PLAYING OUT: WOMEN INSTRUMENTALISTS and WOMEN's ENSEMBLES in CONTEMPORARY TUNISIA by Alyson E. Jones a Dissertation Submitte
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PLAYING OUT: WOMEN INSTRUMENTALISTS AND WOMEN’S ENSEMBLES IN CONTEMPORARY TUNISIA by Alyson E. Jones A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music: Musicology) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor Emerita Judith O. Becker, Co-Chair Associate Professor Christi-Anne Castro, Co-Chair Professor Joseph S. C. Lam Associate Professor Naomi A. André Professor Marcia C. Inhorn, Yale University © Alyson E. Jones 2010 To my parents, Janice and Jeffrey Jones ii Acknowledgements The completion of this work owes to the support and assistance of numerous people. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the musicians who generously welcomed me into their homes, lives, and performances: Myriam Slama, Khadija El- Afrit, and Myriam Lakhoua, Sirine Ouesleti, Hinda Bel Heni, Samia Ben Youssef, and Abir Zahra, and Yossr Labidi, Soumayya Mersni, Amina Srarfi, Jouda Najah, Olfa Baouab, Zina Bou ‘Ali, and Myriam Hadour. I thank these musicians and others for permitting me to record their performances and interviews. At the University of Michigan I am fortunate to have benefited from the untiring support and academic guidance of two mentors, Judith Becker and Christi-Anne Castro. Marcia Inhorn has also provided advice and encouragement even as she has moved to another university. I am indebted to this trio and to the other members of the dissertation committee, Joseph Lam and Naomi André. I also wish to acknowledge the intellectual communities of the Department of Musicology and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan, and the faculty there who have shaped my thinking and provided friendly assistance. Many thanks to my Ann Arbor friends for their support: Jesse Johnston, Alex Cannon, Amy Kimura, Yona Stamatis, Kate Brucher, Kate Allen, Elizabeth Batiuk, Shanesha Brooks-Tatum, Joshua Duchan, Vera Flaig, Christine Fergus, Rebecca Fülöp, Nathan Platte, Ricky Punzalan, Kristina Richardson, Mandy Terc, Aja Wood, Kathryn Wright, Shinobu Yoshida, and Joe Weber. Research for this dissertation was conducted between June 2007 and September 2008 with the support of an International Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council (with funding from the Mellon Foundation), a Summer FLAS fellowship, and a Rackham International Research Award from the University of Michigan. Preliminary research was conducted during the summer of 2006 with support from the Theodore Presser Music Foundation, the Center for World Performance Studies at the University of Michigan, and the International Institute at the University of iii Michigan. This research was also assisted by a Dissertation Completion Fellowship, which is part of the Andrew W. Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Early Career Fellowship Program, and by a Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship from the University of Michigan. In Tunis I wish to thank the staff at Ennejma Ezzahra (CMAM), especially Mounir Hintati, Mourad Sakli, and Mohamed Rezgui and his engineering colleagues; the staff at the Higher Institute of Music (ISM), particularly the director at the time, Mohamed Zinelabidine, as well as Anis Klibi, Rachid Kouba, and Brahim Bahloul; the director of the National Conservatory, Lassad Qraia; and the director of the Department of Music and Dance at the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, Fethi Zghonda. At the Centre d’Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) I wish to thank its director at the time, Lawrence Michalak, and Riadh Saadaoui and Faouzi Mahbouli for their assistance. Further thanks are due to Mohammed Bannani and the staff at the Bannani archives; the staff at the IRMC (Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain) and CREDIF, and the staff and musicians of the Rachidiyya Ensemble and its director, Zied Gharsa. Special thanks are due to Anas Ghrab and his family (Saida, Asmaa, and Imen) and to the Zairi family (Neila, Abdessatar, Dorra, and Walid) for taking me under their wings and welcoming me into their homes. I also wish to acknowledge the support of colleagues and friends in Tunis: Morgan Corriou, Nadia Mamelouk, Douja Mamelouk, Rim Ben Hassine, Myriam Bacha, Amin Allal, Patrick Hazleton, Abel Lomax, and Kristian Chartier. This work is dedicated to my parents, Jeffrey and Janice Jones. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for their unconditional love. I wish to thank my grandmother, Doris Kinsley, my late grandfather, Daniel R. Kinsley, and my late great-aunt, Virginia Gravesteen, for their generous love and support for my educational pursuits. I also wish to extend thanks to my sister, Vanessa, and to Daniel and Donald Kinsley. Merci à Arnaud et Romane pour leur amour et leur rire. Last but not least, I express gratitude to my husband, Martin, whose boundless love and support mean so much to me. iv Table of Contents Dedication…………………………………………………………………………….. ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………… iii List of Figures.………………………………………………………………………... vii List of Acronyms.…………………………………………………………………….. ix Glossary.…………………………………………………………………………….... x Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter One: Gender and national identity in Tunisia……………………………..…. 43 Nationalists and debates over women’s emancipation………………………… 44 The emerging nation state, 1956………………………………………………. 49 State policy, Islamists, and feminists during the 1970s and 1980s……….….... 53 Women’s rights, Islamism, and the state under President Ben Ali…………… 59 Chapter Two: Histories of women musicians and music performance in Tunisia…… 69 “Singing slave girls” in Tunisian and Arab history………………………........ 70 Late nineteenth and early twentieth century performance……………………. 77 Women singers and dancers: Sāna‘āt……….…..…..…..…..…..…..…..……. 83 Women’s ensembles at weddings and at zwāya……….…..…..…..…..…..….. 88 Aristocratic women: musicking at home…………..…..…..…..…..…..…..….. 90 New technologies and women vocalists, c.1908–1930……………………….. 94 The Rachidiyya Institute, “Tunisian music,” and nationalism………..…..…... 101 Women vocalists and the new aghānī at the Rachidiyya and Radio-Tunis, 1934–1956…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…………………….. 105 The Rachidiyya and respectability………………………..…..…..…..…..…... 113 Following independence, 1956–1986………………………………………… 116 The Radio Ensemble (1958) and women vocalists……………………..…..… 121 The Ministry of Culture (1961) and national cultural institutions……………. 123 The Higher Institute of Music (1982)……………….…..…..…..…..…..……. 131 After “The Change” (1987)……………………………………………............ 134 Women musicians and the transnational world music market…….…..…..….. 141 Chapter Three: Playing out(side) as women instrumentalists………………................ 146 Contemporary social changes: Highlighting respectability………………..…. 147 Changing social opinion and family permission, encouragement………..…… 153 Women’s agency and empowerment: performing after marriage…….…..…... 159 Working as musicians and mothers……………..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..… 164 Constraints within the art music community………………………………….. 170 Experiences in mixed-gender ensembles…………………………………....... 177 v Chapter Four: Women’s festival ensembles: Playing out the nation?.……………….. 193 Making history.……………………………………………………………….. 194 Subsequent women’s ensembles: Taqasim, Tanit, and Angham Hawwa….…. 204 Playing out the nation.……………………………………………………........ 212 Reviewing women’s performances in the press……………..…..…..…..……. 215 State-sponsored performance contexts……………………………………...... 221 Gala dinners…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…… 226 Chapter Five: Playing out and creating jaww: The work of women’s wedding ensembles…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..… 237 Women’s wedding ensembles…………………..…………………………….. 242 Ensembles in demand…………………………………………………………. 252 Gender-segregated parties…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..… 254 Displaying status, playing out gender identity…..…..…..…..…..…..…..……. 258 Creating jaww.……………………………………………………………….... 262 Gender-segregated ensembles and homosocial jaww…….…..…..…..…….… 267 Chapter Six: Playing outside the lines: Debates about Tunisian musical identity……. 276 “Playing outside the lines”: Instrumental ornamentation and heterophony…... 277 Solo instrumental improvisation and other improvisatory techniques………... 283 Tunisian musical identity in crisis…………………………………………...... 287 Efforts to revitalize Tunisian music……..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..……. 295 Women musicians’ perspectives…….…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..……. 298 Expanding Tunisian musical identity…………..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…. 315 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………. 318 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………... 335 vi List of Figures 3.1 Hajer Gana (org), Hinda Bel Heni (violin), and Maherzia Tawil (voice) performing with a women’s ensemble directed by Zina Bou Ali at a wedding at a five-star golf club………………………………………………………….. 181 3.2 Khadija El-Afrit (qanūn), Abdessatar Mahfoudh (chorus), and Zied Gharsa (org) performing with Gharsa’s ensemble at the Binzerte Festival……………. 185 3.3 Khadija El-Afrit performing with vocalist Leila Hejaiej and her ensemble at the Hammamat International Festival………………………………………….. 187 3.4 Myriam Lakhoua playing ‘ūd in the Rachidiyya Ensemble during their summer concert at Ennejma Ezzahra (CMAM)……………………………....... 189 4.1 El ‘Azifet, directed by Amina Srarfi……………………………………………. 202 4.2 El ‘Azifet, directed by Amina Srarfi, performing at the Hammamat International Festival, Hammamat, Tunisia……………………………………. 204 4.3 Taqasim, directed by Semira Esseghir (far