Being Recorded

Quotation

«We didn’t know we were being recorded, I find that outrageous! Only Paul Bowles is known today, and the musicians have been forgotten!»

This quote is taken from the video «And Who Sees the Mystery» by Gilles Aubry and Zouheir Atbane.The video is part of the Norient Online Special Sawt, Bodies, Species, a joint publication with adocs, extending Gilles Aubry’s physical book Sawt, Bodies, Species: Sonic Pluralism in Morocco into a digital publication with additional video and audio materials. The Open Access publication of this book was made possible with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Biography

Mohamed Anjjar is a retired wood worker and ahwash musician living in Tahala.

Published on May 04, 2023

Last updated on May 31, 2023

Topic

Power

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Sawt, Bodies, Species

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Trance

Quotation

by Ramia Beladel

«Trance is like a boiling inside me. I become more open to myself, not through reflection, but through other means.»

This quote is taken from the sound piece «A Wasted Breath Inside a Balloon» by Gilles Aubry and Ramia Beladel. The video is part of the Norient Online Special Sawt, Bodies, Species, a joint publication with adocs, extending Gilles Aubry’s physical book Sawt, Bodies, Species: Sonic Pluralism in Morocco into a digital publication with additional video and audio materials. The Open Access publication of this book was made possible with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Biography

Ramia Beladel, born 1987 in Marrakesh, graduated from the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA) in Tetouan in 2013. She uses a variety of media (drawing, objects, photography, video) and formats (installations and performances). Her work has been presented in Morocco and internationally. Follow her on Instagram, or on her Website.

Published on May 04, 2023

Last updated on May 04, 2023

Topic

Ritual

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Sawt, Bodies, Species

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Preparation for a performance by Ramia Beladel, Moulay Bouchta, Morocco, July 2017 (photo: Gilles Aubry).

Sufi Healing, Postcolonial Bodies, and Sonic Pluralism

Book Chapter

by Gilles Aubry

Based on a collaboration with the visual artist Ramia Beladel in Moulay Bouchta, Morocco, this chapter of Gilles Aubry’s book Sawt, Bodies, Species provides an introduction to spiritual possession and Sufi healing practices. These effects are discussed in relation to Beladel’s own engagement with Sufi practices in her artistic work, along with gender politics. Gilles Aubry proposes new dimensions of sonic experience relative to embodiment, healing, gender, and performative art.

Popular Sufism provides examples in which sound channels the healing power of particular saints and spirits, like in trance ceremonies. These practices are often framed by socio-economic precariousness and by a critique of state policies, participating thus in collective tactics of resistance. Informed by Beladel’s long term research on popular Sufism, healing rituals, and women healers, the collaboration highlighted the centrality of the body in such practices, pointing to the complex history of postcolonial embodiment.

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Ramia Beladel, born 1987 in Marrakesh, graduated from the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA) in Tetouan in 2013. She uses a variety of media (drawing, objects, photography, video) and formats (installations and performances). Her work has been presented in Morocco and internationally. Follow her via her website or on Instagram.

This abstract refers to the chapter «A Wasted Breath Inside a Balloon: Popular Sufi Healing, Postcolonial Bodies, and Sonic Pluralism» (pages 155–94) of the book Sawt, Bodies, Species: Sonic Pluralism in Morocco by Gilles Aubry, published by adocs in 2023. This contribution is part of the Norient Online Special Sawt, Bodies, Species, a joint publication with adocs, extending the physical book into a digital publication with additional video and audio materials. The Open Access publication of this book was made possible with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Biography

Gilles Aubry is an artist, musician, and researcher based in Lausanne and Berlin. He creates installations, films, performances, and radio pieces which explore the cultural, ecological and affective dimensions of sound and listening. He has an MA in sonic arts from the Berlin University of the Arts (UDK) and recently completed a doctoral thesis on sound, aurality, and ecological voices in Morocco. His works have been presented in numerous international festivals and art institutions, including the Marrakech Biennale (2014), documenta_14 in Kassel (2017), and Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid (2020). Follow him on Instagram, and on his Website.

Links

Gilles Aubry & Ramia Beladel: «A Wasted Breath Inside a Balloon » (Sound Piece)

Published on May 04, 2023

Last updated on June 20, 2023

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Body

Gender

Spirituality

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Sawt, Bodies, Species

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Being Recorded

Biography

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Trance

Biography

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Sufi Healing, Postcolonial Bodies, and Sonic Pluralism

Biography

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sounds

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