An Ait Hadiddou Berber bride wears a traditional silk veil,
along with the silver and amber jewelry symbolic of her
virginal status. The colorful veil will conceal her face until the
nuptial rites are concluded. Her handwoven woolen indigo
cloak is embellished with a pair of silver fibula clasps
connected by a chain symbolising her purity and honesty.
A young Berber couple meets outside their casbah to court in the barley and parsnip fields where they work. Owing to the importance of the girl’s status as a virgin, this open-air
meeting place provides a perfect solution to courtship. Far
enough away not to be overheard, they are still in plain view
so as not to be accused of any impropriety.
A Berber mother prepares her virgin daughter for marriage.
She tenderly kisses the girl’s limbs before massaging them
with henna, which symbolizes cleanliness and is said to
protect her from danger in married life.
A veiled Berber bride travels on mule back from her parent’s
home to the village of her husband’s family. Inside the
grooms’s house, female relatives prepare the bride for her
marriage ceremony by applying henna to her hands and feet. They also pin money to her veil as a symbol of prosperity, and serve dates, almonds, cakes and tea.
Traditionally, the groom wears two wedding robes and a silk
veil over his nose and mouth. Twice the bride’s age, he will
be expected to provide for her every need once they are
married. In preparation for the wedding, his fingers are
ritually bound with string, and for a five day period he is
rendered helpless. During this time he is fed and cared for
exclusively by his fiancee so that the couple can get to know
one another better before the marriage begins. After the
wedding rituals, the bride is permitted to remove her veil, in
this instance, revealing the childlike beauty of a twelve-year old girl.
In the high Atlas Mountains, at the annual Berber Brides Fair
in Imichil, virgin girls, divorcees and widows come together
to find partners. Young Berber girls, who are recognisible by
their round hoods, inspect silver bracelets & sashes at the
open market.
In Berber tradition, a divorcee or widow wears a pointed
hood, unlike the rounded hood of a virgin girl. In hope of
finding a suitor, a young widow veils her face, revealing
herself only when she wishes. She is permitted to make an
instant marriage at the fair and go home with her husband
that very night.
Virgin girls with rouged cheeks attend the Imilchil Bride Fair
in The High Atlas Mountains. For these girls, marriages will
occur after a year long courtship, following the initial payment of the dowry.
Reflecting the ideal of Berber beauty, a girl’s lips are colored
with crushed walnut root to plump them, her eyes are
oulined with antimony to whiten them, and her complexion
is brightened with ocher painted in a traditional pattern on
her cheeks.
A man meets a divorced woman whom he has chosen from
among the many cloaked and hooded figures. He is attracted by the sound of her voice and the look in her eye. Women with pointed hoods, indicating they are divorcees, are particularly desirable because they are instantly available at the fair without the need for a long courtship or the payment of a bride-price. The interested suitor touches her hand and says to her “You have captured my liver” (the organ of love for the Berber). If she responds “You have caught mine too” the couple may formalise their vows.
At the Imilchil Brides Fair, the shrine of the holy man Sidi
Mohammed El Merheni is the focus of both devotional and
social activity. This revered saint was believed to bestow
grace and blessings on couples who wed in his shrine.
The Hassania people of southern Morocco, Mauretania, and
the Sahara Desert of Algeria and Mali trace their descent
from the ancient race of Berbers. The Guedra is their
traditional dance of love, performed at weddings as an
expression of feminine grace and seduction. In preparation
for the Guedra, a dancer’s hair is embellished with precious
beads and shells.
A Guedra dancers hair is braided and adorned with glass
talimans, shell disks , amber beads and tiny gold pendants.
The large frontal bun, fashioned from fake hair, is studded
with jewelry, each colored bead is symbolic of female virtue.
A Guedra dancer reveals only her beautifully decorated
hands and feet decorated with the ancient art of henna
painting. An artisan masks off areas of the dancer’s skin with
geometric motifs and then paints the skin with henna paste.
When the tapes are removed an intricate geometric design is
revealed.
The Guedra is performed by up to seventeen women at a
time accompanied by musicians who chant the dancers
praises and privide rhythmic accompanyment, A Hassania
drummist and women clap and ululate to the mesmerizing
beat of the Guedra dance.
A group of Hassania musicians and dancers from southern
Morocco celebrate the Guedra in the courtyard of the their
home. A ritual dance of love, performed by women for the
benefit of men, the Guedra is a ballet of the hands and feet.
At the climax of the dance, a performer removes her veil and
her long strands of beautifully decorated hair swing wildly
from side to side emphasising the sinuous movement of her
body.
The Guedra begins with the dancer completely cocooned in
an indigo dyed cloth revealing only her hennaed hands and
feet. Sadly today, there are only 60 women in southern
Morocco who perform the Guedra to perfection.
Swaying back and forth, a woman dances erotically to the
accompanyment of the drummers while women clap and
ullulate to the rhythm of the mesmerising beat. Women
performing the Guedra display an alluring feminity and are
often highly emotional. The Guedra is danced to traditional
songs about the loves, lives, and hardships of the Hassania
people.
In Marrakech, in the spacious courtyard of the 16th Century
El Bedi Palace, traditional Berber dancers perform regional
dances at the magnificent Moroccan Folklore Festival.
Two Berber women in traditional dress affectionately relax
together in the El Bedi Palace. Their lavish silver jewelry,
including antique silver Moroccan coins, is worn only at
ceremonial times, and otherwise kept safe in a cedarwood
box at home. It is believed that silver is blessed by the
Prophet, whereas gold is the metal of the devil and believed
to bring bad luck.
