As the blessed month of Ramadan 2019 approaches, a bit of addition on this topic.
A neighborhood in Morocco on Eid-al-Fitr where the nafar (meshsaharati or dawn caller playing a bugle-like
musical instrument) goes to collect gifts of money or food.The Mesaharati has a long history also in the North African Muslim country of Morocco, namely the neighborhoods of Rabat, Marrakech and Fez.
During Ramadan nights, when Moroccos streets enjoy a mood filled with calm and serenity, the tebbal drummers and nafar bugle players go through the streets playing their instruments to wake up people for Suhoor.
Tarija is the Moroccan clay tambourine, the
qarqaba is a Moroccan metal castanet and the Moroccan wind instrument (like a bugle) is called a
nafar. These are the main musical instruments played by the mesaharati (dawn caller) in Morocco, often viewed as Morocco's nocturnal tours to wake-up families at
sahoor (dawn meal in the blessed month of Ramadan).
In the old days, the tebbal and nafar were the harbingers of the advent of the blessed month. After the Isha prayer on the last day of the Hijri month of Shaban, they made their appearance from the top of the mosque minarets to perform melodies announcing the arrival of the month of fasting. The tebbal and nafar usually play together, each complimenting the rhythm of the other.
In medieval times, the tebbal (drummers) were officially recognized as wake-up callers for the last meal before the fast. They crisscrossed the neighborhoods wearing their traditional robes called
gandora and slippers, drumming on their instrument in a scene that may remind many as a real-life portrayal of the mythical era of Arabian Nights. That was the depth of the aura spread across by the presence and the music of the tebbal and the nafar. This delectable show was repeated every night of the sacred month until the day of Eid al Fitr when the drummers would visit neighborhood homes where they received gifts of money and special food as token of gratitude for the services they rendered to the fasting community for a month. People said "
Our mothers and wives could not do without the services of the tebbal and nafar to get the sahour meal ready on time; they were just awakening all night."
Many Moroccans today have been tebbals and nafars for decades. They do travel the neighborhood streets of Fez, Marrakech and Rabat early dawn for their livelihood during the month of Ramadan. But they are also putting in their best effort to preserve a beautiful historical tradition of the Islamic world. They presently lament that this fine tradition has fallen into oblivion or shrunk in the neighborhoods and medinas because of the invasion of modernity and new technologies. But even at present, the tebbals and nafars who are selected for this voluntary work every Ramadan are well-known and respected persons within their community. They play a very important role in preserving this very popular social practice loved in the Islamic world for centuries. People still wait for a nafar or a tebbal to pass through the streets during the month of Ramadan, early morning.
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