Moroccan Folklore
From International Business Wiki
Moroccan folklore is not limited to just storytelling and myths. Traditionally, Moroccans use the different ceremonies such as harvesting food or warriors fighting as a basis, but have many dances and music to enrich the ceremony. “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.” Along with diversity amongst itself, folklore is different not only from area to area but from tribe to tribe.
As the storyteller begins the story, everyone gathers in a circle to participate and listen. Stories are frequently about good triumphing over evil. “Many times these stories are passed on for so many generations that the origins are anonymous that now they belong to everyone.” Men and women play different roles in these ceremonies. Most commonly men are interacting with each other making a variety of music by beating wood or the ground, “playing simple wooden flutes, single string fiddles and three stringed turtle shell mandolins” or using other elements around them as a percussion instrument. While the men are either drumming synchronized or harmonized though another sound, the women dance along. This could be similar to belly dancing or even ballet. Women will dance according to the men’s intensity of percussion.
Although there are differing stories for each culture there are some common stories and ceremonies as well. The Awash, Ouais, Ait Atta, Ait Bodar, and Ha Ha are some of the most common folklores.
- The Awash “originates from the High Atlas and Ouarzazate areas, woman in colorful dresses stand motionless around a group of men sitting around a fire.” The storytellers cry begins the ceremony as the women sway side to side. The faster they sway leads to the finale.
- The Ouais is based on Middle Eastern music while the women dance again in colorful dresses. The music is played by a one string fiddle and three stringed turtle shell mandolins. The dance is similar to ballet.
- In the Ait Atta a row of women in colorful dresses face men as they dance with excitement on their faces. This is because Ait Atta “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 Ait Bodar is a dance only performed by men. This is a warrior dance which “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 Ha Ha is a highly disciplined dance involving only the stamping of feet, clapping of hands and a 7 holed flute.
The Marrakech folklore festival is a festival in which many tribes and cultures come together and perform their own folklores. Many people look forward to this festival by preparing and coming up with individual dancing, music and rhythms that other tribes have not yet seen. This festival “plays host to troops of dancers from all parts of the country, each performing their own peculiar routines to the sounds of the traditional music of their area. Nomadic and sedentary tribes put on exotic shows of whirling, hand-clapping and rhythmic undulation.” Commonly folklore is enhanced, and changed with the culture and trends, as dance is constantly changing in .
External Links:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/journeysofthemind/story/0,,1099879,00.html
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Country_Specific/Morco_folkl.html
http://www.eyeonworldwide.com/property-magazine/moroccan-culture.aspx
