Following an interruption imposed by the restoration works carried out at the Ennejma Ezzahra Palace, the Centre for Arab and Mediterranean Music resumes its musical activity, by organizing, during the second half of the month of Ramadan , a series of concerts entitled "Layali Ennejma Ezzahra » (Nights of Ennejma Ezzahra) .

The program includes six evenings , with a clear emphasis on spiritual music.

The term 'Al Manga' would be synonymous with 'Dukkana', a masonary bench, found in Saints Shrines (Zawiya) or in hammams and used for sitting or resting. When speaking of 'Jalsat al manga' (Manga session), the followers of the Issawiya brotherhood refer to the session of chanting called Mjarrad.

The Issawiyya brotherhood is known for its litanies which lead to rites of trance, where the disciple becomes insensitive to pain. In the tradition of Tunis and its surroundings, the litanies of the Issawiyya begin with a purely vocal section, before shifting to   'amal, a section accompanied by percussion instruments, and then moving on to dance and trance rites. It is the first part of the litanies that took the name of 'Mjarrad', literally 'stripped of musical instruments'. The schanting is then accompanied only by the clapping of hands, reproducing a single , five beats rhythmic cycle.

The Issawiyya of Sidi Bou Saïd have  specialized in the interpretation of Mjarrad with its different texts and melodies.

*Tickets are available at the Ennejma Ezzahra ticket counter and on www.cmam.tn