Correlates between Berber and Flamenco Rhythms

Samuel Thomas: 86200Music of Spain: Berber Rhythms, Flamenco Ethnogenesis

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A central problem that is causing much debate among scholars of

Spanish music is concerned with the origins of flamenco music. Naturally, a

musical genre that began as a folk music style, passed down orally and having

origins in the days before recorded music, is difficult for any scholar trying to

identify its roots with absolute certainty.

One approach has been to explore the etymological possibilities of

flamenco. Padrell suggests Flemish immigrants brought the songs during the

reign of Charles (ruled 1516-1556). Salillas says the term flamenco refers to the

rowdy wildness associated with the men who fought in the regiments of

Flanders. Matos discusses how the music is connected with the Germanic

concept of flammen (flamboyant). Infante suggests flamenco comes from the

Arabic, felagmengu, for songs of the laborers.

Escalante suggests a direct connection to Gypsies or Gitanos coming

from India, where the term flamines could be used for Brahman priests who,

through their performance of flamenco in Spain, are carrying out sacred rites

and chants. (Katz 2001). This is problematic since Papenbrok, citing the ancient

book of manu, suggests that the Gitano community’s Romany ancestors are

described as belonging to an untouchable caste associated with music and

dance. (Papenbrok 1990: 37).

It is clear from a historiography of the region that a multicultural fabric of

different ethnic groups were living in close enough proximity to one another to

make impacts on each other’s musical culture. The vast majority of scholars


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agree that flamenco must have been touched by musical elements from Arab,

Berber, Jewish and Christian groups native to the region. Whatever the

etymological or historiographical possibilities of flamenco, it remains a style of

music closely associated with the Gitano community of Andalusia (southern

Spain).

The Gitanos came to Andalusia in the latter half of the 15th century (first

recorded appearance in Spain was 1447) when Andalusia was a hotbed of

relocation and population movement. (Papenbrok 1990: 38). This period, coming

to a head in 1492, was defined by the upheaval of Jewish and Muslim

communities at the hands of the ever-expanding Catholic hegemony emanating

from the north; Jews were expelled while Muslims were relocating to the last

stronghold of Arab power in Granada. In the ensuing centuries, Gitanos

belonged to a vast underclass in Andalusia that included many conversos and

moriscos1. Blas Infante Pérez (1885-1936), a writer, politician and Andalusian

nationalist ideologue, and more recently, Manuel Barrios (Gitanos, Moriscos y

Cante Flamenco, 1989) both assert that a great contribution to the

ethnogenesis2 of the Gitano community in Andalusia was due in large part to the

adoption of moriscos in the early 17th century following another expulsion edict

that saw many taking refuge among the Gitanos.

1 Conversos and moriscos refers to Jews and Muslims respectively, who converted toChristianity in an effort to avoid relocation. Many attempted to keep their faith alive in hiding.

2 The beginnings of a distinct ethnicity.


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One of the earliest accounts of a clearly defined Gitano community

comes from the 19th century writer Diaz Del Moral. Del Moral states in his

Historias de las agitaciones campensinas that some 40,000 Gitanos were living

in and around the area of Jerez de la Frontera. (Papenbrok 1990: 40). His

description of their living conditions is fraught with images of destitution. It

seems that 40,000 people is quite a large number for such a destitute

population group living in mid-19th century Andalusia. The 40,000-strong Gitano

community is more likely a hybridization of many Andalusian underclass groups

identifying themselves as part of a monolithic Gitano community.

The ‘lumpen masses’ argument about the foundation of the Andalusian

Gitano community’s ethnogenesis is convincing in the realm of music as well.

Any notion that suggests that flamenco music’s origins are traceable to a Roma

or purely Gitano musical culture seems fraught with problems (time, distance,

cohabitation, persectution, technological changes, oral transmission). There is

no doubt that a defined Gitano community in Andalusia has been the primary

location of flamenco music for centuries now. However, the question remains

whether the Gitano community has been the primary location of a purely Gitano

ethnicity over all these centuries. Without going down that slippery road too far,

with its inherent difficulties in substantiating any definitive claims about ethnicity,

I simply suggest, as many others before me have, that flamenco embodies a

wealth of musical cultures — Roma, Arab, Berber, Jewish, and Christian.


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Through the café cantantés3 of proprietors such as Silverio Franconetti

(1830-89), flamenco was brought out of the exclusive confines of a Gitano folk

sphere and presented to audiences that might otherwise have lacked exposure

to this music. Antonio Chacón (1869-1929), an important non-Gitano performer

who collected, standardized, and with the help of guitarist Ramón Montoya

innovated flamenco songforms, ultimately popularized flamenco. By the early

20th century, figures such as Antonio Mairena (1909-83) were asserting a

popular ideology that purveyors and performers of flamenco must recognize and

remember flamenco’s Gitano roots.

A new sort of debate had ensued, pitting ideologues professing

flamenco’s Gitano purity against flamencologists promoting the reality of

flamenco’s embodiment of Andalusia’s hybridized cultural foundations. Even

non-Gitano purveyors and performers would become enchanted with the

romanticism of a Gitano musical culture that could survive the centuries of

population movement and resettlement. With heavyweights such as Mairena

(1976), LeFranc (2000) and Zern still promoting this idea, others such as

Steingress (2005), Katz (2001) and Mitchell (1994) have been standing against

this wave of ethnocentricity inherent to such an ideology.

The propensity to try and tease out specific features of a musical culture

and match these features to a particular ethnicity is quite enchanting. In

3 Public cafés featuring flamenco performers.


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flamenco, it is clear that certain features of melodic construction can be traced

to the influence of Arab music in Iberia. For instance, the use of melodic modes

derived from Arab maqams (Bayati and Hijaz) and the distinctive way in which

these modes are employed to express a dual-tonicity.4 However, it is clear that

the adaptation of the Gregorian Phrygian mode, present and pervasive in

European Renaissance and Baroque music, is an important feature of flamenco

tonality as well. (Manuel 2005: 313). Therefore, the strongest arguments about

the ethnogenesis of flamenco’s musical culture include a nuanced

understanding of how different musical cultures hybridized in Andalusia.

By focusing on rhythmic features of flamenco music, we can see

evidence of this hybridization. Synonymities in rhythmic features that exist

between flamenco and Berber/Arab folk styles in the Maghreb,5 and particularly

Morocco’s Atlas and Rif mountain regions, is intriguing. There are two issues to

consider: first, an aspect of hybridization in flamenco is evident in rhythmic

features and second, that the predominant notion of Arab influence in Iberia,

and specifically Andalusia, that almost entirely ignores the Berber presence in

the ethnogenesis of the Moors, dilutes any understanding of hybridization in

musical cultures of Andalusia.

4 Dual-tonicity refers to the argument that “the fourth degree functions as a secondary tonicand as a relatively stable resting point.” (Manuel 2002: 312).

5 The Maghreb specifically refers to the North African countries of Tunisia, Algeria andMorocco.


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After explaining how the history of Arab conquest and Moorish hegemony

in Andalusia from the 8th to the 15th century points to a stronger Berber presence

there, I will analyze specific rhythmic features found in flamenco music and

compare them to rhythmic features at the heart of Berber/Arab folk music in

Morocco.

Historiography of Andalusia

Andalusia was the Western outpost of a highly successful Arab conquest

as early as the 8th century. Islam had begun in the Arabia, brought across

northern Africa, over the strait of Gibraltar, to Iberia. Arab conquerors, armed

with an “ideology of piety and longing for martyrdom,” instilled Islam as a

religion and social structure that could absorb new subjects rather easily.

(Lapidus 2002: 299). Arab armies were infused with Berber converts as these

armies worked their way westward. The Visigothic King Roderic was defeated at

the River Barbate in 711 by Arab and Berber forces, beginning the process of

Arabization in Iberia. A Hispano-Arab society coalesced around a persistent

Arab cultural elitism reflected in Arabic becoming the common language of

Iberia’s Arab, Berber, Jewish and Christian populations. Greek philosophical

treatises (including musical treatises) were translated and studied in earnest.

(Lapidus 2002: 309-312). Major developments in art, architecture, poetry, and

music occurred during this period.

In 1086, under threat from the strength of a unified Castille, Leon and

Galicia, Muslim leaders in Spain urged the Berber Almoravid ruler in Morocco to


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intervene and help them repel Christian advances. For nearly a century, the

Almoravids ruled Andalusia. In 1147, the Almoravid dynasty of Morocco and

Andalusia was overthrown — not by Castille, Leon or Galicia, but by another

Berber dynasty — the Almohads. The Almohads, originating from a Berber tribe

in the middle-Atlas mountain region of Morocco, had overthrown another Berber

tribe (the Almoravids) whose influence extended from the edge of the Sahara in

southern Morocco to at least the northern Andalusian cities of Seville and

Cordoba in Andalusia.

The popular perception of both Almoravid and Almohad rule is one of

religious zealotry and intolerance (especially in relativity to the earlier Umayyad

rule of pre-11th century Spain). However, after an initial period of religious

zealotry by their respective founding ideologues, both dynasties oversaw an

important era of cultural production. The Almohads oversaw the construction of

great architectural feats (Giralda, in Seville, completed in 1184) and supported

important Muslim thinkers (Averroes, 1126-1198, and Ibn al’Arabi, 1165-1240).

Ibn Quzman (d. 1160), who cultivated the zajal into an extremely popular poetic

form in colloquial Arabic and used extensively in Iberian folk music, owed his

patronage to the stability and support of Almoravid and Almohad rule. (Lapidus

2002: 315; Shiloah 1995: 80).

There would be lasting influences on Andalusia’s culture from this period.

First of all, what we associate with Moorish architecture, epitomized in the 13th

century by the completion of the Alhambra, comes from the Almoravid/Almohad


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period. Important treatises religious thought, especially in the burgeoning

mystical traditions of Sufism and Kabbalah6 owe much to religious thinkers of

this period. Averroes’ commentaries on Aristotle and the philosophical treatises

of Maimonides, both from this period, were later translated into Latin, showing

their great impact in the centuries to follow.

This period ended abruptly with the success in 1212 by a coalition of

Christian forces. (Lapidus 2002: 314). Muslim rule receded to Granada. The 13th

— 15th century was a period of Christian dominance in Iberia, including most of

Andalusia, which reflected an increasingly intolerant Catholic church pursuing

religious and cultural homogeneity. Andalusian society, once openly multi-

ethnic, was now becoming secretly multi-ethnic. Jews and Muslims were now

forced to accept baptism or leave Spain. By the end of the 15th century, many

relocated to North Africa (Jews relocated primarily to Morocco, Turkey and

Amsterdam). Some remained and continued to hold on to their religious

identities in private. Since compulsory conversion didn’t apply to the newly

settling Gitanos, many Jews and Muslims blended into Gitano communities that

seemed to operate beyond the most intolerant edicts of the new Christian

hegemony. (Papenbrok 1990: 40).

From this historical backdrop we must absorb an important point — the

Hispano-Arab society of Muslim Spain from the 8th to the 15th century reflects a

6 Sufism and Kabbalah are mystical traditions associated with Islam and Judaism, respectively.Both mystical traditions were greatly developed by Andalusian religious thinkers. (Gerber 1992).


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strong Berber presence. An Arab cultural elitism that existed during the time of

the Arab conquests and Moorish rule in Spain accounts for privileging Arab

elements in Andalusian culture. This privileging, continued robustly to the

present by many Orientalist and Arabist scholars, clouds the understanding of

the Berber role in Andalusia’s ethnogenesis, and by extension flamenco’s

origins. Many of the elements associated with Arab culture are in fact

contributions by Berbers, Jews and other subalterns.

I am not suggesting that a distinctive Berber ethnicity persisted in co-

existence with Arab, Jewish and Christian groups, but rather that Moorish

society was predominantly a hybridized Berber/Arab cultural group. From the

overwhelming presence of Berber conscripts in the conquering armies of the 8th

century to the Almoravid/Almohad period, Berbers played a far more significant

role in Andalusia than is often given attention. Numerous writers looking at

Andalusian music and its legacy fail to give more than a brief mention about the

Berber contribution to Moorish culture.

Arab cultural elitism stems from an institutinalized chauvanism promoted

within Islamic thought that bestows an air of superiority on anything associated

with Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. For instance, early Caliphal states and

subsequent branches of Islamic civilization (Maghreb, Persia and India) structure


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aspects of societal status according to Arab ancestry.7 Arabic, as the language

of scripture and thus embodying divinity, had a special status in society and

operated as a symbol of societal status for those who were using it elegantly

(poetry, prose and even conversation). (Lewis 1995: 181). The classical music

that developed in the Umayyad court had to be rooted in Arab culture as well.

Thus we find Ziryab, a very talented musician from Baghdad, being brought to

teach and perform music in Iberia. Though many scholars recognize Ziryab’s

Persian origins, his contributions to Andalusian culture have been Arabized.

Abd al-Rahman III, ruler or Cordova in the early 10th century, is credited

with advancing the cultural roots of Andalusia. His legitimization as a Caliph

came through adoption of Baghdadi Abbasid cultural forms. Though Islamic

culture in Spain assimilated to some aspects of local culture, it developed into

an outpost of Arab-Islamic civilization. (Lapidus 2002: 311). Essentially, his

cultural clout has developed as a direct reflection of Arab cultural elitism.

Affinities with Hispano-Arab musical culture from this period are pointed to in

later Spanish styles of music: influential poetic forms (muwashshah and zajal),

the adoption and adaptation of certain instruments (lute, pandore, guitar) as well

as the influence of Arab musical theory. (Shiloah 1995: 81; Farmer 1925:62). Of

course, the zajal could be seen as a form of an anti-Arab elitism, given that the

7 Hierarchical stratification of Caliphal societies: khassa (having Arab ancestry), ‘amma (convertto Islam or ancestry of such), dhimmi (Jews, Christians — people of the book), pagans. (Lewis1995: 179-204).


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zajal uses a colloquial Arabic and usually has ending phrases in judeo-espagnole

and other romance languages.

Non-Arabs were also interested in achieving social status and to do so

meant Arabization. The early mozarab movement (9th century) was a choice by

Iberia’s Christians to Arabize. Jewish philosophers even wrote in Arabic using

Hebrew script. Again, the strength of this Arab cultural elitism rests upon the

ability of Arab-Islamic civilization to adopt aspects of local culture and Arabize

them. Folk music styles in Andalusia synthesized Arab elements (ie., maqamat,

language, instruments) with non-Arab musical elements, evidenced in the

muwashshah and zajal poetic forms and the Sephardic romanceros. Thus, even

folk music styles in Andalusia can be seen as part of an Arab music culture.

Flamenco’s ethnogenesis must be understood as part of this history — a

history with an apparent paradox. On the one hand we have a society where

multiculturalism seemed to flourish. The effect of this type of Andalusian society

on the Gitano community was one that included a historical precedence for

hybridization. As Papenbrok suggests, dispelling the notion of an inherent

Gitano nomadic lifestyle is not hard to do when you consider that in Spain the

Gitano community could settle and sink roots in a place where they were more

or less accepted. (Papenbrok 1990: 38). Yet, on the other hand, hybridization is

not multiculturalism. For Gitanos this meant adopting and adapting to an

Andalusian culture that was imbued with an Arab cultural elitism, pervasive in

Andalusia’s seemingly multicultural society.


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Perhaps the issue of Arab cultural elitism is at the root of the reactionary

ideology that promotes the Gitano cultural elitism, propelling work from writers

like Mairena and company. Their ideas are predicated on a notion of a

persistent, distinctive Gitano musical identity that rejected and repelled

hybridization. Arabization is a fact of the hybridization process in Andalusia, well

into the 17th century, but so are elements drawn from non-Arab cultures.

We can feel more secure in identifying certain aspects of flamenco music

without trying to justify any particular ethnocentric ideology about the nature of

flamenco’s ethnogenesis. Arab maqams undoubtedly play an important part in

how flamenco tonality is constructed. Nostalgia and longing, two favored

themes of cante jondo, can be expressions adapted from the various

experiences of people touching the Gitano community.8 Therefore, looking into

the role of Berber musical culture influencing flamenco is not about promoting

any sort of Berber cultural elitism, but rather about recognizing Berber

contributions to the Andalusian cultural milieu.

8 This psychodramatic persecution, experienced by the various groups comprising the Gitanocommunity, is touted as the foundation of the themes expressed in cante jondo, the deepestand most sincere of flamenco’s song repertoires. (Mitchell 1994: 55-56). Additionally, the notionthat a persecuted class may find expressing a hyper-masculinity a helpful coping mechanism,the machismo in performance of siguiriya or so-called seguidilla Gitano, is theorized by Mercadoto be a creation of a disaffected, hybridized group of Gitanos, majos, guapos and other lower-class Andalusians. It is this hybridized group that later became known as flamencos. (Mercado1982; Mitchell 1994: 95).


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Analysis of Rhythm

There are many defining characteristics of flamenco music. Some have

been hinted at above —tonality, instrumentation, poetic conventions, etc. One of

the most exciting characteristics of flamenco is its mesmerizing rhythm.

Flamenco’s grooves are incessant. I would have to stop short of infectious since

the complexity of the groove often drives the unenculturated listener to the brink

of tears — that is if they are trying to clap along.

Certain poetic conventions (lyric themes, syllabic meters) can be used to

distinguish between different cantes – cante jondo themes of longing or

persecution for seguiriyas. An octosyllabic, three or four-line verse is commonly

used in solea during the copla. (Manuel 2006: 98). However, some poetic

conventions are not directly related to a particular compàs beyond common

usage and simply offer additional ways to color distinguishing characteristics of

these song forms. With these different attributes, a compàs functions more as a

song form than strictly as rhythmic cycles.

The flamenco groove comes in a few different forms or compàses. A

compàs functions like a rhythmic cycle, where different musical elements are

prescribed and come together to produce the groove. The ebb and flow of

simultaneous occurances between parts define the unique character of a

flamenco compàs, accenting different beats and implying a persistent meter.

(Lerdahl & Jackendoff 1983). Melodic/harmonic construction, instruments and


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dancers all have a certain relationship to the compàs, helping to define primary

and secondary accents.

Most prominent are the twelve-beat compàses, which include the

bulerias, solea, allegrias, siguiriyas, guajiras and peteneras. These compàses are

commonly theorized as a combination of triple and duple divisions of the twelve-

beat cycle. At times, different musical elements (i.e., guitar versus clapping) can

suggest overlapping triple or duple divisions. This helps to produce hemiola-like

effects. For example, a solea has a particular internal structure of accents within

the cycle — beats three, six, eight, ten and twelve — creating a 3+3+2+2+2

cycle. These accents are played by strong rasgeados or strums of the guitar,

guitar patterns, knocking with fingernails on the guitar body or knuckles on a

table, clapping and foot stomps.

Additional musical elements help define different compàses. These can

be inherently rhythmic — as is the case with harmonic motion. The harmonic

motion helps to imply the internal structure of accents by strongly emphasizing

certain beats in the compàs. In the case of solea, the secondary tonic (bII)

begins on beat three and arrives to the tonic (I) on beat ten. These become

primary accents in the compàs. At times, performers choose to remain on one

tonality for multiple cycles of the compàs, creating a certain ambiguity about the

primary accents. However, these performance choices are usually followed by

harmonic motion that reinstates the core structure of internal accents. For

instance, a performer may remain on the secondary tonic (bII) for two and a half


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cycles through the compàs, resolving to the tonic (I) on beat ten of the third time

through the compàs.

Other chords, claps or taps can be used to emphasize secondary

accents. These secondary accents can also be skipped or changed, adding

flavor to the compàs. For instance, in solea, it is common to insert the

‘Andalusian cadence’ (iv, III, bII, I), “drifting to the tonic on beat 7, and resolving

more definitively on beat 10.” (Manuel 2006: 105). In this example beat seven

becomes a secondary accent. Even though the tonic is interpolated on this beat

for a moment, the finalis is on the primary accent — beat ten.

The argument about dual-tonicity, drawn from Manuel’s exploration of

Soler and Scarlatti fandangos, suggests that the oscillation between harmonic

antipodes (bII and I) is really operating more like a pendulum, equally

comfortable on the “dominant” chord and on the “tonic.” (Manuel 2002: 319).

Perhaps both antipodes having equal weight helps to propel the compàs. It feels

as though it has no beginning and no end. While this is totally plausible, the

inference of primary and secondary accents, as partially determined by a pre-

determined metric construction, functions to expose the tension and repose

component of the compàs. These accents are reinforced by dance stops, or

desplantes, rhythmically dense passages played on guitar, the dissonances

created by hidden or added accents, and hemiola figures. The role of harmony

is to serve the rhythmic structure. Thus, ‘dual-tonicity’ functions as both a


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musical element to reinforce compàs accents as well as to create rhythmic

ambiguity. In the end, the harmony acquiesces to the rhythmic structure.

Another important rhythmic element comes from the palmistas or

handclappers. The palmas part is usually performed by dancers and bystanders

and adds another layer of rhythmic activity. Palmas rhythms create a grid for the

tension and repose to be played out against. This grid can be constructed from

a repetitive rhythmic pattern (one-two-and-three), a duple feel based on the

eighth note with palmas en compàs (on the beat) or palmas contra tiempo

(against the beat), or as an improvised conglomeration of the two approaches.

The hemiola factor that attracts the attention of so many lovers of flamenco’s

grooves, by way of emphasizing the dotted-quarter, can often be found in the

palmas part.

Rhythmic conflict or dissonance is vital to how the compàs operates.

Most performances of flamenco compàses contain a healthy dose of hemiola

figures to propel the flamenco groove. The aforementioned rhythmic

ambiguities, perceived as momentary lapses in the strictly prescribed compàs

accents, help this propulsion as well. Guitar falsettas, or technically demanding,

crafty licks in between verses, incorporate rhythmic and harmonic dissonances

together. Rhythmic dissonances are important ways for crafting an effective

flamenco groove. The listener can expect an accent that may or may not

appear. These types of ambiguities in performance encourage the lovers of


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flamenco lore who tend to invest ample amounts of hermeunitics into the

mysterious operations of flamenco grooves.

Bulerias

One of the oldest compàses in flamenco music is the bulerias. This

compàs has all the standard markings of a typical flamenco rhythmic cycle:

triple meter, offbeat and seemingly syncopated as well as ample incorporation

of hemiola-like figures, dual-tonicity and at times the Andalusian cadence. It is

typically performed uptempo and functions particularly well for dancers who

wish to show off their technical prowess.

Related closely to solea, the internal structure of accents is essentially the

same. Like solea, the primary accents occur on beats three and ten — where the

tension and repose occur most pronounced. These accents are emphasized by

the harmonic progression, claps, taps and stomps. Secondary accents, on

beats six, eight and twelve can at times be implied more than actually played.

These accents are usually played as a rhythmic underpinning, at times working

with the harmonic progression or at times used to create more harmonic

tension. While the primary beats on three and ten are almost always bII and I,

respectively, the accents on six, eight and twelve could incorporate chord

substitutions or be a way of implying the so called Andalusian cadence (ii-III-bII-

I). Beat twelve is often used to begin a melodic phrase, adding more ambiguity

or tension around the beginning of the cycle, even if theoretically it is at the tail

end of the cycle. At times, beat two can be added, functioning as a rhythmic


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dissonance right before the primary accent on beat three. Along these lines,

beat seven is often substituted for beat six. (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Bulerias Compàs

Berber rhythm

The instrumentation of Berber/Arab folk music in Morocco shows

evidence of hybridization. The distinctive Berber percussion instrument is the

bendir, a frame drum with two to four strings serving as snares. Moroccan folk

music moreover has incorporated other traditionally Arab percussion

instruments — darbuka, tar and riqq. The weighted and unweighted, or primary

versus secondary accents are made explicit by organizing drum strokes into

dum (D) and tak (T) and ke (K). Dum and ke refer to primary and secondary

accent respectively. Tak can be used for either primary or secondary.9

9 Because these designations are related to drum strokes, the force by which a tak is playeddetermines whether it is primary or secondary.


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It is useful to compare rhythmic approaches to a compàs like bulerias or

solea with approaches to rhythm in Berber/Arab folk musics from the Atlas and

Rif mountain regions in Morocco. Many of the same rhythmic elements in the

flamenco compàses discussed above have synonymous rhythmic function in

these musics. Like the compàs, Berber rhythms are cyclical, defined by discreet

changes to the internal structure of accents.

You will be hard pressed to find any Arab, Berber or Jewish folk music in

all of Morocco that doesn’t use the Berber-based cha’abi or Maghrebi rhythmic

cycle. This cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythmic cycle is twelve-beats — theorized as two

groups of six beats. Similar to the bulerias and solea, there are typical

placements for the primary and secondary beats. In a twelve-beat cycle, the

primary accents are on beats five and eleven and secondary accents are on

beats two, seven and nine — 3+2+2+2+3. A strong accent on beat one of a

cycle is almost never played. Instead, an implied accent is added on beat one to

help emphasize beat two and on beat seven to reinforce the halfway point in the

cycle. (See fig. 2a).

Figure 2a: Cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythm


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Because the primary beats occur on beats five and eleven, the

cha’abi/Maghrebi cycle has a sort of symmetry. The primary beats occur in the

same position in each half of the cycle. The secondary accents are now on

beats one, three and eight — 2+2+2+3+3. (See fig. 2b). As in the above

cha’abi/Maghrebi, beat one and sever are implied accents. A reverse

cha’abi/Maghrebi, with essentially the same divisive rhythm, is produced.

Figure 2b: Reverse Cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythm

There are stark similarities between compàses and the Berber

cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythms. For instance, both utilize the twelve-beat cycle and

imply an underlying triple feel. and the distance between accents are consistent.

Like the compàs, cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythms include a hierarchy of primary and

secondary internal accents. The internal structure of accents emphasize

different beats than the bulerias compàs, yet are the same distance apart from

one another (3+3+2+2+2).


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Rhythmic dissonances are similarly important to both cha’abi/Maghrebi

and compàs. A propulsive feel permeates both types of rhythmic cycles.

Clapping is used to produce a hemiola-like effect by clapping on the first of

every third beat, starting with beat one. Clapping, like the palmas parts in

flamenco, helps to create cohesion between musicans, dancers and bystanders.

(see fig. 2).

Unlike bulerias or solea, the Andalusian progression is not present here.

Instead, melodic contour functions to interpolate secondary accents and imply a

cycle of tension and repose. For example, in Tddit Ayma, the melody begins

with the tonic on beat eleven, acting as an anacrusis to beat one. On beats one

and seven, the longest duration (a dotted-quarter note) and the highest note of

the melody supplies the secondary accents in the cycle. To begin the second

bar of the cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythm, a repeat anacrusis leads us to beat one.

Finally, on beat eleven of the second bar we are treated to a melodic repose that

uses bar three to encircle the tonic. (See fig. 3). Furthermore, unlike a compàs,

the Berber folk song form uses a prescribed number of cycles through the

cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythm to create a larger rhythmic cycle. Similar to the

compàs, however, is how the tension still begins at the beginning of a cycle and

the repose comes at the end.


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Figure 3: Melodic contour of Tddit Ayma (2:47)

Miyazn

Andalusian-based classical music genres have persisted in the Maghreb.

Nothing is written about Maghrebi classical genres without making a strong

connection to Andalusian music history. Each of the Maghrebi classical genres

associates its foundation with an overarching Andalusian classical genre. In

Morocco, the instrumentation of Andalusi ensembles, song forms and primary

modes remain limited in comparison to other Maghrebi-Andalusi classical

genres. A number of factors contribute to this. One factor is the Ala Andalusit

genre in Morocco remaining outside the purview of extensive Ottoman or

Eastern modifications. The original 26 tubu (maqamat in Morocco), still

commonly associated with the remaining eleven nubat,10 do not contain quarter-

tone intervals. Not until the advent of radio and recordings did Moroccan

classical musicians start to utilize modes with quarter-tone intervals more

extensively. Munshids or singers with improvisational abilities, familiar with the

Eastern styles, began to introduce these quarter-tone intervals. (Guettat 2000:

10 A nuba is a song suite of sorts, generally performed in a specific tab or mode with fiveprimary sections designated according to its particular rhythmic cycle. (Touma 1996: 71; Guettat2000: 257; Shiloah 1995: 132).


23

362). A second factor is an ideological concern on the part of purveyors and

performers who wish to view themselves as the true harbingers of the great

Andalusian music tradition. This resembles the Arab cultural elitism mentioned

above with one important exception. Instead of looking to the greater Arab

world for its Arab cultural foundation, Maghrebis attach themselves to Andalusia

as the greatest of all locations for Arab culture.

It is therefore useful to compare how approaches to rhythm in the

Berber/Arab folk musics differ more with approaches to rhythm in Arab classical

genres than with the flamenco compàs. The Andalusian miyazn favor duple

meter and promote heavy internal accents at the beginning of the cycle or heavy

internal accents as a way to promote duple meter. For instance, mizan Basit is

always explained as 6/4 with accents on beats one, two, three and five. This

implies a 2-2-2 construction of the 6/4 instead of a 3-3. The Arab iqa’at or

rhythmic system found to the east uses additive rhythm as the basis for forming

rhythmic cycles. Al-kitab Iqa’, written in the 8th century by al-Khalil, clearly

promotes adding discrete durations together to create an iqa’. (Bohlman 2007:

Grove Online). Similar to the iqa’at system, Safi al-Din (13th century) explains in

his Kitab al-adwar that rhythmic cycles are constructed in accordance with

poetic meters. In this case, the internal structure of accents is based on

stringing durations of poetic feet together, with the beginning of a cycle always

having the strongest accent. (Wright 2007: Grove Online).


24

In Moroccan Ala Andalusit, five clearly defined metric cycles underpin

each nuba. Each of the five miyazn (pl. of mizan) functions as the primary cycle

for an entire section of a nuba. Furthermore, within each section the tempo

increases in three stages, from slow to fast. To perform an entire nuba can take

an hour. This was the original intention as particular nubat were associated with

a particular hour of the day. Many different songs can be performed in one

section of a nuba, relying upon one mizan – like a compàs. However, unlike a

compàs, the miyazn favor duple meters and focused the weighted accents at

the beginning of the cycle. (see fig. 4).

Figure 4: Ala Andalusit Miyazn

1 – Al-Bassit (6 beats: 2+2+2)2 – Al-Qayim Wa Nisf (8 beats: 4+2+2)3 – Btayhi (8 beats: 3+3+2)4 – Darj (4 beats)5 – Quddam (3 beats).

In Arab classical genres, the strongest beat is always represented by a

heavy drumstroke on beat one. This is very different from cha’abi/Maghrebi or

compàses that often imply but almost never explicitly play beat one (at least not

with a heavy rhythmic stroke). Clapping to create hemiola-like effects is

common in both cha’abi/Maghrebi and flamenco cantes, but never found in Arab

classical genres. Furthermore, in cha’abi/Maghrebi and compàs, accents are

applied based on predetermined cyclical frameworks rather than cyclical

frameworks being constructed from stringing durations together — more

divisive than additive rhythm.


25

In Arab classical genres, versification meters affect the rhythmic cycle as

well. Usually quantitative in nature, these poetic meters are directly related to

how iqa’a are constructed. In Berber folk music and in flamenco, syllabic meters

are used in constructing verses. However, no particular attention is paid to how

these poetic meters will align with the internal structure of accents in the

cha’abi/Maghrebi rhythmic cycle or a flamenco compàs.

A comparative analysis of approaches to rhythm in Ala Andalusit with

approaches to rhythm in Berber folk music and the flamenco compàs shows

that the latter two styles are more closely related to each other than to the

Andalusian-based classical genre. Unlike the tonal evidence in flamenco, which

strongly suggests similarities with Arab classical genres, rhythmic evidence

supports a hypothesis that the rhythmic approaches in flamenco are not so

similar to Arab classical genres. The evidence does not support a notion that

flamenco approaches to rhythm are synonymous with approaches to rhythm in

Berber folk music either. However, the similarities are closer and suggest that

Berber approaches to rhythm were indeed strong in Andalusia.

Conclusion

Morocco is an important site for exploring the history of Iberia. Not only

were the conquering Arab armies headed to Iberia stuffed with Berbers from

northwest Africa, but the Berber-based Almoravid and Almohad dynasties that

made lasting impacts on Andalusia both came from Morocco. Due to its

geographic proximity, Morocco later bacame the primary site of relocation for


26

Jews and Moors expelled from Spain.11 A national identity that encompàssed

Morocco and Andalusia existed over the strait of Gibraltar for two centuries.

Furthermore, during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the Maghreb

(reached Algeria in 1517), Morocco was able to repel jurisdiction by and avoid

coming under the influence of the Ottomans. (Lapidus 2002: 319-321). This

helped Morocco retain some of its historical roots, more closely aligned with old

Andalusia. Morocco remains an important place for studying Iberian history and

therefore, equally important for studies of Andalusian musics.

The historiography of Andalusia gives us valuable insight into the role

Berbers played in the ethnogenesis of Andalusia, and by extension the

ethnogenesis of flamenco music. Possessing ample political clout, the Berbers

were less adaptive and in a position to be more contributive to Andalusian

culture than other Andalusian ethnicities. For example, lasting evidence of

Berber contributions can be seen in the Maghrebi Arabic dialect, distinctive

approaches to mysticism and prominent rhythmic elements in the folk musics of

the region.

The hybridized communities of Moorish Spain and Morocco, though

reflective of an institutionalized Arab cultural elitism, were not constructed solely

from adapting to Arab culture. The hybridized culture of Andalusia necessitated

adopting and adapting elements from other ethnicities. In this cultural climate,

11 Already in the late 12th century there is evidence of Jews — Maimonides the most famous ofthem — relocating from Toledo and Cordoba to Fés.


27

different ethnic groups were able to contribute to a developing Andalusian

culture that was open to non-Arab cultural elements as well. This openness

made a place for Berber musical culture to take root, especially amongst the

subaltern classes.

By the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the Gitano community

settled in Andalusia, precedence for hybridization existed. Applying the ‘lumpen

masses’ argument, we can see that the Gitano community flourished amidst

persecution and destitution because of its ability to adopt and adapt. The

strongest legacy of the Gitano community, and the legacy that is most evident in

flamenco music, is its qualitatively adaptive nature. Though it is hard to make

any definitive statements about lasting evidence of adaptations in flamenco

music from specifically Berber sources, the historiographical evidence and the

rhythmic evidence support the argument of a stronger Berber presence in the

Andalusian folk music culture that gave roots to flamenco music.


28

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Correlates between Berber and Flamenco Rhythms

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