Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity

THREE: Dance Performances: Negotiating Gender and Social Change

three Dance Performances negotiating gender and social change A nother important art form of the Ait Khabbash is aḥidous, a collective performanceatweddingsandothercelebrationsthatincorporatesoral poetry. Although aḥidous performances are common to many Amazigh groups in central and southern Morocco, each group has its particular rhythms, dance steps, clothing styles, and song techniques, thus making Ait Khabbash aḥidous an important indicator of their group identity.1 Despite the inclusivenatureoftheseaḥidousperformances,inwhichlargenumbersofboth men and women participate, they are also strictly monitored by the society to project cultural values regarding acceptable male and female behaviors. The gender symbolism of these performances demonstrates the centrality of women and concepts of female fertility in the perpetuation of their culture. Aḥidousperformancesarecarefullyplannedandchoreographedeventsthat combinevisual, kinetic, and aural elements that engage the entire community in making music and dancing together.The performances are always initiated by adult men, who gather into a straight line, standing shoulder to shoulder, and playa distinctive aḥidous rhythm on the allun, or frame drum, continuing for several minutes until some women join them. Draping their indigo-dyed embroidered head coverings (taḥruyt) over their upper bodies so that their faces cannot be seen, the women form a parallel line facing the line of men, holding hands under their head coverings (Fig. 3.1). Ait Khabbash aḥidous performances differ from those of some other Amazigh groups, such as Imazighen in the High Atlas, where men and women stand next to each other in the same line. Once the lines are formed, the men begin to sing aḥidous songs, singing a single phrase or izli, which is then repeated in call-and-response fashion by thewomen, with a wordless melodic phrase known as tamawait sung between dance performances 77 Figure 3.1. An aḥidous performance in Hafira in front of the bride’s tent. one izli and the next. Although improvisation is common in other areas of Morocco, the songs performed during Ait Khabbash aḥidous are rarely improvised . During my time in Morocco, I observed aḥidous performances on numerous occasions.They were most common at weddings and naming ceremonies , although aḥidous was sometimes performed during less formal occasions ,suchascelebratingafullmoonorrelativesvisitingfromafar.Thegreater the number of people who participate in playing aḥidous, the more successful it is considered by the participants; and it is not uncommon to see a hundred men and women performing aḥidous at the same time.2 Also unlike the practice in otherareas of Morocco, where professional musicians are often hired to play at weddings and other celebrations, any adult who wishes to join serves as both musician/singer and dancer.3 The concept of the professional musician, dancer, and singer does not exist among the Ait Khabbash,who,unliketheirArabneighbors,neverhireprofessionalmusicians to perform at special events. Since no special instruction is required to play aḥidous, learning is informal and ongoing. Ait Khabbash do not say that they dance aḥidous or sing aḥidous, but the verb aγ, ‘‘play,’’ is used in Tamazight. Children hear and feel the rhythms of aḥidous from the time they are infants tied onto their mother’s backs, picking up the steps and rhythms of aḥidous and later imitating their adult relatives. It is common to see small boys and 78 amazigh arts in morocco girls standing next to adults when they perform aḥidous. Although most of the Ait Khabbash participate in this collective dance, people in mourning and individuals with strict religious convictions, who believe that musical performances are discouraged by Islam, may choose not to take part. While aḥidous is performed, an audience (made up of men and women of thecommunity)gathersandobserves,creatingacirclearoundtheperformers. Observers carefully watch individual performers, not hesitating to comment uponeachperformer’sdancingstyle,singingvoice,andstyleofdress.Theperformers themselves also carefully watch their fellow participants, recognizing that the audience is carefully critiquing both their collective and individual performance styles. If they are aware that one of their fellow performers does not yet fully know the words to a particular song or how to maintain a steady rhythm, they may pressure that person to leave the line. Although anyadult can potentially participate in aḥidous, older people feel that they play better than young adults because they have mastered the dance steps, the drum rhythms, and the singing styles typical of this art form. As one fifty-year-old man in Rissani described it, the skill required to play aḥidous...