Haja Hamounia (also known as Hajja Hamounia, Fatima Hamounia, Cheikha El Hammounia) (born 1937 in Douar Hammoun, Morocco; died 2013 in

Safi, Morocco Safi or Asfi ( ar, آسفي, ʾāsafī; ber, ⴰⵙⴼⵉ, asfi) is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of Asfi Province. It recorded a population of 308,508 in the 2014 Moroccan census. The city was occupied by ...

) was a Moroccan folk singer. She was called the Ambassador of Aïta, a traditional

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

genre of song, and known for her purist renditions of the Aïta Hasbaouia in its classical form.

Life and career

Fatema El Kout was born in 1937 to a family of Sufis in Douar Hammoun, a village in the Essaouira region of Morocco. Her mother died when she was young, and she was married off at the age of 12. Upset, she managed to escape to her aunt in

Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...

and obtain a divorce. Here she met Sheikh Jilali, who began to train her in the Aita, and encouraged her to become a chanteuse. She faced family disapproval upon becoming a folk singer, with her father threatening to kill her. She fled to Safi with Jilali, whom she married in the 1970s. She established a music troupe that would accompany her for nearly 25 years. Under the name Hamounia, she began to be known for her renditions of the Aita repertoire. In the 1970s, she attained great popularity for her songs ''Mal hbibi malou'' and ''li bgha hbibi''. In demand to perform at ceremonies of the Moroccan social elites, she was also invited to sing at the wedding of King Hassan II's daughter, Lalla Hasna, in 1994 at

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

. Hamounia was a great exponent of the Hasbaouia mode of Aita, which is in danger of extinction as the number of singers capable of interpreting it falls. Under her tutelage, several talented musicians have emerged, such as Khadija Margoum, another doyenne of Aita, Hajib, a

chaâbi Chaabi ( in Arabic), also known as Chaâbi, Sha-bii, or Sha'bii meaning "folk", refers to different music genres in North Africa and the Middle East such as Algerian chaabi, Moroccan chaabi and Egyptian Shaabi. Chaabi music just means 'music ...

performer, and Cheikha Tsunami. Hamounia died on 2 July 2013 from respiratory illness, and was interred at the Saada cemetery in Safi.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamounia, Haja Moroccan folk singers 20th-century Moroccan women singers 1937 births 2013 deaths