Dakka marrackchia

Dakka Marrakchia Festival opens on Friday
Morocco TIMES 2/3/2006


The first Dakka Marrakchia festival (Marrakech's traditional music), will open today in Marrakech. The event will celebrate the red city's rhythms and the region's seven saints (Sabaatou Rijal), reported MAP news agency.


Organised between Feb. 3-8 by the association of “Asdekaa Nakhil” (Friends of the Palm Tree of Marrakech), the festival will see the participation of seven musical groups, representing seven neighborhoods of the city, where the region's cultural inheritance has been preserved over centuries.

Participating neighborhoods are Bab D'Bagh, Sabtiyyine, Bin Laarassi, the Casbah, Ben Salah, Derb Dabachi and El Moukkaf.

Activities will open with the distribution of musical instruments used in Dakka Marrakchia in six neighborhoods known for their mastery of this art.

“This operation aims at reviving the Dakka in these districts and attracting young people to it, in order to ensure the perpetuation and foster the authenticity of this 1,000 year old art,” said Abdellah Ait Baha, president of the organising association.

The agenda includes a main show given by the seven participating groups in the Royal Theatre. Tribute will be paid to the spiritual father of the Dakka, Baba.

The festival will also include an exhibition of handicraft products and conferences on traditional arts and folklore, their history and evolution, with the participation of specialists and researchers.

The closing ceremony will be organised in homage of all those who have preserved the region's musical heritage and transmitted it. They include Omar El Mansour, Abdellahadi, alias "J'Wilika",
Boujemâa, alias "Sanguine", and Mohamed Zerrad, alias "Sanya".

Marrakech is one of the richest cities in terms of history and cultural heritage. In 1985, the city's medina was classified “World Heritage” by UNESCO.