Lalla Mira { لالة ميرة }

Olibanum, Benzoin, Lemon
اللوبان، الجاوي، الليمون

In the pantheon of Gnawa, Lalla Mira is the spirit who inspires dancing and joy. In Morocco, Gnanwas are the heirs to slaves originally brought from Sub-Saharan Africa and lived for several generations in Morocco. During the Lalla Mira summoning ceremony in Essaouira, Gnawas give sweets as an offering and dress in her favourite colour, Yellow.

Since the end of the XIX century, the Gnawas have been identified as a popular brotherhood whose rituals and music are the legacy of mystical cults from Mali, Sudan, Senegal and Guinea.

The scented candle dedicated by Ulili to Lalla Mira, is the meeting of three emblematic materials: The ancient fragrance of the Olibanum, the fizzing spark of lemon and the velvety note of benzoin burning in a brazier. Yellow, fetish colour of the capricious lady, was the inspiration for the box and the candle’s lid. This lid is chiselled in lemonwood brought from the orchards of Ouled Hessoun, near Marrakech.