{"id":5197,"date":"2013-10-20T17:02:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-21T00:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/?p=5197"},"modified":"2013-10-20T19:09:25","modified_gmt":"2013-10-21T02:09:25","slug":"amel-tafsout-sufi-spiritual-world-of-north-africa-trance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/2013\/10\/20\/amel-tafsout-sufi-spiritual-world-of-north-africa-trance\/","title":{"rendered":"Entering the Sufi Spiritual World of North Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sufi Brotherhoods and Trance Ceremonies in the Maghreb<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Zawiya
\nThis zawiya is in Souk Ahras in East of Algeria, sometimes
\npeople call the zawiya a marabout – they really mean the
\nsaint. It happens that meals are offered to the poor
\nevery Friday of the week, here we see in the middle of
\nthe picture people sitting and eating bread, on the left
\nof the picture a man is standing, he is the caretaker.<\/h6>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

by Amel Tafsout<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tposted October\t20,\t2013 <\/span><\/h3>\n

Since antiquity the Maghreb has been a crossroad for people, ideas, movements, humanity and spirituality, where Africa meets the Orient. Although Sufism began to be recognized as a distinctive spiritual path in the 9th Century, separate orders or Tariqat <\/em>didn’t begin to emerge until the end of the 11th Century, and flourished in the region in the 13th Century. Each Tariqa,<\/em> usually named after its founder, created its own doctrine, traditions and social conventions. Thus the Shadhiliyya<\/em> is named after Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili<\/span>, the Qadiriyya<\/em> after ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani<\/span>, and the Jazuliyya<\/em> after Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli<\/span>, whose influence of North African Sufism began on the wider Islamic world in the 15th-17th centuries. Special attention is given to Jazuli’s attachment to two traditions of international Sufism, the Shadhiliyya of North Africa and the Qadiriyya. These networks extended throughout the Islamic world from Afghanistan to Morocco. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, the Maghreb consists of many Sufi-brotherhoods, often recognized and set through their Zawiyas<\/em> and initiations. Sufis have always worked toward reform through advice and education of the individual and internal purification through providing a model and example of tolerance, solidarity, brotherhood and selflessness removed from anything that would give a bad image of Islam.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Zawiya\"<\/h6>\n
This zawiya is also a mosque in the center of Algiers, called Sidi Abd Ar- Rahmane
\n mosque, it is the name of the saint, people come from everywhere to pay their
\n respect and have a pilgrimage, as the Saint or Marabout was known for healing
\n diseases) <\/h6>\n
\"Zawiya\"
\n This is a typical zawiya located in the cemetary in Monastir in Tunisia.It is common
\nthat people pay their respect to their deceased loved ones and also to the saint of
\nthis zawiya)<\/h6>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

However, the zawiya is an Islamic religious school, monastery or a religious site, which groups Sufi followers around a particular sheikh. Sufism is based on the Qur’an and the practice of the Prophet. Sufi teaching stresses mysticism and love of God. Sufism purifies hearts and directs intentions towards God. All Sufi orders have certain specific rules and regulations to achieve this realization, and there are particular spiritual states and stations in Sufism that may be obtained by performing certain practices and rituals. At the initiation ceremony, the sheikh who has experienced union with God and annihilation of self, in addition to giving the disciple the special garment, also gives him a secret word or prayer to help him in his meditation.<\/p>\n

Sufis also believe in spiritual guides who reveal themselves to the Sufi in visions or dreams and help him on his path. The initiate has to learn spiritual poverty (faqr<\/em>), which means emptying the soul of self in order to make room for God. The illusion of the individual ego must be erased by humility and love of one’s neighbor. This is attained by a rigid self-discipline that removes all obstacles to the revelation of the Divine Presence.<\/p>\n

The struggle of Sufis for the purification of intention towards God leads them to formulate specific practices, and over time these become an indispensable part of Sufi teachings. The saints are not calling for anyone to believe in them despite their visions and blessings. The initiation into a Sufi order is a necessary ritual that transmits the spiritual blessing (Baraka<\/em>, spiritual power) of the guide (murshid<\/em>) to the disciple (murid<\/em>). \u00a0<\/p>\n

Sufi Brotherhoods in the Maghreb<\/h2>\n

In the Maghreb, most Muslims follow the Sunni<\/em> Maliki School. A strong tradition of venerating marabouts<\/em> and saints’ tombs is found throughout the Maghreb and therefore in many places. Rhythms and music styles are named after the marabouts<\/em>. A network of zawiyas<\/em> traditionally helped proliferate basic literacy and knowledge of Islam in rural regions. Each Sufi order or a Tar\u012bqa <\/em>has<\/em> a silsila<\/em> that means a chain or a lineage of a specific sheikh of a Sufi brotherhood. The Maghreb consists of various Sufi brotherhoods which are as follows:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lady<\/p>\n

This lady is the muqadma or the shawwafa, which
\nmeans the medium or the shamman who can
\ncommunicate with the spirits and give messages.
\nShe is also in charge of the tomb or the shrine of
\nthe saint. She is here standing next to the shrine
\nand will make sure that the shrine is respectedby
\nthe visitors. This shrine is located in Tlemcen(In
\nthe west of Algeria and belongs to the Qadiriya
\nSufi Brotherhood)
\nPhoto courtesy of VitamineDZ.com <\/h6>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

1. Al Qadiriya:<\/p>\n

It is the oldest and most widespread order. It has branches all over the world that tie to its center in Baghdad. It was founded in Baghdad by ‘Abd al Qadir Jilani (d.1166) who is considered to be the greatest saint in Islam. It later became established in Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, the Maghreb, Central Asia and India. The Qadiriya stresses piety, humility, moderation and philanthropy and appeals to all classes of society. It is governed by a descendant of al Jilani who is also the keeper of his tomb in Baghdad which is a pilgrimage center for his followers from all over the world.<\/p>\n

2. Ash Shadiliya:<\/p>\n

It was started by al Shadili (d.1258) in Tunis. It flourished especially in Egypt under ibn ‘Ata Allah<\/span> (d.1309) but also spread to North Africa, Saudi Arabia and Syria. It is the strongest order in the Maghreb where it was organized by al Jazuli (d. 1465) and has sub-orders under other names. The Tariqa Ash Shadiliya stress the intellectual basis of Sufism and allows its members to remain involved in the secular world. Their disciples are not allowed to beg and are always neatly dressed. They appealed mainly to the middle class in Egypt and are still active there. It is said that the Shadiliya were the first to discover the value of coffee as a means of staying awake during nights of prayer!<\/p>\n

3. Al Jilaliya: <\/p>\n

This order is a Qadiri branch in the Maghreb who worship al Jilani as a supernatural being, combining Sufism with pre-Islamic ideas and practices.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Ad Daraquiya:<\/p>\n

It was founded in the early 19th century by Mulay ‘Arabi Darqawi<\/span> (d. 1823) in Fez, Morocco. It was the driving force behind the Jihad movement that achieved mass conversions to Islam in the mixed Amazigh (Berber), Arab, and Sub-Saharian African lands of the Sahel. It is influential today in Mali, Niger and Chad and still widespread in Morocco.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Book<\/h6>\n
This is a book cover representating the
\n Saint Sidi Tijani with his animal-
\nhere the deer – as each saint\/marabour
\ncan be represented by an animal,
\nthe mosque behind him is his zawiya.<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

5.Tijaniyya:<\/p>\n

It is the largest tariqa in West Africa whose founder, Ahmed al-Tijani<\/span> (d.1815), lived and was buried in Fez. Indeed it was a Tijani who was responsible for propagating the Khalwatiyya<\/span> order, which he had encountered in Cairo on his way to Mecca to perform the Hajj. In a further example of the inter-connectedness of the brotherhoods’ histories, Tijani had also been an initiate of the Wazzaniyya<\/span> and the Qadiriyya<\/span>.<\/p>\n

6. Al A\u00efssawa<\/p>\n

This tariqa is a religious and mystical brotherhood founded in Mekn\u00e8s, Morocco, by Muhammad Ben A\u00efss\u00e2<\/span> (1465\u20131526), best known as the Shaykh Al-K\u00e2mil<\/em>, or "Perfect Sufi Master". The terms A\u00efss\u00e2wa (`Is\u00e2wa) is derive from the name of the founder, and respectively designate the brotherhood and its disciples (fuqar\u00e2, sing. to fakir, literally: "poor"). The A\u00efssawa followers are known for their spiritual music, which generally comprises songs of religious psalms, characterized by the use of the oboe-ghaita (similar to the mizmar or zurna) accompanied by percussion using polyrhythm.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Aissawa\"<\/p>\n

This picture shows the A\u00efssawa brotherhoods with the leader Said Guissi’s\u00a0
\nEnsemble from the holy city of Fes, Morocco. They are considered the most
\naccomplished groups to emerge from the centuries old A\u00efssawa Tariqa.
\nHere they use trumpets and pipes creating a trance – inducing wall of sound.
\nI met them in London many times at the Music Village festival in 1998 and
\nalso at the Sufi Festival in London in 2000.This picture was taken at the Muslim
\nVoice festival in 2009 in New York City. They are bringing to life the Sufi
\nmusical tradition of connecting with the Divine.<\/h6>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Complex ceremonies, which use symbolic dances to bring the participants to ecstatic trance, are held by the Aissawa in private during domestic ritual nights (l\u00eelat<\/em>), and in public during celebrations of national festivals (the moussem<\/em>, which are also pilgrimages) as well as during folk performances or religious festivities, such as Ramadan, or mawlid<\/em>, the "birth of the Prophet." The Moroccan and Algerian States organize these festivities.<\/p>\n

In Morocco, the ceremonies of the A\u00efss\u00e2wa brotherhood take the form of nightly rituals (known simply as "night", lila<\/em>), organized mainly by Imam Sheikh Boulila<\/em> (Master of the Night) at the request of women sympathizers. Women are currently the principal customers of the orchestras of the brotherhood in Morocco.<\/p>\n

As the A\u00efss\u00e2wa is supposed to bring to people blessings (baraka<\/em>), reasons for organizing a ceremony are varied and include celebration of a Muslim festivity, wedding, birth, circumcision, or exorcism, the search for a cure for illness, or to make contact with the divine through the extase<\/em>. Rituals have standardized phases among all the A\u00efss\u00e2wa musin ensemble. These include mystical recitations of Sufi litanies and the singing of spiritual poems along with exorcism, and collective dances.<\/p>\n\n\n