From Mud to Music: The Production and Uses of Clay Drums in Morocco. Article and short film

Abstract

Clay drums are the most common musical instrument in Morocco. They are frequently found in households and are played not only in some of the most important private celebrations, but are also present in an enormous variety of musical contexts and diverse musical genres. These membranophones show a striking formal continuity with Medieval Islamic drums of the Iberian Peninsula, therefore, an ethnoarchaeological study was carried out in Morocco in order to better understand the Iberian archaeological findings. However, the research unveiled the remarkable contemporary phenomenon of the mass production of clay drums in modern Morocco.