El Haj Mustafa Nâiniâ, l'Aïta Marsaouia

El Haj Mustafa Nâiniâ passed away in August of 2003.  He was born 76 years earlier (1927) in the Khenifra region, a crossroads town in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco.  He was part of the generation of artists who made the transition from imedyazen, an itinerant musician who travelled throughout the middle Atlas, performing for ritual ceremonies and communal celebrations, to becoming a recording artist, releasing 45s and cassettes that were sold throughout the kingdom.  Mustafa Nâiniâ was part of the cohort of artists, with Hammou Lyazid and Moha Amezyan, that created the core repertoire of contemporary amazigh songs, the music that inspired artists like Mohammed Rouicha.

El Haj Mustafa Nâiniâ, like so many artists and villagers from the Middle Atlas, eventually moved to Casablanca, Morocco's industrial and economic capital, and the heart of the country's recording industry.  (I don't know when he started recording, how many songs he recorded, or how many were released.)  By the time he arrived in Casablanca, Nâiniâ was performing and recording in both Amazigh and Darija, as would Rouicha after him.

This post features a late career recording that was released on the Tichkaphone label, one of the larger Casablanca labels of the 1980s.  The recording is undated, but my guess is that this cassette was released in the late 1980s.  This recording features some lovely loutar improvisations, in particular in the final track 'improvisation on an Aïta Marsaouia'.  In 'Tkebat Lkheil âla Lkheil', Haj Mustafa sings:

Relieve my heart with an iron bar

My darling, my heart is wounded,

It is new to love.

She left for France, 

leaving me behind to stand guard. 

If only you had warned me.     

Download El Haj Mustapha Nainia

 

Today, Haj Mustafa Nâiniâ artistic accomplishments are largely forgotten. 

Enjoy.