Malhun (French melhoun, Arabic Malḥūn / ملحون) is a North African genre of sung poetry composed in a vernacular. It also exists in Western Algeria, but historians trace its origins to Sijlmassa in Morocco, and it continues to play a significant role in Moroccan Arabic culture and in the social construction of the nation of Morocco.

This project consists of several publications:

  • Article for Encyclopaedia of Islam THREE [Under Review]
  • Anthology of Malhun Poetry: The first English-language volume of Moroccan Malhun Poetry [In Progress]
  • Article: “Trending Classic: The Cultural Register of Moroccan Malhun Poetry” in The Journal of North African Studies (March 2016). Available online. This article summarizes the argument of my dissertation (UT Austin 2013). Abstract: This article demonstrates how the heteroglossia of malḥūn performances affects Moroccans as they negotiate identities and re-imagine Moroccan society. Performers’ poetic devices and interpretations of the genre facilitate a process of representing and “voicing” social groups within contemporary Moroccan public discourse. I apply Bakhtinian dialogic analysis to address voices of stability that reinforce social structures of authority (“centripetal”) and voices of diversification (“centrifugal”) that re-envision diversity in Moroccan society. Artistic innovations, such as theatrical productions of a narrative malḥūn poem, make space for rethinking Moroccan identity. Malḥūn emerges from this study as a literary and cultural form that functions as a cultural register to inform public discourses regarding the nature of Moroccan identity.
  • Dissertation: Available online here (UT Austin 2013). Moroccan linguist Mohamed Elmedlaoui posted a French summary and announcement of the dissertation here. My methods include fieldwork and contemporary theory in order to avoid pitfalls of essentialism and the focus on history that informed earlier studies. This study relies on three types of primary sources: printed collections, oral performances, and interviews. Oral and written examples of malḥūn range across the past five hundred years. However, this study places priority on the various actors involved in malḥūn today: poets, singers, musicians, editors, scholars, politicians and fans.

Here are some photos and recordings that complement the dissertation, for those interested:

  • 1-hour presentation at a local malhun association in Meknes (2014, in Moroccan Arabic)

Documentary by Al-Jazeera (in Arabic) about Moroccan malhun

Generations | Practice session in Meknes

Jil Jilala singing their modernized rendition of Al-sham‘a / The Candle

Malhun event in Meknes, 2011

Nass El Ghiwane singing their most recent hit based on malhun, Nahla Chama / Shama the Bee:

Abdelali Briki and Driss Aabouk | Private malhun performance in Erfoud


Contemporary malhun video by acclaimed Moroccan singer, Nabyla Maan

Courtesy of Fatima Hadad, singer and association president

Mohammed Soussi’s jabali version of the song

Zawegna f-hmak / I’m Beholden to You


Audio Only

Ghita

sung by Hajj El Houssine Toulali

Sanae Marhati singing Al-Kawi / The Burned One


Vintage black and white video of Fatima Zohra Ismaili singing

Misbah al-Zin / Lamp of Beauty

Asmae Lazrak recording of the hugely popular Al-Buraqiyya:


Video of music conservatory students singing

Mzin Wsulak / How Delightful Your Arrival Would Be

Abdelali Briki singing the comic debate between the tinder and the gas range



Laila Lamrini performing at University of Washington in Seattle, with Melanie Magidow as interpreter. Lamrini opens with a sung greeting, and then sings the refrain of Fatima. The video includes part of her lecture in Arabic and scenes from her songs:

Any public use of these materials should be preceded by notifying Melanie Magidow

For an accessible, single-volume Arabic / French anthology, see Fouad Guessous, Anthologie de la poésie du Melhoun marocain (Vol. 1 Casablanca: Publiday, 2008). Vol. 2 available from here (Paris: Editions l’Harmattan, 2015),  with interview (in French) with the author.