CONCEPT OF NASHAT:
RECLAIMING JOY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
#SOURCE
:// Alexa Kruger, Houariyat music: A study of women’s music in Marrakech, Marocco
:// Deborah Kapchan, Nashat: The Gender of Musical Celebration in Morocco
“Kapchan describes the musical expression within celebrations “coded as feminine” and “relies on a recognition of feminine difference and desire.” Kapchan’s research discusses the notion of “nashat” – “a recognised performative response to a collective ambiance created in a musical environment.” And a “participatory state [that requires] interaction and openness. Nashat, which directly translates to the word “party” (…) relies on the “ambiance created in a musical environment”, therefore nashat is not possible without music, and the level of nashat is dependent on how “matluqa” you are, meaning “free-flowing” and loose…”
:// Lahcen Haddad, Women singers and representations of ‘nashat’ in Moroccan popular culture
“Whereas in Standard Arabic, nashat means liveliness, energy and activity, in Moroccan Arabic it has acquired a multitude of different meanings, all of which refer to an uncannily ambiguous semantic core. In fact, nashat has become a notion belonging to a social discourse whereby the community comments the different behaviors, actions and attitudes of its members. However, nashat refers to different forms of behavior that are not readily observable to the naked eye of the objective social scientist. For example, it may denote a psychological state of mind, like having fun or enjoying oneself. As such, it refers to a temporary state of being that is not necessarily recurrent.”
“In fact, what happens is that the body moves and writhes to the sound of music in such a way that it would not be misplaced to say that nashat is a form of music of a body in a pseudo-state of trance.”
“The ambivalence of nashat shows how a supposedly conservative society not only domesticates the profane but allows for ways to celebrate it within confined space and according to strict rules. As used and appropriated by women dancers for their own sake as well (in addition to catering to the male’s desire), nashat becomes a way for women to express a burgeoning consciousness of their body beyond the commodification entailed by the role of courtesans that the traditional entertainment industry confines them to. As such, nashat is a key social concept that, if studied in connection with others of the same constellation, would shed light on the dynamic and dialectical nature of Moroccan culture in its relation to social change.”