Ahwach represents one of the great traditional cultures of the Moroccan Amazigh communities. It is an art form directly linked to the rural world and exists principally in the High Atlas and in the Anti-Atlas. Ahwach combines song, poetry, moving the body and percussion instruments. It is a collective dance involving women with men in the same choreography. In an exclusively oral Amazigh culture, Ahwach represents a mode of expression and transmission of individual experience as well as that of the tribe as a whole.
Ahwach continues to be a popular dance practiced during ceremonious gatherings of Amazigh tribes of South East Morocco. However, this nocturnal ceremony took on an official and more solemn aspect during the time of the Glaoua caïds. These powerful overlords, who reigned over the entire South-East for decades during the colonial period were passionate about this art. Obsessed with the pomp of their social rank and their institutional image, the caïds safeguarded the aesthetics and poetry of Ahwach.
I hope this gives you an idea about Dance Amazigh in Morocco!
