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Master Musicians of Joujouka

Master Musicians of Joujouka, Ahl Srif mountains, Northern Morocco - Photo by Frank Rynne.

The Boujeloud Rite 2009

On June 5 - 7, Morocco's Sufi trance Masters, The Master Musicians of Joujouka, once again will be celebrating in a music festival, the The Boujeloud Rite.

Joujouka is a tiny village in the southern Rif Mountains of Morocco founded by the 8th century Sufi mystic Sidi Ahmed Scheich. It is famous for its Sufi trance music, its connections with the Beat Generation, the Rolling Stones, and its annual celebration of the god Pan.

On July 29,1968, following in the footsteps of William S. Burroughs, Robert Palmer and Paul Bowles; Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones and recording engineer George Chkiantz visited Joujouka with Brion Gysin and Mohamed Hamri to record an album with the Master Musicians. Jones spent much of his last year mixing and producing the Joujouka tapes and preparing the cover art. He died on July 3,1969.The resulting LP "Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka" was the first release on Rolling Stones Records in 1971. In 2006 BillyCorgan of Smashing Pumpkins took time out from recording "Zeitgeist" to visit the village and experience the music.

BillyCorgan of Smashing Pumpkins in Joujouka, 2006.

The Rites of Pan / Boujeloud

In Joujouka the villagers still perform the ancient Rites of Pan. A boy sewn in goat skins dances wildly to the music of the Masters. This music and festival is called Boujeloud, or the "Father of Skins" in Joujouka. It is a fertility rite directly related to the ancient worship of the god Pan. Pan was evoked in the Springtime to ensure the fertility of both the crops and the people. The people of Joujouka have kept this ancient tradition alive. The evening and night will be devoted to the healing trance music of Joujouka. There will be a full performance of the Boujeloud Rite in honour of Brian Jones. The Master Musicians ofJoujouka 2006 CD "Boujeloud" features various variations on the ritual music associated with Pan.

Brain Jones Joujouka Very Stoned

Mohamed Hamri's painting for the cover of "Brian Jones presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka"

In his short stay in Joujouka Brian Jones madea big impression on the musicians. To this day the song "Brian Jones Joujouka Very Stoned" sung in English and Arabic, is a standard at all ceremonies and celebrations in the village.



The Master Musicians of Joujouka -  The Brian Jones 40thAnniversary Festival - Click Here To Learn More About The Master Musicians of Joujouka!

Brian Jones 40th Anniversary Festival - 2008

In 2008 to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Brian Jones's visit to their village, The Master Musicians of Joujouka staged a festival to honour Brian Jones' memory and his efforts to raise them and their fathers out of poverty.

Guests (as they will be transported this year) were transported to the village from the nearest town Ksar El Kebir where they stayed in the village in traditional Joujouka houses with the musicians and their families. In the afternoon there was a visit to the 8th century sanctuary of Joujouka's patron saint Sidi Ahmed Schiech and to the cave of Boujeloud / Pan..

Mohamed El Attar plays at sunset in the Cave of  Boujeloudia / Pan. - Click Here For More Photos! - Photo by Frank Rynne.

Master Musician of Joujouka Ahmed Attar recalls Jones' visit in 1968."I was a twelve years old learning drumming with my father and the Mallims (Masters) when Brian Jones came. Brian Jones was very good. My father played rhiata with and for him and I danced and played my drum. He came with Hamri and Brion Gysin. He had long hair and he rubbed my head. He brought a lot to Joujouka. Besef Baraka. We will mark the 40th Anniversary of his visit here in Joujouka to honor Brian Jones and to let people come to Joujouka and see what it is like here for themselves. It is good to feel the Baraka (Blessings) of Sidi Ahmed Scheich. Joujouka is his country. He is the Cultivator with Lions and Healer of Crazy Minds."

Frank Rynne, co-organiser of the Festival, has visited and recorded for extended periods in the village since 1994 and has produced three CDs of Master Musicians of Joujouka Joujouka Black Eyes (1995), Sufi: Moroccan Trance (1996) and Boujeloud (2006). and also their 1996 collaboration with Marianne Faithful "My Only Friend". He is an historian currently researching the Fenians and the Land War 1879 -1882.

Michael Dean Odin Pollock at Hotel El Muneria, William S. Burroughs old Moroccan residence in Tangiers. - Click Here To Read his Joujouka Reflect. - Photo by Daragh McCarthy.

Of Note! - Joujouka Reflect - Insom contributor, Michael Dean Odin Pollock returned home from the Master Musicians of Joujouka - Brian Jones 40th Anniversary Festival and weighed in with a poem from his experiences in Morocco. Click Here To Read his Joujouka Reflect.


Also Of Note . . .

The October 08' issue of Mojo Magazine carried Mark Paytress' feature article on the Brian Jones 40th Anniversary Festival in Joujouka, "You Should be Trancin" Click Here To Read!

Rynne was interviewed by The Irish Times, Click Here to Read, A Rolling Stone's Moroccan Odyssey .

To Learn More about this wonderous celebration of Music and Spirit and Master Musicians of Joujouka Click Here and visit www.joujouka.net .

Be sure to visit the Master Musicians of Joujouka MySpace Page for more Info, Videos and Mp3's!

Also Learn More about 2009's celebration and future plans for 2010 and visit the Master Musicians of Joujouka Festival 2010 BlogSpot.

 

 




 

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