The moussem Tan Tan, Intangible Heritage of Humanity:

 Unesco has decided to declare the Moussem of Tan Tan, Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The official opening of moussem was chaired by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid.Under the high patronage of HM King Mohammed VI and under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture and UNESCO, the cultural festival and tourist Tan Tan is organized in a space of 600 traditional tents installed on a total area of 10 hectares. Ahundred journaliste serveral foreign TV chanels nearly 200 personalities from the arts and culture as well as ambassadors of UNESCO attending the event. 

 Rising from the rocky desert of Hmada, Tan-Tan welcomes visitors with two large stones that allow camels to unveil a quiet and authentic.Tantan is a place where  time has woven the web of an ancient culture and as desert nomads and have printed a lifestyle.This particular rhythm animates the city during his Moussem, a festival celebrating the heritage and culture Sahrawi. Tents of sight, a landscape rich in colors, songs and dances of sublime beauty, this is how Tan-Tan celebrates its culture and heritage. His Moussem is registered as such, universal intangible heritage by UNESCO in 2004.

With its privileged geostrategic position on the Atlantic shore of 80 km, the diversity of its natural sites, its mild climate and the will and the goodness of his legendary men, the province of Tan Tan seems to have all the ingredients of a major tourist hub in the southern part of the Kingdom. Located south of Morocco, the province (about 70 000 inhabitants, 60 miles in the city of Tan Tan), consists of 40 PC 60 PC plains and mountainous areas. Backed by two mountain ranges (Ouarkziz and Zini), which form the most rugged terrain, it is home to flora consists mainly of short size of shrubs to coniferous foliage, as well as frequent training of graras and sabkhas on earth- full.addition to a dry, arid climate to the delight of visitors, the province is entitled to boast of its position at the mouth of Oued Draa and Wadi Chbeika and near the oasis and the beach Yeah Medkour Al Ouatia , a landmark promising resort in southern Morocco.All assets that justify the growing interest of international tour operators appear towards the tourism sector in this province, which is a continuation strategy for national tourism, especially for the resort of Agadir.

  The province has also a rich palette of sights of interest such as caves found at Oued Boulamghayr, oases dotted along Bouaâllaga Wadi, Wadi Al Wadi Jrifia Ouaer and, in addition to other attractions such as the Tomb Titan in the cemetery of the nomads. It offers other promising tourism opportunities, including a range of new products ranging from hunting to fishing and cruise tourism, trekking through the camel raids and car and motorcycle.Tan Tan also offers a huge construction site for cultural tourism enthusiasts and the curious looking for historical remains such as fossils and rock carvings that contain the region Tilemzone and the mouth of Oued Chbeika, and more typically Saharan Moroccan heritage with its ancestral customs, its clothing fashions and authentic fragrance of the most exquisite culinary art. 

For lovers of ecological tourism, the province offers hikes in the park that the Lower Draa, covering an area of over 300 000 hectares , replete with an impressive rich fauna, including endemic species of gazelles, hyenas, birds and camels. noted that about 60,000 people living in the province of Tan-Tan, 92% in urban areas, and covers an area of 17,300 km2. It is divided into seven municipalities including two municipalities and five rural districts. In addition to sun, escape, sea, mountains, desert and oasis, Tan-Tan is a tourist destination. Tourism is a major strength of the province by the means available to tourist attraction sites of tourist interest such as the mouths of the Oued Draa and Wadi Chbika located about forty kilometers from the city, the beach of El Oasis and Oautia Yeah Medkour. Province of Tan-Tan has 38 hotels including five classified. Their capacity is about 1000 beds. National Mutual is materialized in Tan-Tan by houses of charity, education centers and social centers.Over 1200 people receive benefits offered by different departments for national solidarity.

Guedra, a dance of the Sahara

The folklore of the Sahara has a considerable variety in the styles of rhythms, melodies and customs. Variety which is closely related to geographical realities and tribal settlements. The guedra is a dance without moving, punctuated by a drum clay.The art of dancing lies in its movements of arms and hands. It can be interpreted by single women, two women or a woman and a child. It is a trance dance movements based simple. The dancer wears a haik blue, waves hands in several directions. On the outskirts of the trance, she performs convulsive movements of the head, swinging her braids on either side. The fingers draw patterns that symbolize a mysterious language that merges into the vast desert. His musical setting is composed of a small group of men with a two run a steady pace, slapping a pottery. The dance is performed by a woman in the middle of the singing group. She is kneeling, wrapped in a blue cloth, and runs from the head and hands of the frenzied rhythm of the 'warrior'. This dance begins with hand gestures to the four direction (North, South, East and West) and then to the elements: heaven (up), earth (down), wind (outside) and water (lowering) . The traditional dress of women is essential to dance. This is a haik formed a large piece of cloth and held by two terminals with a long chain draped between. The "guedra" pot in Arabic, is named as the drum is manufactured by stretching a skin goat on this cookware. It is a dance of blessing expensive Berbers South, which is also found in other parts of the Sahel.

The Moussem of Tan-Tan: a nomadic culture to preserve

The Moussem of Tan-Tan , is an annual event bringing together more than thirty nomadic tribes of the Sahara, was proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations for the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These spontaneous and regular reunions of nomads around a well, about the month of May, for a long week, has evolved through the centuries to become a rendezvous for the tribes of the region. Originally he had held every May. As part of the agro-pastoral nomads calendar, it was an opportunity to find, buy, sell and exchange foodstuffs and other products, to organize competitions breeding camels and horses, celebrate weddings and consult herbalists. The Moussem also the pretext for diverse cultural expressions: music, popular songs, games, poetry contests and other oral traditions Hassani.

This festival, major international, was celebrated in different colors of songs, presentations, etc. .... camel race, attended by leading national and foreign personalities. The presence of forty Goodwill Ambassadors of UNESCO has given to this festival, the character of the world cultural heritage. This heritage that deserves to be preserved and perfected, to maintain this culture alive and also to allow nomads to flourish in a world of tolerance and peace.

It's from 1963 that these gatherings took the form of a Moussem (sort of annual fair with functions of both economic, cultural and social), when the first Moussem of Tan-Tan was organized to promote local traditions and provide a forum for exchanges, meetings and celebrations. Moussem was initially associated with Mohamed Laghdaf, fierce resistance to the Franco-Spanish occupation, died in 1960 and buried near the town of Tan-Tan. Between 1979 and 2004, security issues in the region have prevented the holding of Moussem.

Today, nomadic populations are particularly concerned to protect their lifestyle. Economic changes and technical upheavals in the region have profoundly altered the lifestyle of the nomadic Bedouin communities, forcing many of them to settle. Urbanization and rural exodus have also contributed to the disappearance of many aspects of traditional culture of these populations, such as crafts and poetry. That is why the Bedouin communities rely on renewed Moussem of Tan-Tan to help ensure the survival of their know-how and traditions.

TAN TAN Hollow in the flat mountain

Tan Tan must be one of the least exciting places in Morocco. There are no traces of ingenuity put to practice anywhere. Houses are fair enough, but a total dullness covers everything. There are good possibilities for staying overnight, which is important as it is more than half a day's journey in both northern and southern direction.Tan Tan holds no expatriates, and you won't wonder why. It might be some 10,000 people living here, but this place is a dump, marked by the fact that they come from all over Morocco, and many seem to plan their return. The result is a lack of Moroccan, Berber or Tuareg identity, and even of modernity.I worked hard for this photo — catching the real sight is not all that easy. As you climb up from Tan Tan in southern direction, the flatness of the mountain that Tan Tan as digged itself down into is dramatic. Like it was a crater of a meteorite, the cut along the flat mountain is uneven, making the flat even more flat.

peuple sahraoui

L'expression peuple sahraoui désigne généralement l'ensemble des personnes vivant au Sahara occidental. Cependant, elle est parfois contestée dans cette acception et est aussi utilisée pour désigner l'ensemble des peuples vivant dans le désert saharien.

Terminologie et histoire

Lors de la conquête espagnole à la fin du xix^e siècle, les habitants du Sahara espagnol étaient appelés los nativos ou las gentes del Sahara. Puis, peu à peu, l'administration coloniale espagnole s'est mise à utiliser exclusivement le terme de Saharaui pour désigner« l'ensemble de la population du territoire ». Le terme « sahraoui » est attesté en français dans les années 1970 pour désigner « le Sahara occidental et ses habitants nomades »

Une existence contestée

Selon l'analyste Laurent Pointier, l'identité et la notion de « peuple sahraoui » se sont forgées lors des luttes pour l'indépendance et la décolonisation comme beaucoup de peuples africains,. À partir de 1952, le terme de « peuple » devient un enjeu central auxNations-Unies car il appuie le droit à l'autodétermination. Selon ce principe onusien, dans le cas des Sahraouis, qui dit peuple, dit possibilité d'indépendance face à l'Espagne puis face à la Mauritanie et au Maroc.

L'existence même des Sahraouis en tant que peuple fait donc l'objet d'une lutte politique, idéologique et sémantique entreMarocains et indépendantistes. Si pour le Front Polisario l'existence de ce peuple est évidente, uniquement contestée parce que le pays qu'il habite est occupé par des forces étrangères, le gouvernement marocain la considèrent comme « artificielle » et « chimérique », fruit d'une manipulation politique. Pour l'historien et géographe Jean Sellier, le Sahara espagnol était peuplé deMaures comme en Mauritanie⁶. C'est cet argument ethnique qu'utilisa Moktar Ould Daddah pour réclamer le rattachement du territoire à la Mauritanie dès 1957.

De ce fait, la reconnaissance ou la négation du peuple sahraoui dans le jeu géopolitique international influe sur la reconnaissance de l'existence d'une « entité sahraouie ». Pour Bernard Cherigny, pendant la décolonisation et la guerre froide, le peuple sahraoui est « l'arlésienne » d'un conflit et d'un jeu diplomatique entre pays du Maghreb, puissances méditerranéennes et superpuissances.

Culture et modes de vie

Jusque dans les années 1970, les Sahraouis étaient essentiellement nomades avec peu de villes,

 Laâyoune n'a été fondée qu'en 1938 par les Espagnols. Leur société est formée detribus constituant un ensemble 

à la culture, aux coutumes et aux modes de vie assez homogène. Ils partagent une langue commune, le hassanya.

Nomadisme et sédentarisation

Jusqu'à la décolonisation, les Sahraouis étaient nomades et l'élevage de dromadaires tenait une place centrale 

dans leur économie et modes de vie (« nomadisme chamelier »). En 1947, les Reguibat possédaient plus de 40 000

 dromadaires avec environ 10 bêtes par famille. Les nomades se nourrissaient essentiellement de lait et de viande.

 Leurs migrations suivaient la pluie d'où leur surnom de « fils des nuages ».

Les bombardements des aviations françaises et espagnoles lors de la guerre d'Ifni, les regroupements forcés

 et les expulsions de l'administration coloniale à partir de 1958, les combats entre le Polisario et les armées

 mauritaniennes et 

marocaines, l'urbanisation des années 1980 et 1990 ont provoqué la destruction des troupeaux, des pâturages et

 un exode rural massif vers les villes ou les camps de réfugiés sans possibilité de retour^,. Au début du xxi^e siècle,

 les Sahraouis sont majoritairement sédentaires bien que leur culture soit encore très imprégnée de nomadisme.

Familles et tribus

La famille possédant un troupeau formait la base de la société traditionnelle. Les liens de parenté ou de clientèles

 entre familles composent des tribus aux relations plus ou moins importantes. Ces tribus se reconnaissent souvent

 un ancêtre commun fondateur et prestigieux en relation avec la religion : saint, marabout, descendant du prophète

 (chérif)... Bien qu'elle soit atténuée aujourd'hui, l'appartenance à une tribu est encore importante ou évidente pour

 la plupart des Sahraouis.

On distingue au sein des populations du Sahara occidental trois grands groupes tribaux : les Reguibat et les Tekna,

 d'origine sanhajienne, et les Ouled Delim, d'origine arabe maqilienne. A ces trois grands groupes s'ajoutent

 les tribus sanhajiennes des Ouled Tidrarin et des Laarousyin, ainsi que la confédération maraboutique des Ahl Ma

 El Aïnin, axée autour des disciples et des descendants du Cheikh Ma El Aïnin.

Les Haratins constituent un cas à part, en 1993 environ un tiers des Sahraouis appartenaient à ce groupe parfois

 plutôt décrit comme une caste. Les Haratins sont des descendants d'esclaves qui servaient de domestiques

 ou de gardiens de troupeaux aux nomades comme les Bella chez les Touaregs. Bien qu'officiellement aboli,

 la persistance de cet esclavage fait régulièrement l'objet de témoignages et de dénonciations.

Religion

En raison du nomadisme, l'islam des Sahraouis s'est diffusé et pratiqué par les marabouts et les confréries 

plutôt que par les mosquées bien que les zaouïas ont joué et jouent encore un rôle important. Dans le désert et en

 dehors des villes, la prière s'effectue dans un alignement de pierres (« messel ») symbolisant une mosquée 

et portant une pierre centrale surélevée pour l'imam.

Ces pratiques religieuses sont encore vivaces aujourd'hui. Les deux principales traditions de confréries

 qui se divisent en branches parfois concurrentes sont la Qadriya et la Jezoulia. Ces confréries ont parfois plusieurs

 siècles d'existence peuvent dépasser les frontières et les ethnies se retrouvant au Mali, en Mauritanie, au Maroc, 

au Sénégal et jusqu'au Nigeria. Certaines se sont alliées au colonisateur espagnol comme la Sidiya. À l'inverse, 

la Ghoudfiya et la Tidjaniaya s'opposèrent aux Européens et en particulier aux Français au Maroc et en Mauritanie

 xix^e et xx^e siècles. Une petite minorité de religieux ont développé une doctrine soufie dans la seconde moitié 

du xix^e siècle et conservent quelques fidèles aujourd'hui.

La magie, préislamique mais en syncrétisme avec le coran, est une pratique courante surtout dans: le sud 

rites de protection ou propitiatoires, divination, offrandes aux génies ou « yennun », aux arbres, sources et tombes.

TANTAN

Tan-Tan est une ville marocaine, chef-lieu de la province de Tan-Tan, dans la région de Guelmim-Es Semara.

Géographie

Tan-Tan est située au sud-ouest du Maroc, à 330 km au sud d'Agadir.

À 25 km à l'ouest de la ville, également dans la province de Tan-Tan (dont elle est le chef-lieu), s'est développée au bord de l'océan Atlantique une deuxième ville : El Ouatia (dite aussi « Tan-Tan Plage »), qui dispose d'un port de pêche et de marchandises, d'installations industrielles de transformation du poisson et d'une grande plage.

Démographie

Tan-Tan comptait 60 698 habitants en 2004.

Moussem de Tan-Tan

Le moussem de Tan-Tan est une rencontre réunissant plus d'une trentaine de tribus nomades du Sahara, un témoignage vivant des cultures orales et artistiques sahraouies. Il a été fêté en septembre 2004 après 30 années d'absence et a été reconnu en 2008, par l'UNESCO, comme faisant partie du patrimoine immatériel mondial.

The Moussem of Tantan

Located in southwestern Morocco, the Moussem of Tan-Tan was an annual gathering of nomads of the Sahara together more than thirty tribes from southern Morocco and other nomadic peoples of northwest Africa. Originally, it was a reunion, spontaneous and regular, of these people around a well, about the month of May, for a long week. As part of the calendar agro-pastoral nomads, this group was the opportunity to meet, buy, sell and exchange foodstuffs and other products, to organize competitions breeding camels or horses, marriages or to consult herbalists. Moussem also consisted of various festivities such as musical performances, folk songs, poetic contests and other oral traditions hassanies or even games. 

These meetings took the form of a Moussem - sort of annual fair at the same time economic, cultural and social - from 1963 when the first edition of Moussem of Tan-Tan was organized to showcase local traditions and make this event a forum for exchanges, meetings and celebrations. Moussem was initially associated with Mohamed Laghdaf (resistant Franco-Spanish occupation, died in 1960) whose tomb is located near the city. Between 1979 and 2004, the Moussem could not be arranged because of security problems that occurred in the region. In its new edition, the Moussem took place in September, date to be chosen now. Today, nomadic particularly anxious to preserve their lifestyle, their knowledge and traditions, hoping the Moussem of Tan-Tan to consolidate in this way.

Technical and economic upheavals that occurred in the region have profoundly altered the lifestyle of the nomadic Bedouin communities, in particular leading to settlement. Urbanization and rural exodus have contributed to these changes with the loss of many aspects of traditional culture of these populations, such as crafts and poetry. Moreover, the lack of backup and structures for organizing the Moussem also threatens the sustainability of this event.

Tan Tan Moussem

South Moroccan. Courtesy of the Moroccan National Tourist Office

Held in the small desert town of Tan Tan, south Morocco, Tan Tan Moussem sees thousands of tribal 

members (Blue Men) come together to celebrate their traditional culture. It is the largest gathering of nomadic tribes in northern Africa.

Tan Tan Moussem started as a festival of religious worship and a chance for the tribes to socialise, sing, tell stories and do some camel trading on the side. By the mid 1970s, turmoil in the area forced the local authorities to interrupt the Moussem and it was only restarted in 2004 thanks to a joint effort between the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism and UNESCO.

Tan Tan Moussem: An Amazing Cultural Celebration

Started in 1963, primarily as a religious festival, the annual Tan Tan Moussem, held in early December, draws thousands of members of nomadic tribes to gather together for a celebration oftradition and culture in the small desert town of Tan Tan in SouthMorocco. The focus of the Tan Tan Moussem was the tomb of the great Saharan leader Cheik Mohamed Laghdaf, who died in 1960 after fighting for decades against French and Spanish colonial invaders. In addition to being a festival of worship, this is an opportunity for tribes to socialize with song and dance, swap stories, share herbal remedy knowledge, compete in horse races and engage in some serious camel trading.

Due to the turmoil being experienced in the region in the mid-1970s, authorities at the time banned the Tan Tan Moussem. However, the festival had life breathed back into it when in 2004, UNESCO teamed up with the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism to revive the festival which they considered to be a “masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.” The response was overwhelming and the Tan Tan Moussem has reclaimed its spot as the largest gathering of nomadic tribes in northern Africa.

The “fantasia”, a choreographed reenactment of an attack charge by Berber tribesmen, is a highlight of the Tan Tan Moussem. Sitting astride their magnificent steeds, with their robes billowing in the wind and their rifles raised in the air, the warriors thunder across the desert sands, ululating a war cry that would strike a chord of fear in many an enemy. Other features of the Tan Tan Moussem are a long procession of camels, with nomads singing heart-stirring traditional songs. Long lines of women dressed in elaborate and colorful costumes with their hands covered in intricate henna tattoos carry wooden bowls, brass teapots and other items readily identified with a nomadic lifestyle.

Around 800 tents woven from camel and lamb hair accommodate the dozens of nomadic tribes that travel from all over the Sahara, as far away as Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Several of the tents are set up with exhibits displaying aspects of Berber tribal life, including cooking, weaving, popular games, marriage ceremonies and the teaching of the Koran, while some tents contain traditional crafts for sale. However, the main focus of trading activities revolves around the thousands of dromedary camels.

As the activities of the Tan Tan Moussem draw to a close, members of the various tribes exchange farewells in preparation for the long journey home, finding comfort in the fact that, although saying farewell is sometimes difficult, they can look forward to gathering again next year in the small desert town of Tan Tan, Morocco.

Tan Tan prépare la huitième édition de son Moussem

Tan Tan prépare la huitième édition de son Moussem : Le patrimoine culturel mis en perspective

Le gouverneur de la province de Tan Tan a présidé récemment une réunion à laquelle ont pris part les élus des différentes localités relevant de la province, en vue de procéder aux premiers préparatifs de la huitième édition du Moussem culturel de Tan Tan. 

Devenu un rendez vous très couru depuis sa réintroduction en 2004, le Moussem de Tan Tan qui se déroulera du 20 au 26 mars prochain, aura pour thème, cette année" Le patrimoine culturel immatériel pour la préservation du passé et l'observation des perspectives d'avenir". 

Considéré, par le passé comme une foire commerciale où affluaient les caravanes du Nord et du Sud et un lieu où se rencontraient les différentes tribus sahraouies pour régler leurs différends, le Moussem de Tan Tan qui est, désormais classé par l'Unesco patrimoine immatériel de l'humanité, accueillera des visiteurs venus des différentes régions du Maroc ainsi que de l'étranger. 

Les organisateurs se proposent de tout mettre en œuvre pour surmonter les problèmes des éditions précédentes afin que celle-ci soit un succès. A noter que ce Moussem a permis de faire connaître les potentialités naturelles et touristiques de la région en vue d’inciter certains professionnels du tourisme à investir dans les provinces du Sud, notamment le projet de développement de la zone touristique intégrée dans la zone de Oued Ch'bika, au sud de Tan Tan, projet, estime-t-on, à même de donner une forte impulsion au tourisme dans la région et de créer un nombre important de postes d'emploi, si toutefois ses travaux s'achevaient un jour. 

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