Moroccan Folklore
Moroccan folklore expresses and enhances everyday
life. Although loyal to its forms of expression for generations, it is being continually enriched by popular imagination,
under the influence of new events on the national, tribal and individual levels.
Moroccan folklore is extremely diverse. It varies not only from area
to area but each tribe, nomadic or sedentary, has its own repertory, the extent and wealth of which will surprise all.
Besides the exotic, picturesque, colorful or romantic aspects of the setting, folk dancers form an ensemble of traditions
and a world of symbols which are undecipherable today.
THE AWASH
The
dance comes from the High Atlas valleys in the Ouarzazate area. A circle of women in multicolored robes stand motionless.
In the center, men sit around a fire, each of them with a "bendir" (a circular wooden frame with a hide stretched over it).
A piercing cry breaks the silence. It is a shout more than a song. All the drums beat. The song of the men begins, mounting
skyward. The women reply. Shoulder to shoulder, they sway rhythmically and slowly. The rhythm gets faster and faster until
the finale.
THE FANTASIA
There
is one particularly stunning and exciting event that has taken its rightful place among the more noteworthy examples of traditional
folklore in Morocco.
This colorful display of horsemanship begins with a procession made
up of women from the Zayaan tribe on horseback. Behind them come, their menfolk in groups according to their tribe and bearing
each group's emblem. When this "lap of honor" finishes, it gives way to the real Fantasia, the Aid el Broud (Festival of Gunpowder)
with its gun-fire and bursts of shots. The horsemen line up in close ranks, and no sooner has one wave of riders left than
the next is ready to follow; the impression is that of surging waves of galloping hooves. The frenzied dash of horses is accompanied
by the piercing cries of the riders and terse orders from their chief until the whole thing explodes in a blaze of gun-fire
from their famous "moukhahla", the rifles that are so highly prized by gun collectors. And when the riding is over, then another
kind of show begins on a platform that has been erected in front of the huge marquees.
THE DEKKA (MARRAKECH)
The people who perform this rhythmic entertainment are not professionals. The strange orchestra composed of craftsmen
and merchants of Marrakech is made up entirely of earthware drums of different dimensions. The ceremony starts with simple
and rather solemn rhythms, and then the cadence of hand-clapping accelerates. High and lower pitched beats on the drums are
cleverly orchestrated and the men start singing powerfully in chorus. The rhythm changes suddenly from time to time, but it
is all amazingly well regulated. The general impression is an explosion of joy, a sonorous enchantment that seems wild but
is disciplined.
THE AHIDOUS
In the Middle Atlas Haidous singers and dancers form a large circle with the men and women
standing alternately shoulder to shoulder. Sacred and secular influences are deeply linked in this ceremony. To the rhythm
of tambourines, the men and women undulate and sing a joyful hymn.
THE AIT HADDIDOU
The Ait Haddidou live on the upper plateaux of the Assif Melloul in the High Atlas mountains at an altitude of 8,500
feet, and seem to have been subjected to no influences to upset the harmony of their patriarchal existence. The women wear
"handiras", blue cloaks with white stripes. Married women and widows may wear "akidoud", a kind of henna, in their hair. Hefty
necklaces of yellow amber beads and heavy silver jewels convey an impression of barbarian beauty. The men wear long burnouses
and wrap their heads in impressive turbans. The "Ahidous" they perform is fascinating although static. We see here gestures
which have resisted and triumphed over the passage of time, but whose significance is lost to us for ever.
HAHA
The music is reduced to a solo seven-hole flute made out of a reed and elementary in design. The
rhythm is supplied by hand-clapping and stamping of the feet on the ground to give a both powerful and enchanting effect.
Dancing vigorously, the men produce an ensemble that is disciplined and virile.
THE AIT BOUGUEMAZ
The central figure wears a different costume to the rest of the troupe. He has a pointed bonnet covered with a strip
of white muslin and plays a double flute. He is the only professional in the troupe and produces a nasal buzzing with his
instrument which has a striking effect while the men and women of the village turn in a circle. The dance is at times light,
composed of slides and little steps, or more dynamic when the performers stamp hard on the ground. It is an abstract dance
by the mountain folk but it has the virility also of warrior dances. Poems are recited.
THE AIT ATTA
This
dance resembles somewhat the Ahwash of Kelaa M'Gouna. A row of women in festive dress faces a row of men. All the gestures
of the dancers express gaiety and enthusiasm. The dance marks the end of work in the fields, when the harvest is in and when
the winter cold of the mountain regions gives way to the season of relaxation.
THE HOUARA
These
dancers come from Inezgane near Agadir. The troupe is composed of a group of men and one woman. The men begin the dance to
a sprightly rhythm. One or two virtuosi leave the circle to execute solo dance. When the rhythm reaches its peak, the woman
rushes to the center. There follows a whirling dance of great power. Uncommon physical strength is required to keep up the
rhythm and do such elaborate steps. The dance is without doubt one of the most spectacular in Moroccan folklore and arouses
the enthusiasm of the audience.
OULMES AND KHENIFRA
The "Ahidous" of the Middle Atlas is a visual enchantment performed in its traditional purity by men and women dancers
of the Oulmes and Khenifra areas. Most of the girls are very young and very pretty. The costume, strongly influenced by urban
dress is in pale colors. The men and women form a large circle and rock to the rhythm of "bendir" drums. They do simple steps,
advance and withdraw. The gestures are discreet, full of dignity and modesty. Poems are recited.
THE AIT BODAR
Another warrior dance performed only by men. Wearing white "gandoras", they link arms as
if welded to each other and chant their song during a continuous backwards and forwards movement. The dance appears to symbolize
the indivisible unity that should link the warrior of the tribe in the face of the enemy. The men form an impenetrable barrier:
they are as one man, one will be animated by a single rhythm.
THE TISSINT
South of Agadir, men and women, entirely garbed in indigo-blue, perform a dance which resembles a religious
rite. Perhaps it is an ancient rite. The dagger dance is clearly symbolic. It is part of marriage ceremonies.
Men and women dance to a rhythm that becomes more rapid. A young girl and boy leave the circle to do a duet.
The boy holds a dagger at arm's length at the end of a cord. He spins about, making circles around the girl, withdraws and
comes nearer, until they are face to face. Advancing towards each other with short steps, the boy raises his arms to place
the dagger around the young girl's neck as she continues to dance. Slowly the boy falls to his knees in front of her. The
song continues.
THE OUAIS
Set to very ancient music, in which is easy to perceive Middle Eastern accents, this dance
is like a ballet. The orchestra comprises a one-stringed fiddle, or "rbab soussi", and a certain number of "guembris" which
are small mandolins with three strings sometimes made with a turtle shell. The rhythm is provided by a beater who strikes
a piece of cast iron lying on the ground. The dancers add to the music with small copper cymbals attached to their fingers.
All the dancers wear city dress: a colored "kaftan", a muslin "dfina", an embroidered silk belt, a cord decorated with spangles
woven around the head. The dance is graceful and comprises several steps. Couplets alternate with the step to make an uncommonly
delicate spectacle.
THE TASKIOUINE
No doubt a warrior's dance, since women do not take part. Wearing white tunics and turbans, with powder - horns on
their shoulders, the dancers keep time to the accompaniment of earthware tambourines covered with skins. They dance shoulder
to shoulder or in single file. The body is shaken rhythmically and stopped suddenly with perfectly- timed stamping of
the feet. It is a frank, powerful and virile dance without any mannerism or any equivocal gestures. Although athletic, it
is nevertheless aesthetic.
THE GNAWAS
African
in origin, the Gnawa dance belongs to brotherhood music-lore. The tumblers of the Jemaa El Fna in Marrakech have transformed
it into an entertainment. The instruments are as primitive as ever: large drums and wrought iron castanets form the orchestra.
Cowrie shells and glass beads are worn as ornaments that recall the dance's origin and its magical or religious aspect. Some
of the dancers perform leaps worthy of the best acrobats. They manage to jump high in the air without missing a beat of the
rhythm. It is a show with great dramatic intensity.
THE OULAD SIDI AHMED OU MOUSSA
These acrobats belong to the wandering brotherhood of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa, the saint of Tazeroualt, a locality of
the Anti Atlas mountains. Originally the young people of the area performed these exercises in preparation for their role
as archers and marksmen. With the disappearance of the warriors, acrobatics became an end in themselves and a way of earning
a living.
THE GUEDRA
It would take too long to try to explain the significance of this
dance from South Morocco in which the attitudes and movements have their origin in a very ancient symbolism. The women dancers
kneel and are completely covered with a black veil. The steady rhythm like a beating heart brings out the hands that describe
vivid and expressive motions.
The head is revealed, with eyes closed, swaying like a pendulum.
The rhythm is supplied by a "guedra" or cooking pot (an earthware drum covered with skin). It becomes pulsating as the dancers
continue to speak their mysterious language. The singing of the spectators changes to brief and guttural cries. The dancer
gradually casts off her veils and finally collapses in a heap.
THE GHIAYTAS
Warriors
carry rifles and dance to the tune of pipes and drums. It is not clear whether they are dancing to work up courage to face
the enemy, or whether they are celebrating a victory. They do not sing but shout rumbling cries in cadence. Their rifles,
like toys, are balanced on the head, spun at arms length, and they pretend to shoot with them at invisible enemies. Forming
a circle and turning to the rhythm of a noisy orchestra, they aim their weapons at the ground, at a signal from their leader,
fire off blank charges.
No show of popular folklore is complete in Morocco without
music and dance. The spectator will be enthralled by the diversity and richness of costumes and music that stretch back
in time for a thousand years.
