The ‘‘Aḥwash’’ Berber singing ceremony shift from Morocco to Israel

Abstract

This paper is a survey of the complex dynamics of change and/or conservation within the traditional Berber musical genre of dancing songs, called Aḥwash, as this musical genre is still performed in Morocco and among certain Moroccan Berber-Jewish communities emigrated to Israel in the mid 1950’s and early 1960’s. The conclusion is that while this musical genre is nowadays undergoing substantial formal and functional changes in its homeland, Morocco, giving rise, on the melodic and rhythmic levels, to a kind of ‘‘new aḥwash’’, as opposed to the amrg aqqdim (‘‘old [Tashlhiyt Berber] music’’) in general, the aḥwash ceremony in Israel was frozen by the performers on those levels as it was during the 50’s, and the 60’s of the 20th century. Therefore we are witnessing in Israel an aḥwash aqqdim (‘‘old aḥwash’’), at least as concerns its repertories of lyrics and melodies. Some changes have affected however certain external aspects and some ethno musicological functional dimensions in the Israeli aḥwash. For example: some participants’ dressing mode (men in particular), place of performing (indoors instead of outdoors), the weakening of the dimension of gender in roles assignment, etc.1. The term ‘‘Berber-Jewish’’, for the targeted community, is here but a convenient cover term to make short. For a discussion of some controversial concepts such as ‘‘Berber Jews’’, ‘‘Jewish Berbers’’ or ‘‘Berber speaking Jews’’, see Elmedlaoui 2013.