Learn about a mountainous village in Morocco, where young men and women meet once a year during the Festival of Brides to tie the knot
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Munia: Hello, Munia here. |
| Yasin: And Yasin here. Welcome to a new episode of this Culture series fully dedicated to Moroccan culture. |
| Munia: Each lesson is recorded in the amazing city of Casablanca, and each time we’ll introduce a new topic on the customs, traditions and the rich culture of Morocco. |
| Yasin: Thank you for joining us. |
Lesson focus |
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| Munia: Today we’re going to talk about an interesting festival specific to a [بربر] tribal village in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. |
| Yasin: It’s called The Festival of [ إملشيل], [ إملشيل] being the name of the village where it takes place every year. |
| Munia: The festival is also known as Festival of Brides and it’s more popular under this name. |
| Yasin: It has gained national and international popularity and every year it attracts masses of tourists coming from all over the world to attend days of tribal wedding ceremonies. |
| Munia: At the end of each summer, in its valet at 200 meters of altitude, the Festival of Brides has been the opportunity for women living in this tribal area to choose a husband for the rest of their lives before the heavy winter snow isolates the tribes from the rest of the country. |
| Yasin: This festival is a huge cultural celebration and [ إملشيل] is a cultural symbol of the region. |
| Munia: Do you know the origin of this festival, Yasin? |
| Yasin: I know it’s a legend that glorifies love… |
| Munia: Well, the legend of the festival is inspired from real historical fights between the [بربر] tribes of the region that led to many inter-tribal wars. |
| Yasin: Right, and there were two clans of a tribes called [آيت يازا ] and [آيت إبراهيم] engaged in a constant war. |
| Munia: Now, a woman from one clan fell in love with a man from the other. And because of constant wars, their parents refused to let them marry. |
| Yasin: And their broken hearts led to many tears that form two famous lakes that exist today. |
| Munia: One is called [تيسليت], referring to the woman. |
| Yasin: And the other is called [إيسليت], referring to the young man. |
| Munia: It’s like a Moroccan version of Romeo and Juliet, with the same tragic destiny. |
| Yasin: Yes, and this act of desperation led parents to grant all your generations to come, men and women, the freedom to choose their partner. |
| Munia: And since then the Festival of Brides has been not only an occasion for men and women to tie the knot, but also an important business event. |
| Yasin: When is it celebrated? |
| Munia: At the end of the harvest season, in the beginning of September. |
| Yasin: Oh, so that’s coming up soon. |
| Munia: Yes, Yasin. But I think the brides have a preference for tribal men of the region. |
| Yasin: I was thinking it would be interesting go and see. |
| Munia: I agree. For travelers who are willing to make the trip to this gorgeous area in the mountain, but also hard to access, it’s really worth it. |
| Yasin: Where is it exactly? |
| Munia: It’s about 110 miles south-east of Casablanca, in the Atlas Mountains. No trains go there and it’s best to join a tour bus or hire your own car. |
| Yasin: And what can one expect? |
| Munia: A big gathering of tribes of the region, a lot of dance performances, marriage rituals, there’s also a [سوق] or a marketplace as we call it here, in Morocco, where traditional [بربر] items are sold. |
| Yasin: The marriage ceremonies can last up to five days, right? |
| Munia: There’re many rituals like sheep offering… |
| Yasin: And the big [حنّة] night when the bride and her female guests get henna tattoos. |
| Munia: And you can also try different foods as a guest. |
| Yasin: But don’t you think it’s becoming a little bit commercial? |
| Munia: Unfortunately, yes, but it’s still worth the visit. |
| Yasin1: One last thing - what is the festival called in Arabic? |
| Munia: Good question, Yasin. It’s called [موسم] . [موسم إملشيل] is Arabic for “festival”, although in Standard Arabic we pronounce it [مَوْسِمْ]. |
| Yasin: [موسم إملشيل] I can’t wait to go. |
Outro |
| Munia: All right, that’s it for today. We hope you enjoyed today’s lesson. |
| Yasin: As always, let us know what you think. [إلى اللّقاء] |
| Munia: [مع السّلامة] |
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