Sufi Festival - a few problems

Is "concert performance" the best way to engage with Sufi music?

After a splendid opening night at the magnificent Palais Mokri, we have to report that the Fes Festival of Sufi Culture ran into a few problems. By the time that festival director, Faouzi Skalli fronted the TV cameras on the second night, he was a lot less relaxed.

Faouzi Skalli addresses the TV audience

There was confusion over the time and location of the conferences held in conjunction with the festival and in the case of the first one - it failed to eventuate when the guest speaker did not turn up.

The lack of an English language programme, English introductions and general information in English - a problem which has plagued Fez for some time, once again caused frustration. The large contingent of English speakers who arrived for the Festival discovered nothing in English at all. The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music has addressed the problem and had superb translators welcome and introduce acts.

In a time when the largest increase in tourist numbers is from the English speaking countries, it is simply foolish to ignore them. As Daniel and Margret from the USA said, "We would love to have gone to the Festival, but we didn't even know it was on."

The leader of the Tariqa Tijaniya

On the second night the long introduction to the "Soiree de Samaa avec la Tariqa Tijaniya" was conducted in French and followed by a performance that failed to engage an audience who chatted among themselves or talked on mobile phones. However, there was a small and devoted group of followers who managed to find seats on the carpet at the front of the stage and for whom the concert was a great success.

A Tijaniya devotee enjoys the concert

The lack of introductions in English also meant that those who did attend and for whom Sufi Culture is something new, had no context in which to understand the events and consequently failed to enjoy what was on offer. Several owners of guest houses who took their guests to the night time performances left after a short time as their guests were unable to become involved. For visitors to Fez, the lack of attention to the performances by local people is also puzzling. The constant talking and using telephones during a performance is extremely annoying. However, it is only fair to point out that this is not simply a problem for the Sufi Festival, but almost every music event in Fez.

The carpeted area at the Palais Mokri

The Palais Mokri is a superb venue, but questions have to be asked about the suitability for Sufi events. The Fes Festival of Sacred Music has held regular "Sufi Nights" which have been wildly successful simply because they have been "events" rather than performances. The "concert" style of this Festival has been less engaging because of the distance between audience and "performers". It is possible that Sufi "events" need to be less formal to create the magical moments that a "lila" can produce.

It can only be hoped that lessons are learned from this first Sufi Festival and that subsequent ones give the Sufi Brotherhoods the opportunity to do what they do best - to involve the audience in a truly mystical experience.

Related reading: Sufi Moussem Part One, & Part Two


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