Amazing Amazigh festival: Morocco holds his yearly Moussem of Imilchil

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00:007 a.m. and the village of Ul-Khazish just waking up.

00:04Muhabad Rawi slips into his traditional attire.

00:08Today is a big day.

00:09He's celebrating his marriage in front of thousands

00:12at the Musim of Imilshim.

00:14For him, this is a chance to showcase

00:16and honor his Amazigh heritage.

00:18This is my jelaba and this is my traditional belt.

00:21This is what you need to attend the Musim,

00:23to get married and to sign the marriage contract.

00:25Some people say that women are sold there

00:27because of the group celebration,

00:29but that's not true.

00:30We just go there to make our marriage official,

00:32following our customs.

00:35Muhabad's wife remains out of sight.

00:37She wishes to stay discreet till the ceremony.

00:40At the Musim, newlyweds are introduced

00:42to thousands of spectators.

00:44The event gets a lot of media attention.

00:47Muhabad and his wife try to stay under the radar.

00:50But for some in the community,

00:51this exposure is a necessary trade-off

00:54to ensure their traditions are recognized

00:56and safeguarded for the future.

00:59Amazigh culture has not occupied as much space

01:01as it could have, partly because of religion,

01:04which promotes Arabic,

01:05as it's the language of the Koran.

01:07Despite this, there are many Amazigh events

01:10to avoid the marginalization of their culture

01:12in favor of Arab culture.

01:15To prevent their culture from disappearing,

01:17the Amazigh communities also rely on their artists.

01:21Mohamed Slimani is a traditional orchestra conductor.

01:24He believes music is the best bridge

01:26between the Amazigh and other Moroccan communities.

01:34Music is like a thread that connects Arabs and Amazigh

01:37in Morocco.

01:38Thanks to it, people meet and understand each other better.

01:41We are proud of this festival and our music,

01:44but also following the footsteps of our ancestors.

01:49Traditions kept alive and now gain

01:52international recognition.

01:54What began as an intimate gathering centuries ago

01:56has become a major event,

01:58drawing over 80,000 visitors this year alone.

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