A unique web site dedicated to the history of tunisian stambeli
Like the Diwan in Algeria or the Derdeba of the famous Gnawas in Morroco, Stambeli (or Stambali) is a healing trance music created by the descendants of Sub-saharan slaves brought to Tunisia. The word “Stambeli” designates the cult and the music which is played during the ceremonies alike. Although Stambeli is nowadays a dying tradition, it reminds one of the most fascinating music in Tunisia...
The CD
An exceptionnal audio and visual document!
Along with a 48 pages color booklet, the disc presents a unique and to now unreleased sample of a vast repertoire consisting of songs praising the “white” saints of the Maghrebic Islam and evocations of “black” sub-Saharan spirits...
Read moreThe book
An original ethnographic work
Based on nearly two years of participation in the musical, ritual, and social worlds of stambeli musicians, Richard C. Jankowsky’s study explores the way the music evokes the cross-cultural, migratory past of its originators and their encounters with the Arab-Islamic world in which they found themselves...
Read moreLe spleen du yenna
A portrait of Salah el-Ouergli
"Le spleen du yenna" gives an overview of the tunisian stambeli. Between nostalgia and hope, Salah el Ouergli shares with us some secrets about his unusual destiny and questions the future of this therapeutic tradition...