Tag Archives | Morocco

Next in class: North Africa

All Around This World map of Africa featuring Algeria

In our online class this week we’re all about the music and cultures of North Africa. First we focus on Algeria, embracing this historic home of Berbers and Barbary pirates, a land of vast Saharan deserts and lush, green oases. Then we take a jaunt out to Morocco, where the vast percentage of its native citizens are of mixed Berber-Arab descent, to attend a Berber marriage festival. If we play our cards right, we’ll fall in love.

Jil Jalala


In class this week, as we sing “Arsomo Baba,” a kids’ song from Morocco, another part of our brain wants to make sure to pay homage to one of the most important “grown-up” Moroccan musical acts, Jil Jalala. Drawing their main influence from traditional Moroccan styles sung in ancient Arabic, Jil Jalala rose to prominence in the 1970’s, providing a musical sountrack for the Moroccan “Green March” to Western Sahara, disputing its occupation by Spain. In the ’80s the group joined forces with Bakbou, an important musician performing in the “Gnawa” style. Though their line-up has changed over the years, the ensemble continues to fuse social commentary with down-home Moroccan musical tradition.

Cry Me a River — or, Two Moroccan Lakes

This week we met the Imilchil Marriage Festival, which we take a moment to enjoy — albeit very metaphorically — in class. How did the festival begin? According to legend in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, two young people from different Berber tribes near Imilchil fell in love but their families forbade them from marrying. In their grief they cried themselves to death, creating the companion lakes of Isli (his) and Tislit (hers) separated for eternity by a mountain. Their families honored the anniversary of their death by creating the Marriage Festival during which members of local tribes can meet, make just the right match, and, to everyone’s joy, plan to marry.

Lucky to Get Married in Morocco

One of our many adventures in this week’s online class takes us to the town of Imilchil in North Africa’s Atlas Mountains for a Moroccan Marriage Festival.

The Imilchil Marriage Festival  is where Berber families bring their boys and girls who are “of marriage-able age” to meet, and ideally become engaged to, their perfect match. May not be able to travel to a Morrocan marriage festival in the Atlas Mountains, but no matter; in this week’s live class we “get married in Morocco.”