Singing the Walī: Moulay Abdeslam, Resonant Reverence, and the Poetics of Devotion: ISM Fellows Lunch Talk with Hicham Chami

ISM Fellow Hicham Chami will discuss the role of indigenous music in memorializing 13^th-century Sufi saint Moulay Abdeslam in “Singing the Walī: Moulay Abdeslam, Resonant Reverence, and the Poetics of Devotion,” part of the ISM’s Fellows Lunch series. Chami’s presentation examines the significance of Moulay Abdeslam’s shrine in the Jebala region of northwest Morocco as a spiritual and cultural touchstone: not only as a pilgrimage site, but as a locus of collective memory, wherein devotional music serves as a dynamic vehicle for preserving and reinterpreting the saint’s legacy across generations. Chami’s analysis of song lyrics, historical texts, and ethnographic observations reveal how this music encodes themes of sacrality, pilgrimage, unity, and affect which resonate with the marginalized Jebli population. Broadening the discussion, this study addresses how marginalized communities can mobilize indigenous music as a counter-narrative to cultural erasure—asserting their agency through sound and devotion. In doing so, they bridge the sacred and the secular, transforming music into a living and empowering legacy.

This event is free, but registration is required. Lunch will be provided.

Open to Yale Community only.

Contact: Katya Vetrov

Speaker Bio:

Hicham Chami earned his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University, specializing in the indigenous musical traditions of the Jebala region in Northwest Morocco. His dissertation explored the cultural and historical impacts of colonialism and neo-colonialism on Jebli music, examining factors of cultural hegemony and marginalization within broader Moroccan musical and societal contexts. His scholarship provides a valuable framework to investigate the relationship between music and spirituality, particularly through the continued use of indigenous music in sacred contexts, which highlights the intricate interplay between these spheres. As an ISM fellow, his research includes two compelling case studies that reveal the coexistence of sacred and profane elements in Jebli music, offering insights into modalities of ecstasy and enlightenment: the Moulay Abdesslam mūssem at Jbǝl l-ʿlām and the Ḥarrāqī Tariqa in Tetuán.