Guembri

Repertoire

Guembri pieces.

Two lists, sourced separately. The eight ritual suites carry the canonical pieces of the lila. Modern arrangements are individual transcriptions from videos, charts and lessons. Each piece card surfaces real recordings of that piece pulled from the maâlem profiles.

Card icons:♪TabAaLyricsⓘInterpretation

Section 1

The eight ritual suites

54 pieces organised by suite, each with its krakeb pattern, periodicity and pitch set where documented.

Mulay Abdelqader Jilali

whiteSultan of the Saints, protector

  • Allah Allah Ya Mulay Abdelqader Jilali

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses

  • Dawi Hali

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 2 pulses

  • Jilali Bou 'Alem

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 2 pulses

  • Jilali Rasul Allah

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q1
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses
    Pitches ·
    124578

  • Mulay Abdelqader Jilali

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q1
    Period ·
    2, 4 pulses
    Pitches ·
    1247

  • Sadi Bula Wali Jali

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q1
    Period ·
    8, 2 pulses

  • Ydir Allah Axir Ya Mulay Abdelqader Jilali

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8 pulses

Bu Hala

multi-colouredVagabonds of God

  • Bangara

    Incomplete

    Also: Bangoro / Fangoro / Fangara. Bambara-family piece — the title is itself the call repeated across the suite's sub-sections (Fangoro Fangoro, Amara Yobati, Sidi Amaro Sheshiyat Bambara). Attested on the Meknassi tradition (Sawt el Ismailia) and on Hamid El Kasri & Issam-Issam's 'Saha Koyo' as 'Fangoro.'

  • Boulila

    Bouhala-suite piece. Common across lineages, recorded on Innov Gnawa's 'Aicha' (2018) under the conjoined title 'Youbati / Boulila.'

  • Bu Hala

    Incomplete

  • Buderabela

    Incomplete
    Pitches ·
    24578

  • Habib el Mal

    Incomplete

    Bouhala-suite piece, opens Section 1 of Hamid Laguenawi's Meknassi cassette 'Sawt el Ismailia 30.' Includes the sub-pieces 'Zid el Mal' and 'Ye Lalla Ya Bungra.'

  • Ouled Bambara

    Incomplete

    "Sons of Bambara" — kuyu (semi-profane processional) that opens the lila in the Meknassi tradition. References the sub-Saharan ancestry of the Gnawa. Documented as the standard opener on Hamid Laguenawi's Sawt el Ismailia recordings; also the title piece of the Drag City compilation 'Ouled Bambara: Portraits of Gnawa.'

Sidi Mimun and Lalla Mimuna

blackGuardian to the door of Sudan

  • Bania

    Lyrics

    Also: Baniya. Sidi Mimun-suite piece in the family of Mahmoud Guinia's signature pieces. Recorded on Innov Gnawa's 'Aicha' (2018) and under the same title in Maâlem Mahmoud Guinia × James Holden's collaborations.

  • Chalaba

    Incomplete

    Also: Salaba. Salutation/invocation piece, often used to greet the spirits at suite transitions. Suite assignment varies by lineage — recorded in Sidi Mimun contexts on Hamid El Kasri & Issam-Issam's 'Saha Koyo' (2006) and on Innov Gnawa's 'Aicha' (2018).

  • Fufu Dinba

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses
    Pitches ·
    2458

  • Ghumami

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q1
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses
    Pitches ·
    124578

  • Gnawa Baba Mimun

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 4, 2 pulses

  • Kiriya

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses

  • Lalla Mimuna

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 2 pulses
    Pitches ·
    124578

  • Mimun Ganga

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2

  • Mimuna Rabi L'afu

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q2
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses

  • Sidi Mimun Marhaba

    Incomplete
    Krakeb ·
    Q1
    Period ·
    8, 4 pulses

  • Soudani Manayou

    Incomplete

    Also: Sudani Manayo / Soudani Manayo. Invocation of the Soudaniyin spirits (sub-Saharan ancestry), part of the Sidi Mimun cohort. The title is itself the refrain. Widely circulated in lila recordings and on social-media tutorials by contemporary maâlems.

Musawiyin

dark blueSea Spirits

  • Sidi Moussa

    Incomplete

    Also: Sidi Mossa. Saint of the sea, water, and sailors. The cohort leader of the Musawiyin (sea spirits). Common across Marrakech, Essaouira, and Meknes repertoires; appears under near-identical titles in nearly every published lila recording.

Samawiyin

light blueSky Spirits

  • Allah Bou Yandi Samaoui

    Lyrics

    Samaoui (Sky) suite — invokes the celestial spirits, sons of Abdelmoula.

  • Bou Yandi

    Lyrics

    Samaoui (Sky) suite — invokes the celestial spirits, sons of Abdelmoula.

  • Sidi Sma (The Lord of the Sky)

    Lyrics

    Samaoui (Sky) suite — invokes the celestial spirits, sons of Abdelmoula.

Houmar

redSpirits of the Abattoir

  • Baba Koummy

    Lyrics

    Bel Ahmar (Red) suite — invokes the Pacha Hammou cohort: blood, slaughter, and the healing power associated with animal heat.

  • Hammouda

    Lyrics

    Bel Ahmar (Red) suite — invokes the Pacha Hammou cohort: blood, slaughter, and the healing power associated with animal heat.

  • Marhaba Moulay Koummy

    Lyrics

    Bel Ahmar (Red) suite — invokes the Pacha Hammou cohort: blood, slaughter, and the healing power associated with animal heat.

  • Sallaoua Nabina Mohammadi

    Lyrics

    Bel Ahmar (Red) suite — invokes the Pacha Hammou cohort: blood, slaughter, and the healing power associated with animal heat.

  • Sallaoua Nabina Mohammed

    Lyrics

    Bel Ahmar (Red) suite — invokes the Pacha Hammou cohort: blood, slaughter, and the healing power associated with animal heat.

  • Sidi Hammou strikes the slave

    Lyrics

    Bel Ahmar (Red) suite — invokes the Pacha Hammou cohort: blood, slaughter, and the healing power associated with animal heat.

  • Sidi Hammu

    Lyrics

    Also: Sidi Hamou / Sidi Hamu. The cohort-leading saint of the Houmar (red spirits, associated with butchers and blood). Cited in Wikipedia's Gnawa-music article and on IEMed's Gnawa overview; recorded on multiple festival lila documents.

Ulad Agh-Ghaba

blackSpirits of the Forest

  • Sergou Buleji

    Incomplete
    Period ·
    4 pulses
    Pitches ·
    12478

Shorfa

green and whiteDescendants of the Prophet

  • Ammara Douya 'Abdallah (Fill the inkwell, 'Abdallah)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Baba l'Aarbi (Arab Father)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Baba Yourky the Hady

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Bou Chama (Father of Chama)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • La Ilaha Illa Allah

    Incomplete

    The shahāda — the Islamic affirmation of God's unity — sung as a Shorfa-suite invocation. Recorded under this title on Hamid El Kasri & Issam-Issam's 'Saha Koyo' (2006); appears under variants ('La Illaha Illa Allah') in many other lila recordings.

  • Meccaoui (Inhabitant of Mecca)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Moulay 'Abdallah ben Hsein

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Moulay 'Brahim

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Moulay l'Aarbi (the Arab Master)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Sidna 'Ali (Our Lord 'Ali)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • The Hadya (The Gift)

    Lyrics

    Khder Chorfa (Green) suite — invocation of the Prophet and his direct descendants (the Chorfa).

  • Ya Rasul Allah

    Incomplete

L'Ayalet

yellow and variousFemale Spirits

  • Lalla Aicha

    Also: Lalla Aïcha. The cohort-leading female spirit (yellow), sequenced near sunrise and central to the L'Ayalet suite. Recorded on Innov Gnawa's 'Aicha' (2018), and across festival-Gnaoua lila documents from Essaouira and Marrakech.

  • Lalla Malika

    Incomplete

    Aristocratic female spirit, often associated with the colour violet/purple. Cohort-member of the Layalet; documented in IEMed's Gnawa overview and on multiple festival-lila recordings.

  • Lalla Meryema

    Incomplete

    Also: Lalla Meryeme. Berber-associated female spirit, sometimes tagged with the colour red within the Layalet suite. Documented in IEMed's Gnawa-music overview.

  • Lalla Mira

    Female spirit invoking dance and joy. Sequenced at sunrise per multiple sources (Wikipedia, IEMed). The colour green is sometimes assigned to Lalla Mira specifically rather than the broader Layalet yellow.

'Aisha

blackRavishing Spirits

  • Aicha Hamdouchia

    Incomplete

    Also: Aisha Hamdushiya. Variant of 'Aisha associated with the Hamadcha brotherhood (a Sufi tariqa adjacent to Gnawa practice). Recorded under the title 'Aïcha Hamdouchia' by Hamid El Kasri on the 'Gnawa Home Songs' compilation (2023).

  • 'Aisha Qandisha

    Incomplete

Section 2

Modern & arrangements

Pieces transcribed from contemporary lessons, official tabs, or community-contributed charts. Each cites its source so a learner can compare playing to the transcription.

No arrangements yet — when one is added it will appear here.

Other

Recordings without a piece match

16 recordings from the maâlem catalogue we couldn't bind to a piece in the lists above — usually because the title is an album name, a medley, or a piece we haven't catalogued yet.

Sources & attribution: /bibliography.