Khamlia and Its Gnawa Music

What it is

Khamlia is a small village about 7 km south of Merzouga, about ten minutes by car, in a valley where a river once ran, at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes. About 400 people live there, almost all from one family, the Oujeaa. Their ancestors were slaves brought by force from sub-Saharan Africa; the family was emancipated in 1934 and by around 1950 had settled here. They have kept Gnawa music, that of Morocco's brotherhoods of sub-Saharan origin, with its rhythm of iron castanets (qraqeb), drums and the guembri, a three-string lute.

What you do

You go to listen to music. In the village, the group Les Pigeons du Sable plays for visitors: you sit down, are served tea and the musicians play and sing for a while. At the end a donation is left. There is no fixed entry fee or published schedule: the musicians play when visitors arrive. The group also gives workshops on traditional rhythms.

The visit is part of the village's community tourism. The Khamlia Association, founded in 2004 by Mohamed Oujeaa, uses what is raised to preserve local culture, for vocational training for women and for free tutoring classes for children. The women weave rugs and sew dresses that are sold to visitors at a fair price. Besides music, there are weaving, henna and cookery workshops (tagine, couscous, harira), and stays in village houses or in a camp.

Every summer the village celebrates the Sadaka, a three-day festival of Gnawa music almost without a break.

How long and how much

Allow an hour for the music and tea, a little more if you do a workshop. The donation is up to you; bear in mind that the association lives partly from it. Bring dirhams in cash and in small notes. If you buy a rug, ask the price calmly and without hurry: you have no obligation to buy.

Getting there

Khamlia is on the road that leaves Merzouga towards the south, skirting the erg. In your own car you arrive in about ten minutes and park in the village; you do not need a 4x4. Without a car, many hotels and camps in Merzouga include it in their half-day 4x4 excursions, which usually combine it with visits to nomad families, the old Mifis mines and Lake Srji, which only has water in some seasons. If you go on an excursion, ask whether the music donation is included.

When to go

In the morning or late in the afternoon, when the heat is less intense; in summer, at midday, the village is drowsy. It fits well the morning after the night at the camp, after the sunrise in the dunes, or on the way to or from Rissani if you spend the day in the area.

With children

It is one of the visits that works best with children: there is live music and drums a couple of metres away. Sit them at the front so they can see the musicians. Ask permission before taking photos of the village people, especially women and children.