Hadra Chefchaounia

The Rhoum El Bakkali Ensemble is made up of young women from the Northern Moroccan region surrounding the city of Chefchaouen. The ensemble performs repertoire consisting of

'hadra' and folk songs, under the leadership of Mme Rahoum Bakkali. The musicians accompany their singing with hand drums or tambourines. 

Hadra is a collective ritual. This type of ceremony is found between Morocco and Malaysia and is usually performed after prayer services, or during religious festivals. The ritual may contain songs, readings, joint study, a recitation from the Koran or texts by writers and spiritual leaders from a specific order. The ceremonies are often carried out by religious brotherhoods, and the invocations and singing are sometimes used to attain a state of trance, which is a sign of divine presence.

The word ‘hadra’ is even derived from the word 'presence.' The 'hadra' has close links with Sufism, a term used to describe various mystical movements within Islam. Sufism is aimed at spiritual depth and is a religious activity that goes beyond merely fulfilling religious obligations. At the heart of that spirituality are the philosophical texts and poems written by such Sufi saints as Jalal ad-Din Rumi and Haji Bektash Veli. In their writings, they leave room for humour and the glorification of love, which is why some stricter types of Islam adopt a dismissive attitude towards Sufism. Followers of Sufi use such texts for meditation, which can take various forms. One example is the Whirling Dervishes from Konya, Turkey, who perform a ritual based on the songs of Rumi. Hadra is another such ritual but based on a different musical foundation. 

The hadra, as performed by the Rhoum El Bakkali Ensemble, has its origins in the region surrounding Chefchaouen and has links to the ancient Bekkalia order. That brotherhood, under the guidance of its founder Sidi Ali Hadj Bekkali, produced a significant legacy of doctrines, religious poems, invocations and songs. At the end of the nineteenth century, Cherifa Lalla Hiba Bekkalia began adapting the hadra tradition for women, and Mme Rahoum Bakkali and her group, the Rhoum El Bakkali Ensemble, continue to follow in her footsteps.

These women from the Rif Mountains perform their repertoire dressed in traditional festive attire. A number of them sit on the floor and use hand drums to accompany the singing. A soloist with an extraordinary voice is at the centre of the group. She sings the melodies, adding extremely delicate embellishments. Sometimes the soloist is accompanied by the soft tones of an oud. The rest of the women stand behind the group. At first, the singing is slow and majestic, but it increases in speed, urged on by the percussion and the piercing howls of the chorus. The group finally reaches a climax of ecstasy, which is at the core of the hadra.