Ganga Singing and Dance

The art of Ganga falls within the heritage known as the art of Gnawa, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List in 2019. It is worth noting that Gnawa features two categories of artistic manifestations that differ in terms of musical instruments, costumes, and practices. On the one hand, there is urban Gnawa, characterised by colourful costumes decorated with seashells, which is primarily played on the hajhouj instrument (guembri). On the other hand, rural Gnawa is distinguished by the use of the bass drum called ganga and metal castanets. The oases of Oued Noun are famous for Ganga, an art shared with other northe villages and tribes; however, it has distinctive features in terms of costumes. Men wear white garments (addara’ia), and women ado themselves with lemlehfa (women’s garment) and accessories found in the desert and semi-desert regions. The art of Ganga traces its roots to cultural exchanges between Sub-Saharan African countries and Morocco. Moroccans still preserve this art and undertake to pass it down to future generations due to its social significance.