]; also spelled Gania, Guinea or Khania; 1951 – 2 August 2015) was a Moroccan Gnawa musician, singer and guembri player, who was traditionally regarded as a Maâllem (معلم محمود ﯕينيا), i.e. master.

[2] He was the second son of the master of Gnawa music, Maâllem Boubker Gania (1927–2000) and the famous clairvoyant and "moqaddema" A'isha Qabral.

The most famous western release, The Trance Of Seven Colors, was co-produced by Bill Laswell and Eric Rosenzveig in 1994 and featured the American saxophone player Pharoah Sanders along with family members of Mahmoud's ensemble including his brothers Mohktar and Abdellah.

Upon returning to Morocco with the master tapes, Mahmoud Gania sold the Moroccan rights to the cassette label Le Voix El Maarif (LVEM) who released it as El Maaleem Mahmoud Gania - Soiree Au Canada ("Maleem" was a misspelling of the word Maâlem meaning Master in Arabic on behalf of Bill Laswell and the Axiom label, which stuck with many in the West for years, believing that it was an actual first name).

The recordings were part of the first trip Maâlem Mahmoud Guinia and his ensemble made out of Morocco, to perform at the Festival Musiques et Traditions du Monde, the 350th Anniversary of the City of Montreal.The group at this time consisted almost entirely of his brothers, nephews and other family members.

The Shaman of the Sahara music recordings were released in 2001 with Maâllem Mahmoud Guinia in collaboration with Tata Guinness, Victor Vidal Paz and various Indonesian musicians.