Hey out there! So, for this Winter Term trip for our university I will be traveling with a group to Morocco in order to study Dance and Music. Our group will land in Casablanca, and then continue to Fez, the dessert, and Marrakech before returning home. I plan to keep an updated blog of my travels throughout the country-though with limited access to the internet, we shall see how that plays out.
Tuareg woman crafting. (Notice the deep blue of her garment)
Morocco has influence from many subcultures over time, due to the various peoples who settled in the area throughout the centuries, including the Berbers (the indigenous mountain dwellers of Morocco), the Arabs, the French, and the Spanish. Though this influence is visible in various platforms, such as food, art, and language (though Moroccan Arabic and standard Arabic are first, french is the language of trade and commerce) our group is specifically focused on these influences in dance and music. I am interested in studying the Guedra dance, a dance of the Tuareg"blue people" (notoriously known as such due to the blue dye they use-which in turn stains the skin and tints their skin blue). This dance was found in ancient times and has traces of goddess worship. It is my intention to talk to as many people as I meet and gather as much information as I can on the Guedra and it's religious roots (though this may be hard as Morocco is an Islamic country). View the video below to see what the Guedra looks like!
To learn more about the Tuareg people and the dance of the Guedra, visit this link:
It's the night before and with my bags all packed and ready to go, I can only wait for the journey to begin! I will be uploading photos and videos as soon as possible! 'Til then, see you all in a few and catch you on the flipside!
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