"Daqqa Marrakchia" Inspires University Thesis on Moroccan Popular Arts

A doctoral thesis at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco, has delved into the complexities of studying Moroccan popular singing arts. Researcher Anas El-Mellouni's dissertation, titled “Problems in the Study of Moroccan Popular Singing Arts: Towards Developing an Analytical Approach to the Daqqa Marrakchia Art,” aims to establish scientific methods for researching, documenting, and analyzing Moroccan popular musical heritage.

The study addresses the central issue of transitioning from general, impressionistic descriptions of Moroccan popular singing arts to a comprehensive scientific analysis. This analysis seeks to encompass the musicological, anthropological, social, and symbolic dimensions of these arts, while preserving their unique characteristics rooted in oral tradition, live performance, and collective memory.

“

The transition in the study of Moroccan popular singing arts from general and impressionistic description to a complex scientific analysis that encompasses its musical, anthropological, social, and symbolic dimensions, while preserving the specificity of these arts based primarily on oral transmission, live performance, and collective memory.

El-Mellouni selected the "Daqqa Marrakchia" art form as a case study. This art is deeply embedded in the cultural memory of Marrakech, associated with local neighborhoods, Ashura night rituals, and collective performance. It features a blend of rhythmic chanting, music, movement, and performance leadership.

The research highlights that Moroccan popular singing arts constitute a rich cultural asset, encompassing texts, sounds, rhythms, instruments, movements, rituals, and collective memory. However, the thesis notes that their presence in academic research, scientific documentation, and educational curricula still requires greater methodological attention commensurate with their cultural value.

“

Moroccan popular singing arts represent a complex cultural asset of texts, sounds, rhythms, instruments, movements, rituals, and collective memory.

El-Mellouni explained that his choice of thesis topic stemmed from the intersection of his personal and professional experiences in emotional, media, and educational spheres. Over twenty years at Radio Marrakech, he gained direct exposure to these arts through program production, interviews with researchers and practitioners, and documenting the heritage carried by its custodians. This experience revealed a paradox: the richness of the oral heritage preserved in the memory of elders and groups contrasted with the limited written scientific material documenting key figures, texts, instruments, rhythms, and performance contexts.

His experience teaching music education further fueled this interest. He observed the limited inclusion of many Moroccan popular musical arts in school programs and textbooks, despite their potential to cultivate aesthetic taste, rhythmic sense, and learners' understanding of Morocco's cultural and artistic diversity.

“

Their presence in academic research, scientific documentation, and educational curricula still requires more methodological attention commensurate with their cultural value.

The thesis concludes by emphasizing the importance of viewing popular art not merely as entertainment but as a living cultural and anthropological document. It encapsulates patterns of memory, values, social relations, and collective expression. The research stresses the need to document oral musical heritage, particularly texts, rhythms, instruments, performance rituals, and knowledge held by practitioners, given the rapid social and cultural transformations that could affect the continuity of some of its components.

Through the "Daqqa Marrakchia" example, the thesis aims to help fill the gap in scientific archiving of Moroccan oral arts. It seeks to connect university research with heritage bearers in the field and open avenues for utilizing accumulated scientific knowledge about these arts in education.

“

The choice of the thesis topic came as a result of the overlap of three paths in his personal and professional experience: the emotional, media, and educational path.