A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

An Echo of Al-Andalus: Tunisia's Ma'luf

Tunisias Online has a post about the Tunisian Ma'luf,, a traditional musical form originally brought to North Africa by refugees from Al-Andalus, Islamic Spain. (The city of Tunis became a major gathering place for those driven from Iberia; the fairly common tunisian surname Mourou is said to be Spanish Moro.) Along with the related term muwashahat and other terms applied to Andalusian survivals in Morocco (Andalusi) and Algeria (Gharnati, of Granada), the Ma'luf  is both a proud symbol of Tunisian tradition and an echo of a more distant time. Another article with a bit more technical information may be found here. And a Wikipedia piece here. But you don't need to read about it:

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