Tourism's real roots do not lie in pilgrimage (or even in "fair" trade), but in war.Rape and pillage were the original forms of tourism, or rather, the first tourists followed directly in the wake of war, like human vultures picking over battlefield carnage for imaginary booty - for images. Hakim Bey, Overcoming Tourism.

The Gnawa are tourist attractions perfectly inhabiting the Moroccan mystique. "Wild" and "frenzied", "colorful" and "mysterious", they're an integral part of Moroccan folklore and they play the role well. Traditionally the Gnawa have not performed their religious duties (healing and purifying) as a means to "make a living". Thus performing is one of the ways they make a living; and performers need an audience. This audience is not just up made of Westerners but also of Moroccans and other non-westerns tourist. This is important to keep in mind. By default, anyone who is not a Gnawa, then becomes a tourist; an outsider looking in. And what is it that we're seeing? What are we looking for? Entertainment? A good time? A connection to our pre-modern condition? An escape from the alienation of Western materialism? A psychic rush brought about their "trance" music. The web offers a wide array of "touristic" representations of the Gnawa. From the ever growing Gnawa Festival in Essaouira to new age tours out of California, to the exotic palaces of Las Vegas, the Gnawa are there to remind us that just as they may seem caught in our western gaze, so are we caught in theirs.

Gnaoua Festival of Essaouira official site: Now entering its third year this Festival brings together some of the most renowned Gnawa masters and non Gnawa musicians for an extended weekend. It's a summer extravaganza attracting dozens of thousands of aficionados to the port city of Essaouira. This tourist boom is reflected in the many sites dedicated to promoting the city and the festival. Check out Essaouira and Artouest. The Gnawa are also becoming a brand name. You can visit Hotel Gnanoua and make reservations. Unfortunately, there are no Gnawas there. Only their name for commercial purposes. You can see what tourist sites have to say about the Festival by visiting Routard.com or Time.com. There are some interesting articles also. You can read the French daily L'Humanite or the Moroccan Marocnet, you can read a transcript of an interview in Radio France with one of the directors of the Festival or read a separate piece. One of the most interesting articles comes your way from the L.A. Weekly. The writer who attended the Festival brings all the expected hype of the English language in his attempt to describe the intensity of the Gnawa all the while pointing to some of the contradictions inherent in such a giant tourist undertaking. He describes Gnawas performing in a luxurious Hotel for rich crusty decadent Europeans in their hottubs. One has to wonder what impact such festivals will have on Gnawa culture. For now this is possibly the best tourist experience of the Gnawa in the planet.

Gnawas in Las Vegas: Press release by the Casino Industry promoting the grand opening of "Desert Passage" an Arabian Nights theme shopping center. Gnawas are billed as "exotic artist" among contortionists and henna painters. In a Las Vega Journal article about the Casino, the Gnawa are also referred to as "musicians from Morocco, a group of percussionists who play large castanets called djemma; The article mentions that the promoter travelled to Marocco to find performers and attempted to set up an exchange through the Moroccan Government but nothing came of it. He then decided to hire "authentic" Moroccans who live in the States. And yet Sand Diegop Online says that "Authenticity in the entertainment is also key to the equation. The builder worked directly with the government of Morocco to ensure the entertainers who work at the center accurately represent the customs of the desert lands. The idea, says Beirnes, “was to create an ongoing, spontaneous encounter that inspires guests to participate instead of simply observe.” Was the Moroccan Government involved? And if they were, how did they chose who "accurately" represented the Gnawa? This site opens up a real question: is there any difference between a Gnawa performing in Las Vegas and a Gnawa performing for tourist in Morocco? The promoter doesn't seem to think so.

Chez Ali: Exotica by Moroccans for Westerners and the Moroccan Bourgeoisie: On the other side of the Atlantic and yet closer to Disney is Chez Ali in Marrakech. For fifty bucks you get a roasted rack of lamb, some couscous, musicians, an Horse Fantasia, belly dancers and fireworks. What's interesting about Chez Ali is that it not only attracts Western Tourists but also the Moroccan upper class. This brings into the open the issue cultural identity and class in Morocco. I wonder if for the Gnawa performers, the Moroccan Bourgeoisie and the Western tourist are one and the same. Still one needs to acknowledge that Chez Ali provides many jobs in a country with an abysmal jobless rate. Nonetheless, the bad taste that pervades this site cannot be ignored, especially because it is a "Moroccan" representation.

Images by Orientalist Painter Rudolf Ernst: This site sells art posters. One of them, painted at the turn of the century has a questionable caption: "Gnaoua, who constituted themselves as brotherhoods through Morocco, are Master musicians, players of crotales, conspicuous women, mediums and followers."

Moroccan Government: This is the official site of the Ministry of Information. It has information about the Gnawa who are "Masters musicians, players of crotales, conspicuous women, mediums and followers." This is exactly the same sentence as the one used in the Painter Rudolf Ernst site! Is this a coincidence? Laziness on the part of the webmaster? Or are we seeing at work a Colonial rhetoric directed at the Gnawa by Government Bureaucrats?

International Society for Behavioral Neuroscience Annual Meeting, May 6-10, 2001 Marrakech, Morocco : Here's the personal page of a neuroscientist who put up a photo gallery of this trip. It's worth the look. One of the photos, taken at Chez Ali, features someone who looks like a Gnawa and another a group of musicians with a caption that reads: "During dinner at Chez Ali, musicians and singers drop by to annoy you." This is a good example of a nice guy behaving like an "ugly American". This kind of tourism here closes any possibility of having a humane interaction with the natives.

New Age Tour: Seeing is believing. The "We're No Angels" company will among other things take you on a "magical and spiritual" trip to Morocco. Day five is described as: "Morning is at leisure, sleep in, and enjoy breakfast at the garden café in the hotel. Explore the hotel gardens and shops and enjoy lunch by the pool. Transferring to a private house to enjoy the Gnawa Experience. We will take part in a local preparation of a true Moroccan dinner followed by a spiritual Gnawa trance ceremony." The next day "Breakfast at the hotel and then a return trip to the souks to pick up items and the Gnawa instrument we were drawn to the night before." Seeing is believing!

Mouna Imports: And import business site ran by Mouna who's had been living in the US since 1991. She sell anything you can imagine: Moroccan antiques, hand painted wood/mosaic tables, "romantic" henna and glass lamps, handcrafted traditional jewelry boxes and Gnawa instruments and Costumes. My goal in promoting this website is to give some insight about the Northwest African culture, and hopefully on Arabic culture in general. My desire is to provide readers with answers to some or many of their questions regarding the Maghrabian and other Arabic cultures... In our Atelier based in Marrakech, Morocco, we design traditional and contemporary fashions." How selling Gnawa "costumes" contributes to my understanding of Gnawa culture is beyond me. Once again this is an interesting site precisely because it is created by a Moroccan. Is she playing on stereotypes in order to fulfill what she believes are our western desires and preconceptions? Or is this her genuine vision of Moroccan culture. A quick visit through her photo gallery reveals a great deal about her vision. One of them titled "Ancient Morocco" is a series of postcards depicting roman ruins, monuments and overviews of cities like Fez. Not a single human being can be discerned. The other is "Modern Morocco" and it's a series of postcard snapshots depicting luxurious hotels and restaurant. The only Moroccans shown are a belly dancer and a performer at Chez Ali.

Zohar's Vision: Zohar is a successful belly dancer and promoter of Exotica in the New York area. She can re-create Arab Nights in your home and bring you an assortment of performers: acrobats, fire eaters, voluptuous snake charmers, Moroccan tea vendors, Sudan Chair Processionals and... Gnawa musicians. She offers the famous Hassan Hakmoun. Zohars list of clients is impressive: The United Nations, Pepsi, United Way, Armani, Disney.... All fun and games? It would seem that cultural Middle Eastern/Arab/North African stereotypes are more than accepted, they're actually embraced at high places.