Moroccan Dance and Folklore – Ahwash.

Ahwash dancing is from the areas around Ouarzazatte and the High Atlas mountains.
Women in colourful dress stand motionless around a group of men who are in turn sitting around a fire. The men each have “bendir’s (simple wood and skin frame drums)  A piercing cry breaks the silence, and the performance begins. The men begin to beat their drums and the woman sway slowly from side to side. The pace builds throughout the performance.

Ahwash is generally performed by two large groups of people who alternate their performances of song, dance, poetry, and drumming on frame drums.

Ahwash may have originated in Telouet, a small High Atlas village, though historians have struggled to conclusively determine its origins because of the lack of written history.~
Ahwash is woven into early Amazigh History, and is likely to predate Islam, it is however often performed outside the tombs of saint during regional Moussems.

If you are staying as a group in one of Marrakech riad’s beautiful Medina homes ask about a traditional musical performer to visit during dinner one evening. We are here to make your holiday magical.