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.
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
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.
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..
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.
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.
