Academic Journal
Spirits of displacement: Gnawa rituals and gentrification in Casablanca
| Title: | Spirits of displacement: Gnawa rituals and gentrification in Casablanca |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Stefano Portelli |
| Source: | Focaal. 2025:73-87 |
| Publisher Information: | Berghahn Books, 2025. |
| Publication Year: | 2025 |
| Subject Terms: | 11. Sustainability, 0601 history and archaeology, 06 humanities and the arts |
| Description: | This article analyzes the interplay between religion and urban transformations by focusing on the Moroccan Gnawa, a spiritual network of working-class musicians and ritual operators based in the old centers (the medinas) of most Moroccan cities, and on the gentrification in the center of Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital. Displacement and gentrification disrupt the relation with urban spaces, which is a crucial, though understudied, feature of the Gnawa brotherhood, and thus entails deep changes to their economic, social, and ritual life. Urban transformations in Casablanca mobilize religious discourses and symbols, while restricting access to spaces that allow vernacular ritual practice. Religion, however, may also provide a language to react, at least symbolically, to urban transformations. |
| Document Type: | Article |
| ISSN: | 1558-5263 0920-1297 |
| DOI: | 10.3167/fcl.2023.042001 |
| Rights: | CC BY NC ND |
| Accession Number: | edsair.doi...........248392440251f8260e58776119e4d3b3 |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
| ISSN: | 15585263 09201297 |
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| DOI: | 10.3167/fcl.2023.042001 |