Sufi Music Therapy

By Houda Trabelsi, *Music therapy: science or sorcery?* - Magharebia - USA; Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Tunis: Musicians and physicians from the Maghreb and Europe gathered in Hammamet this week to explore the role of music therapy in modern medicine and examine Tunisia's long-standing tradition of using music as a health remedy.

The December 1st-5th event was part of the first "Euro-Mediterranean Cultural Meetings", aimed at bridging cultural divides and enhancing mutual understanding.

"Music therapy has existed for ages in its primitive forms associated with sorcery. In Tunisia, we have several traditional forms of music therapy without awareness or clear study. As for the music therapy universally recognised as science-based, it relies on many elements, and by research we discovered that all these elements are present in our traditions," Musicology Professor Nadia Ayari told Magharebia.

"I personally did some research on 'Stenbali', a type of Sufi music accompanied by certain dances, and discovered that it is very similar to the sessions of modern music therapy in the West in all its stages," she added.

The curative effects of Tunisian Sufi music and the rituals of Stenabli, Hadra, Issawiya, Awamriya and Qadiriya have long baffled psychologists in the Western world.

"Faith and belief are the most important elements, on which rely the traditional and modern forms of therapy, so that its effect is positive. The dance that accompanies 'Stenbali', which is a kind of Hadra, leads to the kind of loss of consciousness or ecstasy, which is the required state for the treatment of the patient in modern therapy," Ayari said.

"The Hadra is very similar to the modern or Western music therapy, but it lacks the scientific element. Therefore, we must take advantage of this type of traditional music and give it a scientific dimension rather than ways of sorcery, which is why we co-operate with the French side or the other developed countries in the field of music therapy to acquire scientific methods," she added.

While music therapy is accepted as a form of treatment in the West, it is often scorned as witchcraft in the Maghreb. Tunisian experts in the field struggle to elevate the status of music therapy to that of a recognised cure.

"We found ourselves between what is traditional and what is scientific. Despite the impressive results achieved by the 'Hadra' in the cure of some patients, this type cannot be adopted in the clinics, especially that so far, we have not found a clear scientific explanation for it, which baffled even researchers in Europe, who came to Tunisia to study the traditional music therapy," Hafedh Lejmi, professor at the Institute of Music Therapy in Tunis, told Magharebia.

He added that even though scientific explanations have not been developed yet, music therapy should be used so as not to lose this cultural heritage.

"There are people who believe in nothing but science and medicine, but when things are difficult for them they do not find a solution, they turn to Hadra and traditional methods. Therefore, we are trying to make our traditional methods not a last solution for treatment, but rather a method that we rely on and believe in," Lejmi said.

"As long as the outcome is positive, the treatment is effective because for the patient or doctor, the result is more important than the method," French Association for Music Therapy chief Pierre Pennec emphasised.

Participants noted that exchange of expertise and knowledge is crucial for supporting music therapy in the Maghreb.

"Through all the structures, our goal is to establish a partnership with all relevant institutions to form trainers in this field in Tunisia, and how to create new careers in Tunisia dealing with issues of music therapy using scientific methods, through learning from the experiences of the West," Mohamed Zinelabidine, the director of the City of Culture in Tunis, told Magharebia.

Since 2006, when Tunisia hosted the 16th Scientific Meetings for music therapy, "we have launched a series of scientific events with experts and specialists in this field and established a university Master degree in music therapy", Zinelabidine said.

"I am personally registered in the French Association of Music Therapy," he added.

"The French-Tunisian co-operation in the field of music therapy began in 2005 and has benefited both the Tunisian and French students of the two countries. I found a great amount of research in this field, especially confirming that the music is not only a sort of entertainment but also a treatment that should be practiced to reach positive results," said Psychology Professor Edith Lecourt of the University of Paris-Descartes, which organised the event.

"Many French specialists are interested in traditional therapeutic methods in Tunisia in order to find scientific explanations for this extraordinary phenomenon," she added.

"We need further research to give a scientific dimension to this traditional, spiritual or Sufi music therapy," agreed Spanish music therapist Victor Obioles.