Trance Music, Symbolic Interactions and Social Representations in Nass El Ghiwane’s Artistic Experience
Journal of Gender Culture and Society June 30, 2022 El Houcine Ben Cherki 1 citation
Trance, therapy, and social representations surrounding the music of the band Nass El Ghiwane, formed in Casablanca in the 1970s, shifted from traditional religious spaces (zaouia) to the concert stage amid social change and political turmoil. The rituals and music draw on everyday problems such as pain, suffering, poverty, political oppression, and social injustice. The band and audience engage in dynamic interaction, leading some spiritually predisposed individuals to achieve a trance state called 'Al-hal.' Rather than a mental or neurological phenomenon, trance is described as an affective and spiritual experience emerging from painful feelings mingled with sociopolitical issues. Social representations in this context reflect collective consciousness and social identity.