The music of the Gnawa community returns to Barcelona in the next session of the #Trànsits series
The Museu de la Música de Barcelona and the Office of Religious Affairs (OAR) are organising the second edition of the ‘Trànsits: Spiritual Music’ programme as part of L’Auditori’s ‘Rebirths’ season. After a first session on the music of “Fandango Jarocho” comes “Lila Gnawa. Music and Spirituality from the Maghreb” on 8 November.
“LILA” GNAWA. MUSIC AND SPIRITUALITY FROM THE MAGHREB
The second session in the fourth edition of the series is being held on 8 November under the title “Lila Gnawa. Music and spirituality from the Maghreb”, inviting those attending to take part in a Lila, a healing ritual of the Gnawa communities of Morocco, where music and dance create an atmosphere to take the body into transit, and thus to purification.
The Gnawa community originates from sub-Saharan regions, descended from people who were enslaved and relocated over centuries by Arab and Berber rulers to Morocco and throughout the Maghreb. Today this community crosses borders and can be found in European cities such as Paris, Brussels or Barcelona itself, where it has become a bridge between cultures.
The Gnawa are Sufi brotherhoods or turuqs, who practice a mystical Islam in which music and dance play a central role. The music, which combines classical sounds from Islam and other popular pre-Islamic sounds, becomes very rhythmic and has a fundamental vehicular role. This artistic and spiritual expression, recognised in 2019 as intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO, combines ritual poetry, traditional music and movement in ceremonies of great spiritual and symbolic intensity.
A key element of the Gnawa tradition is the Lila ritual —in Arabic, night—, which forms part of the ritual ceremonies of the Gnawa, going on until the early hours and combining music, dance, invocations and spiritual healing through attaining a trance state. This ritual is structured into seven stages, each linked to a different colour.
Music is an essential part of the Lila and helps to fulfil its purpose. Countless songs are accompanied by the guembri, played by the maalem or master of the ceremony; by the tbels, drums that open the ritual, and by the càrcabas, metal castanets with a sharp and penetrating sound that maintain a persistent and incisive rhythm.
“Lila Gnawa. Music and Spirituality of the Maghreb” will begin with a conversation on the Gnawa community around the world and in the city of Barcelona, with a special emphasis on the importance of the Lila in its culture. The dialogue will then lead into the ritual, driven by the music of the ensemble Gnawa Vibrations, which will offer the repertoire traditionally played in this type of ceremony.
Information and registration
CONVERSATION “Gnawa Music in Barcelona. An introduction to Gnawa musical practice and rituals”. With koyoSmail Ouazza and maalem Saimen Kherbouch, from the group Gnawa Vibrations, who will then lead the Lila, music producer Walaâ Hechach and singer Zineb Rbyha Hamzi. Moderated by Ilaria Sartori, ethnomusicologist and specialist in the Gnawa community and its diaspora.
Free admission but places are limited.
*** Date: Saturday, 8 November
*** TIME: 6 PM
*** VENUE: Bloc4BCN – Espai cooperatiu (Carrer de la Constitució, 19. Can Batlló – Bloc 4)
CONCERT-RITUAL “Lila Gnawa. Music and Spirituality from the Maghreb”. The Lila will be led by maalem Saimen Kherbouch and conducted through the music of Gnawa Vibrations. Start of the Lila and admission to the venue.
Prior booking required HERE.
*** DATE: Saturday, 8 November 2025
*** TIME: There will be three sessions. Those attending can register for the sessions they would like to attend:
- At 7.30 pm (first session)
- At 9.30 pm (second session)
- At 11.30 pm (third session)
*** VENUE: Bloc4BCN – Espai cooperatiu (Carrer de la Constitució, 19. Can Batlló – Bloc 4)
THE SERIES “TRÀNSITS, SPIRITUAL MUSIC”
Humanity’s religious, liturgical and spiritual practices have kept close ties with music and sound throughout history. This has led to an extraordinarily wide variety of musical forms used to create a bond between the community and transcendence. The series “Trànsits, spiritual music”, organised by the Museu de la Música de Barcelona and the Office of Religious Affairs (OAR), focuses on underlining the links between the spiritual practice of Barcelona’s different religious communities and music, with a series of conversations and concerts. The series opts for a plural and intercultural vision that aims to show the historical tie between music, spirituality and cultural and religious practices specifically from the different communities living in the city.