Folklore Agadir Morocco

Moroccan folklore expresses and enhances everyday life of which it is an integral part. 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 or individual levels. Moroccan folklore is extremely diverse. It varies not only from one area to another but each tribe, nomadic or sedentary, has its own repertory, the extent and wealth of which will surprise the layman. Besides the exotic, picturesque, colorful or romantic aspects of the setting, folk dancers form an ensemble of traditions, 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 stands 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 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 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 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 indian 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 GNAOUAS

African in origin, the Gnaoua 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.

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