The Kingdom’s historiographer, Abdelhak El Mrini, called on Friday, February 7, to promote Moroccan folklore with its various manifestations and to protect it from disappearing in the face of the challenges of globalization. This appeal was launched during the inaugural conference 26th edition of the International Book and Publishing Exhibition (SIEL), which is being held in Casablanca until February 16.
In a speech entitled “Flashes on Moroccan Folklore”, El Mrini said that Moroccan folklore is an intangible heritage that embodies a Moroccan cultural mix of Amazigh, African, Sahrawi, Andalusian and Arab origins, through all its colors and civilizational dimensions, in addition to its oral and written styles.
He stressed, in this regard, that these characteristics make Moroccan folklore “attractive to researchers interested in this heritage, given that they are responsible for its protection from being lost as well as its enhancement and preservation”, especially since “the Moroccan popular culture’s tributaries, in all its forms, express our economic, social, religious and artistic manifestations”.
According to Mr. El Mrini, Moroccan popular culture is not only a mirror of the manifestations of our life, its forms, and the image of our artistic treasures, but also one of the means of influencing the course of our lives, which adapts to all forms and colors of human civilization and evolve, today, at a great pace.
In addition, he highlighted the forms of multicolored Moroccan folklore, including customs, traditions, handicraft art, traditional medical treatments, folk and Andalusian music festivals, as well as traditional melodies and dishes of all kinds.
The richness and diversity of songs and religions in the Moroccan heritage such as Hamadcha, Issawa and Darqawa, the Dikr Sufi, in addition to Gnawi songs, explained the historiographer of the Kingdom, highlighting the vast cultural and religious manifestations of Moroccan folklore, which include rituals and performances such as the fantasia (Tbourida) or the celebration of Ashoura and Shabanah.
In a press statement at the end of the conference, Mr. El Mrini said that he had chosen the theme “Flashes on Moroccan folklore” for his speech, since this topic is rarely mentioned by the presenters, as a result it has begun to disappear.
“Folklore is an important part of civilization, which the Moroccan must care for and teach to the younger generations,” he concluded.
The 26th edition of SIEL, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in collaboration with the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development and the Casablanca Exhibition Center, will be attended by 703 exhibitors, including 267 direct and 436 indirect exhibitors, from Morocco, Africa, Europe, Asia and America, who will present a rich and varied documentary collection covering several fields of knowledge, with more than 100,000 works.
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