Abdaoui

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Abdaoui , also Chaoui ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⵛⴰⵡⵉ ), is a traditional folk dance of the Chaouia Berbers in the Aurès Mountains in northeast Algeria . It is part of the Bendou fertility festival held every spring and is danced in pairs by two young women. The symbolism of the festival combines widespread annual plant growth cyclical rituals with magical methods of securing human fertility.

Cultural environment and origin

25 to 30 percent of the population groups in Algeria are Berber- speaking and have their own traditions in the Arab majority society , which go back to pre- Islamic roots. These include dances and songs, the content of which revolves around the topics of field work, cattle breeding, love, war and the annual cycle of nature. In Algeria, numerous regionally widespread group dances can be listed, but their tradition is not maintained in all cases. In Northeastern Germany, Chaoui is the collective term for all dances of the Chaouia Berbers, which include Abdaoui, Archaoui, Rebbakli, Sahli and Talhit .

Women take part in most of the dances, war dances and ecstatic dances of Sufi brotherhoods ( Hadhra ) are reserved for men. Both sexes only appear together in exceptional cases. Certain erotic dance styles by Berber women were banned by Muslim authorities and disappeared during the 20th century. The most famous erotic female dance in Algeria was the Oulad Nail ( Ouled Nail or Nailyat ), named after its region of origin, a mountain range in the southern Algerian Sahara . Like the unmarried Nailyat girls, professionally dancing women of the Chaouia also had a special reputation for their seductive skills. The Chaouia dancers were called Azriat (Azrias) and (until the middle of the 20th century) they moved as freely in public as would not have been possible for the other Berber women.

In contrast, the Abdaoui is not danced by outsiders, but by girls who are part of the village society. The ritual is supposed to promote the growth of nature and the blessing of children as well as to ensure prosperity. The gatherings also have social effects, the families gathered can celebrate circumcisions and make agreements with one another.

The Abdaoui dance is based on the story of a generous old man in the small town of Arris (in the province of Batna ). He owned a fig tree and allowed anyone passing by to take some of the fruit. When the good man died he was buried under his tree and from then on worshiped as a saint ( marabout ). In his memory, a kind of harvest festival was held every year at harvest time in spring , during which the tree was hung with various fruits. The fig tree has disappeared today, but in its place fruits and vegetables brought by the villagers are hung on a pole, which, like the entire ceremony , is called a bendou . The village elder has the task of decorating the pole so that as many fruits as possible hang on it.

At the beginning of the festival, the mast is carried in procession past the tomb ( qubba ) of the saint through the whole village to the main square. A man carries the bendou, preceded by two young girls who clear the way from evil spirits by sprinkling salt. Behind it is a women's choir, which is accompanied by men making music. When they arrive at the square, the spectators circle the pole and the village elder gives every girl whose wedding has already been decided a date as a symbol of the hoped-for fertility.

Dance and music

The two and other girls now dance the Abdaoui in pairs. All are dressed in long black robes and have put on their most beautiful silver jewelry, consisting of heavy earrings, pendants in front of the chest and chains around wrists and ankles. The anklets ( Arabic ḫalḫal , Pl. Ḫalāḫil ) made of wide engraved and narrow tires hit each other with a bright sound when stamping. In Islam, silver is considered a particularly pure, luck-bringing material and is suitable for amulets such as the hand of Fatima , which appears in numerous pieces of jewelry as a flat plate ( khalkhal ). The girls put a shawl made of light-colored wool over their shoulders and covered their heads with a scarf ( guenur ).

The girls move light-footed in a circle to music in 8/8 time around the bendou. While the feet take small steps, the upper body remains straight. The movements run in cross-shaped paths. When the dancers meet, they stand back to back and stamp their feet so that the chains ring their ankles. Then suddenly use your fingers to lift the upper part of the robe to the outside and look like flying birds. This movement is aptly called h'jillette , derived from h'ajal, " pheasant ".

The accompanying orchestra consists of the wooden double reed instrument ghaita (in Algeria al-gaita , in the east also zurna ), which is a typical representative of the surnai family in terms of design and playing style , and a t'bol . This large, deep-sounding, double-headed cylinder drum is struck with sticks.

literature

  • Viviane Lièvre: The Dances of the Maghreb. Morocco - Algeria - Tunisia. (Translated by Renate Behrens. French original edition: Éditions Karthala, Paris 1987) Otto Lembeck, Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-87476-563-3 , pp. 59–62 ( excerpt (Google) )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Collaer, Jürgen Elsner: North Africa. Series: Werner Bachmann (Hrsg.): Music history in pictures. Volume I: Ethnic Music. Delivery 8. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1983, p. 112.
  2. ^ The life of the Ouled Nayl tribe. Belly Dance Museum; Aisha Ali: Dances of the Ouled Nail. ISIM Newsletter 5, 2000, p. 14.