- Title: MOROCCO: North African artists perfom in a festival to rekindle Amazigh culture
- Date: 22nd August 2008
- Summary: (MER-1) AGADIR, MOROCCO (RECENT) (REUTERS) SIGN ON STAGE READING 'TIMITAR: SIGNES ET CULTURES' VARIOUS OF AMARG FUSION BAND PLAYING ON STAGE AUDIENCE DANCING TO MUSIC (SOUNDBITE) (Berber) ALI FAIK, LEAD SINGER OF AMARG FUSION BAND, SAYING: "In our songs we try to express universal issues. Subjects like the environment and culture, which we share with others." MAN IN AUDIENCE HOLDING AMAZIGH FLAG VARIOUS OF IDIR, AN AMAZIGH MUSICIAN FROM ALGERIA, PLAYING ON STAGE
- Embargoed: 6th September 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Morocco
- Country: Morocco
- Reuters ID: LVACWVKD1SZJY06MRSK5EUA9QN0M
- Story Text: Musicians, dancers and artists from North African countries took part in the Timitar Festival in the Moroccan city of Agadir to celebrate the culture of the Amazigh, the native population of North Africa and Sahara Desert.
Known also as Berbers, Amazigh form about half of the Moroccan population, but face social and political marginalisation in the Arab country.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI supports the recognition of the Amazigh language and culture and initiated the annual festival to promote the notion of Amazigh identity in Morocco.
The Timitar Festival was held in the capital of Morocco's Souss Massa Draa region, Agadir, and featured dozens of Amazigh artists from Morocco and neighbouring countries.
One of the groups performing was Amarg Fusion, a Moroccan band which combines traditional music of the Souss region with world styles.
"In our songs we try to express universal issues. Subjects like the environment and culture, which we share with others," said Ali Faik, lead singer of Amarg Fusion.
Festival organisers hope the cultural get-together will enhance the creation and the spread of the Amazigh music and culture.
"This festival has allowed a large number of Amazigh singers and musicians to meet their audiences in a professional technical setting, and this is something these artists' audiences are not used to. Before the festival started, the audience would meet the artist irregularly, or at weddings or during certain seasons. But the festival has given Amazigh music a boost, and gave the Amazigh repertoire a well-deserved dynamic force, and this is also the case regarding international bands which participate in the Timitar festival with music in all languages," said Brahim el Masnet, the festival's artistic director.
The festival also aims to introduce Amazigh artists to audiences not familiar with the culture, and help Amazigh singers and musicians make a living out of their art.
"The Amazigh singers and musicians perform in the festival in a highly professional setting, in terms of both technical set up and content.
This is very beneficial for them, because during the festival we invite organisers of other festivals in Europe, the Arab world and sub-Saharan Africa, and they see the Amazigh performers in this setting, and then invited them to perform at other festivals. So this helps Amazigh singers and musicians to make a living from their art," said Khadija el Bennaoui, the festival's press attache.
Organisers say that the festival attracts tens of thousands of people from across the country and the African continent every year, who embrace the Amazigh culture.
Over the past decade, the Amazigh Movement in Morocco has been advocating for recognition of its rights.
The Berbers of the Maghreb, the western Mediterranean coast of North Africa, identified themselves as "Indigenous People" in 1994. They have inhabited modern day Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria for thousands of years.
Today, the Berbers are concentrated in six main groups: the Rif, Braber, Shluh, and Souss in Morocco, and the Kabyles and Shawiya in Algeria.
These main groups are subdivided into numerous tribes that live in the Atlas highlands and along the Mediterranean coast.
Berbers in Morocco perceive their identity to be threatened primarily by marginalisation and exclusion from media exposure in the country. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.