Finding Aids to Individual Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture

THE PAUL BOWLES MOROCCAN MUSIC COLLECTION

AFC 1960/001

Compiled by Michelle Forner
Library of Congress
Washington DC
August 1994

SUMMARY

This collection consists of audio recordings, photographs, and accompanying documentation of Moroccan folk, popular, and art music collected by writer/composer Paul Bowles (1910- ). The collection includes recordings Bowles made in 1959 during a four- month field project sponsored by the Library of Congress with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation as well as additional field recordings that he made between 1960-62. Bowles captured vocal and instrumental (including dance) music of various tribes and other indigenous populations at 23 locations throughout the country. In 1972, the Library of Congress issued a 2-record LP set, "Music of Morocco," containing selections from the collection.

The index to recordings prepared by Bowles, arranged numerically by tape side in chronological order, includes AFS numbers, song titles, performers, and recording locations. The field notes, also arranged numerically by tape side in chronological order, provide more detailed description of each recording, including date, place, performers, song titles, musical instruments, and other pertinent information.

Access and Reproduction: Listening and viewing access to the collection is unrestricted. Duplication of the recorded materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions. In addition to standard permission requirements, publication of the recorded materials requires permission of the collector.

Key Subjects: ahouache (music-dance event); Andaluz; aqlal (dance ceremony); Arabs; bendir; Berbers; chaabiya (modern Moroccan popular music); costume; dance, Morocco; dance music; fjer (early morning call to prayer); Gnaoua; gogo (Sudanese instrument); guedra; guinbri; Haha; musical instruments; music, Islamic; qarqaba; qsbah; qsida (traditional popular music); Sephardim; Songs, Arabic; squel (sword dance); sword dances; tahouacht (war dance); Tiskiouine; war dances; zamar

Languages and Dialects: Arabic, Hebrew, Maghribi, Tachelhait (Chlech), Tamazirht, Tariffcht

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Paul Bowles Moroccan Music Collection consists of audio recordings, photographs, and accompanying documentation that focus primarily on one recording project. With a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and sponsorship from the Library of Congress, Paul Bowles spent the months of August to September of 1959 traveling throughout Morocco recording approximately 60 hours of traditional folk, art, and popular music. Bowles collected in 23 villages, towns, and cities along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, from Goulimine in the Sahara to Segangan in the Rif country, and inland through the Middle and Grand Atlas ranges to Zagora in the Anti-Atlas. Due to the political situation at the time, Bowles was not able to record in the southeastern region. In 1963, the Library acquired five additional recordings of Moroccan music made by Bowles in 1960- 62. In 1972, the Library issued a two-record set of selections from the collection. A nine-page descriptive booklet accompanies the set.

The heterogenous recordings reflect the variety of Moroccan culture. From urban professionals and religious singers to rural and nomadic tribespeople, the musicians performed vocal and instrumental music. The collection includes dance music, secular music, music for Ramadan and other Islamic rites, and music for animistic rituals. Berber and Arab music predominates, and a considerable variety of styles emerges from the survey of different areas and tribes. Some selections exhibit traces of the antique Andalusian style, reflecting Morocco's historic relationship to Spain. Musical examples originally derived from Mauritania, West Africa, and the Sudan demonstrate the influence of migrations and cultural interchanges across the Sahara and along the Atlantic coast. In addition, there are examples of Sephardic liturgical music and other folksongs from the historic Jewish communities in Essaouira and Meknes. Several recordings feature the rare zamar, a double-reed instrument fitted with two mouthpieces and two bulls' horn resonators.

Dance often was integral to the music events; as Bowles pointed out, usually "music and dance are one thing" to the peoples of Morocco, especially the Berber tribes. In the field notes on the music, Bowles often alluded to the concurrent dancing and sometimes gave movement description. He recorded, among other things, music that accompanied the guedra dance from the village of Goulimine, ahouache (music and dance events) of the Anti-Atlas and Grand Atlas, the aqlal (dance ceremony) in the Draa Valley, Pre-Sahara, and the squel (sword dance) of the Draaoua people of Zagora, Moroccan Sahara. The appendix lists the field notes of recordings where dance was specifically described or alluded to in Bowles' notes or in the LP recording booklet.

The manuscripts (correspondence and field notes) describe not only the content of the recording project, but also the bureaucratic, political, and cultural context of conducting ethnographic fieldwork in the late 1950s. They highlight the cultural and political situation in the newly-independent Morocco as well as the customs of different cultural groups. The correspondence between Bowles and LC staff during the project offers additional insight into the circumstances and content of the recordings, while the photographs of several performance events provide visual documentation that supplements those recordings.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Paul Bowles (1910- ) is an American-born artist who has lived in Morocco since the late 1930s. He has been described as the father of the Beat movement and a prominent figure in the American expatriate community in Tangier, Morocco. A well-known composer, his scores include the incidental music to such plays as Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" and "Sweet Bird of Youth"; he has worked with other artists such as Orson Wells, Elia Kazan, and Salvador Dali. As an author, he is best known for his novels such as The Sheltering Sky, Let It Come Down, and The Spider's House, and for his collections of short stories and travel essays. Extensive travel in Europe, North Africa, and South America provided material for his literary works as well as opportunities to collect folk music. He married novelist Jane Auer (1917-73) in 1938.

COLLECTION INVENTORY AND DESCRIPTION

I. MANUSCRIPTS

II. MICROFILM

Microfilm of the LC project field notes and map: Music 0441, located in the Music division.

III. RECORDINGS

LP Record Set: "Music of Morocco," AFS L63-64. Recorded and edited by Paul Bowles, 1972. Includes 9-page booklet with notes and bibliography of publications and documentary recordings. (Listening copy available in the AFC Reading Room.)

LC project recordings: 65 DT 7" reels (the last five are samples from the 60 recordings); approximately 65 hours; approximately 220 pieces. AFS 11,623-11,687; LWO-3068; preservation numbers LWO-8527 R93-100; LWO-12,419 R1-19. (Listening copies available in the AFC Reading Room.) Accessioned in June 1960.

Non-project field recordings (1960-62): 5 7" reels; AFS 12,016- 12,020; LWO-3863. (Listening copies available in the AFC Reading Room). Non-project field recordings accessioned in June 1963.

IV. PHOTOGRAPHS

One box containing 18 black and white photographs. Location information is written on the backs of most photographs. The photographs include scenes of performers at Essaouira, Amizmiz, Taza, and Segangan, and several shots of houses and casbahs.

V. MAP

One folder containing original and copies of a map, hand-drawn by Paul Bowles, that documents recording locations and routes traveled during the field project.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Bowles, Paul. "The Rif, to Music." In Their Heads are Green and Their Hands are Blue, 97-141. New York: Random House, 1957.

Jabbour, Alan, and Joseph C. Hickerson. "African Recordings in the Archive of Folk Song." Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress 27 (July 1970): 284-85.

Leavitt, Donald, L. "Folk, Popular, and Art Music of Morocco." Library of Congress Information Bulletin 19 (October 17, 1960): 589-91.

Melville, Annette. "Paul Bowles Collection." In Special Collections in the Library of Congress, 47. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1980.

Sawyer-Laucanno, Christopher. An Invisible Spectator: A Biography of Paul Bowles. New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989.

APPENDIX A

SPECIFIC DANCE-RELATED MATERIAL

Dance in Morocco is often an integral part of a music event, especially for the Berber tribes. However, since Paul Bowles was primarily interested in documenting music, he did not always note when events included dance. The following is a list of field notes for recordings that specifically mention dance as part of the documented music event. Also included are references to related LP recording booklet notes or photographs.

Field note related to AFS 11,623 Tape 1A "Yarza Digi Inrhancha Airhi Rebbi" and "Sagous Touit Idar Ayardanou." Beni Mguild Tribe. Recorded at Ain ed Diab.

Field note related to AFS 11,624 Tape 2A "Abou ou Harrak." Beni Mtir Tribe, El Hajeb, Middle Atlas. Recorded at Ain ed Diab.

Field note related to AFS 11,624 Tape 2B "Traditional music of the Gnaoua cult." Recorded at Essaouira.

Field note related to AFS 11,625 Tape 3A "Amimmi." Cheikh Moha ben Driss and ensemble. Beni Mtir Tribe, El Hajeb, Middle Atlas. Recorded at Ain ed Diab.

Field note related to AFS 11,625 Tape 3B "Music of the Haha Tribe," Tamanar. Recorded at Essaouira.

Field note related to AFS 11,626 Tape 4A "Ai Manonne Atasa Aili Taamit Ya Richa Zriti." Cheikh Diaai ben Ali and Cheikha Fatoma bent Kaddour with ensemble. Beni Mguild Tribe. Recorded at Ain ed Diab.

Field note related to AFS 11,626 Tape 4B "Ahouache Haha Janoubia" (Festival of the Southern Haha Tribe). Rais Mahamed ben Mohammed and ensemble, Tamanar. Recorded at Essaouira.

Field note related to AFS 11,629 Tape 7A "Music of the Haha Tribe," Tamanar. Recorded at Essaouira.

Field note related to AFS 11,630 Tape 8A "Limbia Limbia" and "Guennou Ouahib Bouir" (guedra). El Ferqa dial Guedra Goulimine. Recorded at Goulimine.

Field note related to AFS 11,630 Tape 8B See also notes to AFS L-64, A1 "Ounalou Biha Rajao," "Rax dial Et Tbel," and "Rax dial Guedra" (guedra). El Ferqa dial Guedra Goulimine. Recorded at Goulimine.

Field note related to AFS 11,631 Tape 9A "El Malik Allah i Nidji." El Ferqa dial Guedra Goulimine. Recorded at Goulimine.

Field note related to AFS 11,632 Tape 10B "El Maya dial Chtah." Rais Ahmed ben Bakrim and group. Recorded at Tiznit.

Field note related to AFS 11,633 Tape 11A See also notes to AFS L-63, A6. "Ahaouche Tafraout" and "Ajmak Ilirh." Maalem Ahmed and ensemble. Recorded at Tafraout, Souss.

Field note related to AFS 11,643 Tape 21A "Party music." Musicians and villagers of Einzoren, Rif. Recorded at Einzoren, Rif.

Field note related to AFS 11,644 Tape 22A "Dance." Elements of both the Mouh Taieb and Morsan ensembles. Beni Ouriaghel Tribe. Recorded at Einzoren, Rif.

Field note related to AFS 11,644 Tape 22B "El Aalaoui dial Tazourakht" (Dance). Elements of both the Mouh Taieb and Morsan ensembles. Beni Ouriaghel Tribe. Recorded at Einzoren, Rif.

Field note related to AFS 11,645 Tape 23B "Impromptu Dance." Cheikh Hamed bel Hadj Hamadi ben Allal and ensemble. Beni Bouifrour Tribe. Recorded at Segangan, Rif.

Field note related to AFS 11,646 Tape 24A "Aaouuad dial Azrheung-ng'n." Cheikh Hamed bel Hadj Hamadi ben Allal and Ensemble. Beni Bouifrour Tribe. Recorded at Segangan, Rif.

Field note related to AFS 11,658 Tape 36A "Dada Hbibti." Cheikha Haddouj bent Fatma Rohou and ensemble. Zaiane Tribe, Middle Atlas. Recorded at Khenifra.

Field note related to AFS 11,659 Tape 37A "Rhna dial Imdyazen." Mohammed bel Hassan, leader. Ait Bou Guemmaz Tribe, Grand Atlas. Recorded at Ait Mohammed.

Field note related to AFS 11,661 Tape 39A See also notes to AFS L-63, B6. "Idihan dial Bou Guemmaz." Mohammed bel Hassan, leader. Ait Bou Guemmaz Tribe. Recorded at Ait Mohammed.

Field note related to AFS 11,664 Tape 42B "Dance for Guinbri Solo." Embarek ben Mohammed. Recorded at Marrakech.

Field note related to AFS 11,667 Tape 45A "Moulay el Hassan" (ahouache). Maalem Ahmed Gacha, leader. Misfioua Tribe. Recorded at Ait Ourir.

Field note related to AFS 11,667 Tape 45B "Ichoua Nit Ifoulki" and "Achimtsa Ajdig Atizona" (ahouache). Maalem Ahmed Gacha, leader. Recorded at Ait Ourir.

Field note related to AFS 11,669 Tape 47A, 47B "Music of the Guidmioua Tribe (Tiskiouine)," Grand Atlas. Larbi bel Hocein Nait ou Nasr, Moqaddem. Recorded at Amizmiz. See also photographs AFC1960/001:p13, p14.

Field note related to AFS 11,670 Tape 48A "Tahouacht" (war dance). Larbi bel Hocein Nait ou Nasr, Moqaddem. Guidmioua Tribe (tiskiouine), Grand Atlas. Recorded at Amizmiz. See also photographs AFC1960/001:p13, p14.

Field note related to AFS 11,674 Tape 52A &52B See also notes to AFS L-63, A3 "Music of the Draaoua" (sqel, sword dance; aqlal, dance ceremony of the Draa Valley, Pre-Sahara). Moqaddem Mohammed ben Salem, leader. Recorded at Zagora, Moroccan Sahara.

Field note related to AFS 11,675 Tape 53A & 53B See also notes to AFS L-63, A3 "Music of the Draaoua" (sqel, sword dance; aqlal, dance ceremony of the Draa Valley, Pre-Sahara). Moqaddem Mohammed ben Salem, leader. Recorded at Zagora, Moroccan Sahara.

Field note related to AFS 11,681 Tape 59A "Aoulouz (Taroudant)." Rais el Hussein and ensemble. Music of the Souassa. Recorded in Marrakech.

Field note related to AFS 12,016 Tape IB "Song and Dance." Recorded near Tata, Moroccan Sahara.

Field note related to AFS 12,017 Tape IIA "Aissaoua Ceremony." Recorded at the Amara (festival) of Sidi Kacem, Tangier.

Field note related to AFS 12,018 Tape IIIA "Section of dance from ahouache" (women) and "song and circular dance from ahouache" (men). Recorded at Timguircht, Anti-Atlas.