“This group of musicians, comprising five men, was from a small village in the foothills of the Rif, called El Khemiss Tifraoun. The proprietor of the Qahoua d’l Nadjah, Bachir eI Hadj Hassan Bacali,
gathered them together for me and provided us with a private sala in his café where we made the recordings. I had demurred at first, thinking that it would be better to pass through the region of the Rhmara and get the music in situ, but changed my mind when I was told that there would be no electricity there.
The Rhmara are a small tribe of Berber-speaking people surrounded on all sides by Arabized Berbers.
Source:
Bowles, Paul F. "
Tetouan." in
Folk, Popular, and Art Music of Morocco. The Paul Bowles Moroccan Music Collection. Washington, DC: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, 1959-1962.
