Rai: The Melhoun, Andalusi Music

717 Words2 Pages

Rai, one of the prominent music genres that proofed that music is not only a set of melodies, rhymes and words set together and sang in an entertaining context, but also, and more importantly, a tool, a message and a cultural representative that affects and is affected by history. Rai, a traditional Algerian music genre which has originated from the city of Oran, then emerged toward a global , remains a controversial musical genre until today. Throughout the paper, we will trace the origins of Rai and its traditions until it reached to a global popularity. We’ll discuss the factors that contributed to the success and survival of this genre and the global linguistic approaches used by its composers and performers.
Rai comes from the word “Raa’y” …show more content…

The “Andalusi” and “Melhoun”. Andalusi music came to the region from Baghdad the original source of the genre. It emerged to Spain between the 9th and the 15th century when Muslims settled there and started to develop its instruments and rules. With the cultural exchange that was brought by the French colonialism, Andalusi music found a new place in the North African countries. It was sung by professionals and musical elites only, who spent years practicing and learning its melodies and “maqamat” at schools or on the hands of experts. “melhoun” on the other hand was sung in “amiya”, the local dialect. It is originated from Bedouins who composed poetry about “historical events, satire, religion, heroism and love. The melhoun was performed by Chiekhs.” ( Noor AlDeen, 2005). The use of the local speech and the poor origins of melhoun singers established the identity of Rai music as a kind of music directed to the poor, which holds no rules and purely reflects the society in which it emerged from. The different sociocultural values and the influences of which each of the two types of music, which has originated from the same region, distinct them from each other socially, politically and historically. In fact, this distinction is the underlying reason of conflict between Rai musicians and government elites in the following years. (Will be discussed further throughout the paper).
Chiekhs were the first to sing Rai. They are men who are well respected in the society and are regarded as wise, honored and prestigious among there people (however, still less prestigious than elite performers who sang Andalusi and other types of music in the region, because they have rural and Bedouin origins). Gallal (drum, “gasba” (flute) and “dourbaka” (another type of a clay drum), where instruments used by Chiekhs to perform music at weddings and traditional or religious ceremonies.

Open Document