Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Morocco has lost one of its great Gnaoua Maalems after Mustapha Baqbou passed away on Monday at the age of 72, according to converging reports.
His funeral will take place at Bab Aghmat cemetery in Marrakech today after the Asr prayer, added the reports.
Born in Marrakech in 1953, Baqbou grew up in a Sufi Gnaoua “zaouya”, where he learned the basics of this traditional spiritual art from his father, Maalem El Ayachi Baqbou.
From a young age, the late Maalem was immersed in the rhythms, chants, and rituals that shape the Gnaoua tradition.
In the seventies, Baqbou joined the pioneering Moroccan musical group Jil Jilala, which played a major role in the rise of Moroccan folk and fusion music. He became known as one of the most important figures in the Gnaoua world thanks to his performances.
Baqbou was commended for preserving the authentic roots of Gnaoua music, as well as showing great talent in blending it with other global genres and helping to spread Moroccan music across the world.
His presence in national and international festivals, including the iconic Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira, has made him a sort of cultural ambassador.
With his passing, Morocco bids farewell to a master who devoted his life to keeping the Gnaoua heritage alive and bringing it to new generations.
Gnaoua music is a traditional Moroccan art form that blends African spiritual rhythms, Sufi chants, and local Moroccan culture. It is performed with the deep sounds of the guembri (a three-stringed bass lute), the metallic clatter of qraqeb (iron castanets), and hand clapping. These instruments create trance-like rhythms used in both ritual and celebration.
Rooted in the heritage of enslaved Africans brought to Morocco centuries ago, this music genre carries themes of healing, spirituality, and ancestral memory.
UNESCO recognized it in 2019 as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
