Jajouka, Jahejouka or Zahjoukah (In Tifinagh: ⵣⴰⵀⵊⵓⴽⴰ) (جوجوكة or جهجوكة) is a village in the Ahl-Srif mountains in the southern end of the

Rif Mountains The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. The mountains are named after the Ahl-Srif tribe who populate the region.

The musical heritage

Jajouka or Zahjouka is well known as home to two Sufi trance musicians groups,

The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar (sometimes written as ...featuring Bachir Attar) are a collective of Jbala Sufi trance musicians, serving as a modern representation of a centuries-old music tradition. The collective includes ...

and the

Master Musicians of Joujouka The Master Musicians of Joujouka are a collective of Jbala Sufi trance musicians, serving as a modern representation of a centuries-old music tradition. The collective was first documented by Western journalists in the early 1950s, and was b ...

managed by

Frank Rynne Frank Rynne is an Irish-born singer, record producer, art curator, film-maker, writer, and historian. He has played in three bands Those Handsome Devils in 1984, The Baby Snakes (1985-1994) and Islamic Diggers (1996- ). He has produced three CD ...

. The music from Jajouka attracted the attention of writers

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

and

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

in the 1950s because the Sufi trance musicians there appeared to still celebrate the rites of the god Pan. Brion Gysin, who had been introduced to the master musicians by

Mohamed Hamri Mohamed Hamri (August 27, 1932 – August 29, 2000), commonly known as Hamri, was a Moroccan painter and author. Self-described as "The painter of Morocco," Hamri was one of the few Moroccans to participate in the Tangier Beat scene. He was bo ...

, propagated this idea. Gysin linked the village's Boujeloud festival, where a boy sewn in goat skins danced with sticks while the musicians play to keep him at bay, to the ancient "Rites of Pan". In 1967 and 1968

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

, lead guitarist with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, visited the village; at the end of his stay, he recorded the musicians for the LP '' Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka''. The LP was released on

Rolling Stones Records Rolling Stones Records was the record label formed by the Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman in 1970, after their recording contract with Decca Records expired. The label was initia ...

in 1971, some two years after Jones's death. The record was reissued in 1995 by Point Music. The music from this village attracted an influx of westerners, including some who later recorded there, such as Ornette Coleman and

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...

References and notes

* Hamri, Mohamed (1975), '' Tales of Joujouka''. Capra Press. * Palmer, Robert (October 14, 1971). "Jajouka: Up the Mountain". ''Rolling Stone''. * Davis, Stephen (2001). ''Old Gods Almost Dead''. Broadway Books, 135–37, 172, 195–201, 227; 233–34, 248–53, 270, 354, 504–505, 508. * Strauss, Neil (October 12, 1995). "The Pop Life: To Save Jajouka, How About a Mercedes in the Village?". ''The New York Times''. * Davis, Stephen (1993). ''Jajouka Rolling Stone: A Fable of Gods and Heroes.'' Random House,

External links

The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar
Official website
The Master Musicians of Joujouka
Official website
Link to Interview with Bachir Attar on KBoo FM Portland, Oregon, 19 February 2009 on Jajouka music and its history.
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The musical heritage

See also

References and notes

External links