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discernable, and provides a compelling sonic analogue to a kind of intercultural communication that does not sublate difference…”80 The gradual evolution of the Gnaoua ritual into a secular performance is largely a matter of economics. Secular performances and collaborations energize a needy community with the economic fuel to sustain itself, and, in theory, to in turn sustain its religious tradition in an increasingly modern economy. It is true that the Gnaoua community has become visibly better off in comparison to other brotherhoods as a result of their popularity and resulting institutional support. However, it is unclear whether this increase in wealth will sustain the essence of the Gnaoua tradition or fuel more performances that further distance from the Gnaoua’s curative lila. An altered economic relationship with a once-spiritual practice has its repercussions on the rhythm of everyday life and its occupations. The process of bestowing money the brotherhood by attendees of a sacred lila is incorporated within the ritual itself. In a sacred context, the resulting economic exchange is an offering of alms, upon which the brotherhood prays for baraka.81 These contributions go towards the upkeep of the zaouia and its community functions.82 In a secular context, the musicians receive a salary or fee in exchange for a staged performance. These fees greatly exceed what is usually received in alms. The sudden windfalls of money to a community that lives hand-to-mouth83 encourages the brotherhoods to engage more frequently with secular
80
Stanyek, ‘Transmissions of an Interculture: Pan-African Jazz and Intercultural Improvisation.’
82
The Hamatcha zaouia in Tangier is open throughout the week for anyone to sit in. It hosts a simple quarter upstairs where the Hamatcha can sleep if needed, and where large plates of couscous are prepared for all those in attendance on Friday evenings. The zaouia operates as a collective space without any formalized structure of management and many adepts consider lending their service towards its upkeep as an aspect of their spiritual devotion. 83
It is rare for a brotherhood member or one that frequently participates in the hadra to be found among the educated upper classes of Moroccan society. The general poverty of these communities can be credited to numerous factors, including Morocco’s colonial history and the colonial values that reign over the country’s economic development since independence; a difficulty to reconciliate material life and its pursuits with the empowerment acquired in the hadra; and characterizations of hadra practices as backwards by educational institutions.