Essaouira in that period have been surely taken by the city charm!