Malhoun (from the Arabic lahn, melody) refers at once to a strophic poetic form, a melody that carries it, and a communal interpretive frame. It was born in the Sufi zaouïas and the artisan guilds, particularly in Meknès, Fès, Salé and Marrakech. Its subjects range from praise of the Prophet to profane love, by way of social satire and the praise of cities.
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to be replacedi. Origins
Malhoun appears in the Morocco of the 12th–13th centuries, among the artisan guilds and the Sufi brotherhoods. The mythical poet Lakhdar Ben Khlouf in the 16th century, then Ali Beghdadi in the 18th, fixed the codes. Malhoun is distinguished from classical fusha poetry by its use of the dialect and of the popular metre called qaffi. It is sung alone or accompanied by an ensemble called jawq al-malhoun.
ii. Form and themes
The malhoun poem (qasida) is composed of aqsam (stanzas) and harba (refrain). The poet, called cheïkh, signs his text with a final tawjih. The classic themes include: mystical love (al-hubb al-ilahi), praise of cities (madh al-mudun), description of flowers and seasons (al-rabia, al-warda), the love lament, political satire under the veil of allegory.
iii. Music
The typical orchestra comprises an oud (lute), a kamandja (fiddle), a swissen (Moroccan mandolin), a taarija or a deff (frame drum). The cheïkh, soloist, sings seated; the chorus answers the refrain. A qasida typically lasts between 20 and 60 minutes in concert; on stage at festivals, it can extend to more than an hour with improvisations.
iv. Today
The Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco has devoted an annual symposium to malhoun since 2007. The National Malhoun Festival in Meknès, created in 2014, brings together more than thirty troupes from the country each autumn. The 2023 UNESCO inscription strengthened the transmission mechanisms, notably through the conservatories of Fès, Meknès, Marrakech and Casablanca.