Amazigh intangible heritage
Ahwach: Amazigh poetry, rhythm and dance of southern Morocco
A poet launches a couplet, two choirs send it back and forth, the drums accelerate until the words dissolve into dance. This site tells the story of that art: where it comes from, how it is built, how it changes from one valley to the next, and what Ouarzazate keeps of it.
Six chapters
- What is Ahwach? The word, its spellings, an origin no document dates, and what UNESCO and the national inventory actually say. Read the chapter
- The poetry and song of Ahwach Amarg, izlan, jousts: how a poetry improvised at the speed of speech is composed, and who sings it. Read the chapter
- Rhythms and instruments Frame drums, great drum, naqus: their names from valley to valley, their roles, and the mechanics of the tizi. Read the chapter
- Dance, gesture and ceremony Circles, lines and gestures; who dances, who drums, who leads; when Ahwach is held and what is worn. Read the chapter
- The regional styles of Ahwach From the Atlas to the Drâa, the variants the sources describe, and what separates Ahwach from ahidous. Read the chapter
- Ahwach in Ouarzazate From Flandrin’s photograph to the stages of Kasbah Taourirt: the local memory of Ahwach and the historical context of the festival. Read the chapter
Method
Every fact on this site points to a published source: encyclopedias, ethnomusicology and linguistics, institutions, the Moroccan press. When sources disagree we say so, and we do not keep claims that nothing supports.
The Ouarzazate festival
For the dates, programme, troupes and archives of each edition, the official site is that of the Festival National des Arts d’Ahwach.