Cheikh Mwijo (Arabic: الشيخ مويجو), born Moshe Attias in Meknes in 1937 and died on 2 May 2020 in Kiryat Ata, was a Moroccan musician and songwriter. He is one of the icons of Moroccan Jewish music.[1]
Cheikh Mwijo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Moshe Attias |
| Born | 1937 Meknes, Morocco |
| Died | 2 May 2020 Kiryat Ata, Israel |
| Genres | Malhun and popular songs |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
Biography
editBorn in 1937 in Meknes, Cheikh Mwijo comes from a line of singers and composers. His father Yaakov Attias was a percussionist and used to play in the Mâalem Ben Haroush orchestra.[2]
Cheikh Mwijo began his musical career singing at the age of 25 by performing popular and Malhun songs.[1]
Following the departure of Ben Haroush to Israel, Mwijo joined him in 1962. Aged then 35, he began a new musical career in Haifa by singing and playing the mandolin before switching to the North African violin which is played at the vertical. During his rich career, Mwijo remained closely linked to his original community and his main source of income was his concerts at weddings and events celebrated by the Moroccan Jewish community.[2]
Cheikh Mwijo has a rich repertoire of over 500 songs and recorded more than 100 albums. Besides his humorous songs like "Tanjiya" and "A labnat", Mwijo also sang for peace and coexistence between Jews and Muslims as in his song "Ibrahim Al-Khalil" in which he explains that Abraham is a common ancestor of the two communities and that Ishmael and Isaac have been created by the same god.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b "Cheikh Mouizo, an icon of the Moroccan jewish music passed away". bladi.net (in French). 4 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Cheikh Mwijo (1937-2020)". iemj.org (in French). Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ Wael Bourchachen (2 May 2020). "Moroccan artist Cheikh Mwijo dies at the age of 73". hespress.com (in Arabic).