Luciano Bertoluzzi

Darbuka (also called tabla/doumbek) here denotes a performance‑centered drumming style built around the Middle Eastern/North African goblet drum, whose modern solo/ensemble practice crystallized in mid‑20th‑century Egypt alongside raqs sharqi (belly dance). It features agile fingertip technique, driving iqaʿāt (rhythmic cycles) such as Maqsum, Baladi/Masmudi Saghir, Saʿidi, Malfuf and Ayoub, and call‑and‑response with dancers and melodic ensembles. The instrument itself is ancient—attested in Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian cultures—while contemporary practice distinguishes Egyptian (rounded rim) and Turkish (hard, exposed rim) builds that enable different articulations and ornaments. Recent decades saw a “split‑hand”/“split‑finger” revolution (pioneered by Mısırlı Ahmet) that expanded speed, rolls, and concert‑solo idioms, pushing the darbuka from folk/dance contexts to stages with symphony orchestras and jazz/world‑fusion settings.

Gnawa is a spiritual, trance-based music of Morocco associated with the Gnawa brotherhoods, a community with roots in sub‑Saharan Africa and Sufi Islam. It centers on a deep, percussive bass lute called the guembri (also known as sintir or hajhuj), the bright metallic clatter of iron castanets (qraqeb/krakebs), unison handclaps, and call‑and‑response vocals. Performances often unfold in an all‑night ritual called a lila (derdeba), where cyclical 6/8 grooves and repetitive chants invite communal participation and induce a trance state. The repertoire invokes saints and ancestral spirits (mluk), moving through color-coded suites and intensifying rhythmic layers. While firmly rooted in West African rhythmic sensibilities, Gnawa also absorbs Maghrebi and Sufi aesthetics, producing a sound that is both devotional and intensely groove‑driven.