UCLA

This doctoral dissertation examines banga, a trance-inducing musical healing ritual practiced by certain Black Muslim Tunisian communities with ties to sub-Saharan African heritage. In Tunisia broadly, and in the city of Tozeur specifically, music rituals like banga reveal foundational insights about race, gender, the identity of ethnic minorities, labor, the status of artists, and the transmission of orally inherited musical traditions. This dissertation seeks to address emergent questions surrounding the often-overlooked histories of Black Tunisians through the lens of their performance practices. Rather than originating from a single sub-Saharan musical tradition, banga merges a variety of rituals brought to North Africa by enslaved individuals. Over time, banga evolved into a distinct practice that is unique to Tunisia and parts of Algeria and that reflects the complexities of North African social identity in a region where most musical traditions are commonly identified as Arab-Andalusian. Banga is anchored by its defining musical instruments, including the tabla (a two-headed barrel-shaped drum), the shakasheek (metallic clappers), and the tangoura (a ceramic kettle drum). These instruments not only provide rhythm but also embody the multisensory essence of banga, creating a sonic landscape that guides the dancers and anchors the ritual's spiritual and communal dimensions.

Working closely with followers of the Sufi saint Sidi Marzoug Chouchane in Tozeur, I observe, witness, and participate in this little-studied performance idiom to better understand its role in healing, problem-solving, and shaping social identity. My research pays particular attention to gender, exploring the pivotal but often unrecognized role of women in ensuring the cohesion and continuity of banga and examining these contributions as acts of agency in their own right. My methodological approach combines ethnographic methods that center the knowledge and perspectives of the banga community. This work is the product of years of fieldwork, during which my grappling with scholarship, theories, and practices revealed both alignments and tensions that underscore the challenges of documenting embodied and dynamic fieldwork experiences. Incorporating oral histories, family archives, visual artifacts, and extensive film and photographic documentation, this dissertation seeks to illuminate the cultural practices and neglected histories of one of Tunisia’s Black communities.