Sebiba
Sebiba(Arabic:سبيبة,Tifinagh:ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ) is the term used inAlgeriato designate a festival and theTuareg people's dance performed on this occasion and accompanied by female drummers in theSaharaoasis ofDjanetin theTassili n'Ajjerregion in southern Algeria. The dance originated among the descendants ofblack African slavesand is part of the celebrations for theIslamic Ashura Festival.[1][2]The dance was recognized byUNESCOin 2014 for its significance to humanity'sintangible cultural heritage.
Cultural background[edit]
TheSebibadance and drum music is rooted in the blacksmith class, orInaden,among theMoorishBidhanTuareg peoplein Algeria and theSahelregion.[3]Theinaden,which made all tools, weapons and jewelry for society, formed a distinct cultural echelon within Tuareg society after being excluded for the two traditional social classes.[4][5]
The other traditional classes among theBidhanwere the aristocrats,ImajeghenorImuhaghinTamasheq language,corresponding to the warriors class (hassan),[6]and theIklan,slavesorAbīd(Arabic:عبيد).[7]Today, the slaves kidnapped from theSudanregion are free today and form the majority withinTuaregsociety.[8]
Characteristics[edit]
The first day through the tenth day of the first Islamic month ofMuharramis the time for rites of passage that usher in the new year. The climax is the tenth day, theAshuraday (Arabic:عاشوراء), which has other religious meanings depending on the Islamic denomination.[9]
New Hijri Year's Day is the following eleventh Muharram. InDjanet,Sebibais the dance and the entire city festival at the turn of the year.[10]
InAgadezin northernNiger,theTuareg peoplecelebrate theBianu festivalwith dances and parades on the same occasion.[citation needed]
At theBianuand at theSebibafestival, the course of the event is formed by the contrast between two population groups: With theBianu,the city ofAgadezis divided into an east and west half for the duration of the event, the residents of theKsarcome for theSebibafestival,AzellouazandKsar El Mihanagainst each other.[citation needed]
The festival brings back memories of a long conflict that has now been resolved between the two villages. The placeAdjahildoes not take part in the celebrations, presumably the religious prohibition by theSufiTariqaof theSenusiyya,which maintained aZawiyainAdjahilat the beginning of the 20th century.[citation needed]
The cultural background of theSebibaalso includes the mythological idea of the end of the year, a new beginning and an interim period that is in transition and dissolving during the duration of the festival. This general cosmogonic concept is passed down as Tuareg customs (Tagdudt) and is said to have been known to nomadic Tuaregs in the past.[11]
The idea of a chaotic transition period relates to the seasonal regeneration of nature, but can also be associated with a mythological reassurance of the power of black African rulers. There, the kingship goes through a regularly recurring phase of ritual anarchy, in which the relations of rule are turned upside down and sham battles are carried out until the ruler has finally been confirmed as having his divine origin.[citation needed]
The temporal equation with Ashura makes the rites, originally referred to as pre-Islamic, a part of everyday Islamic culture and therefore acceptable for a large part of the Muslim Tuareg. Nevertheless, there are Muslim groups who reject the Sebiba as un-Islamic because of their origin and the way they are carried out.[citation needed]
Oral tradition traces the origin of the Sebiba back to the death of Pharaoh, who drowned in the Red Sea while persecutingMoses(Sidi Moussa) and the Jews, in accordance with Sunni Islamic tradition on the origin of Ashura.[12]At that time, good triumphed over evil, which is expressed in the new beginning of nature during the Ashura days.[13]
To give thanks for the victory, the Sebiba is said to have been invented. To distinguish it from Sebiba dances, which can also be performed in other villages at weddings and other private celebrations, the festival on Ashura Day is called Sebiba n’Tililin (other spelling Sebeiba ou Tillellin).[14]
Other dances of the originally black population of the Maghreb are the Stambali, a Tunisian dance that is part of an obsession rite and its Moroccan counterpart Derdeba. The Algerian dance of the Berber women Abdaoui also has a seasonal reference.[15]
World Heritage[edit]
The feast ofSebibain AlgerianSaharahas been classified asTuareg heritageandCultural heritageforming part of theworld heritage of humanity,where the traditional costume made for the occasion holds a central place.[16]
The ritual and ceremonies ofSebibain the oasis of Djanet were inscribed in the year 2014 among theUNESCO lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[17]
The dance in this festival is a dance genre being part of theUNESCO lists of intangible cultural heritage,associated with singing, music and celebrations.[18]
TheSebibaincludes celebratory,ritual dance,folk songs and drumming,social danceslocalised and practised mainly in the AlgerianSahara.[19]
This classified dance form is officially recognised as an Algerian cultural heritage, and is appreciated and enjoyed all over the world, and have a very international dimension and touristic attraction.[20]
Sebibadance is a very complex phenomenon, which involves culture, traditions, the use of human bodies, artefacts (such as costumes and props), as well as a specific use of music, space and sunshine light.[21]
As a result, a lot of tangible and intangible elements are combined withinSebibadance, making it a challenging but extremely interesting type of Algerian and Tuareg heritage to safeguard.[22]
Gallery[edit]
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
Bouzid-Sababou, Meriem. 2001.Sebeiba - Tillellin: Les célébration de l'Achoura chez les Touaregs sédentaires de Djanet.Alger: Barzakh. ISBN 9961-893-15-1.
References[edit]
- ^"Une fête touareg millénaire au coeur du Sahara en Algérie".Le sac à dos.7 November 2018.
- ^"Fête Touareg de la Sebiba, en Algérie".algerie-tours.
- ^"Installation du centre de l'Unesco à Alger".Djazairess.
- ^"Une richesse en couleurs, en rythmes et en sonorités".Djazairess.
- ^"Adel Gana au soirmagazine:" Le tourisme saharien connaît plus d'engouement car les prix des circuits deviennent abordables "".Djazairess.
- ^"Arts plastiques".Djazairess.
- ^"Des atouts inexploités".Djazairess.
- ^"Une photographe allemande présente sa vision de l'Algérie".Djazairess.
- ^Post, The Casbah (18 September 2016)."Les rituels cathartiques de la Sebeïba".
- ^ROHART, Grégory (3 April 2011)."La Sebiba, la fête des Touareg de Djanet - I-Voyages".i-voyages.net/.
- ^"Sous le rythme de la musique targuie et du blues saharien".Djazairess.
- ^Sahih BukhariBook31 Hadith 222, Book55 Hadith609, and Book58 Hadith279,[1];Sahih MuslimBook 6 Hadith 2518, 2519, 2520[2]
- ^Gay, Capitaine (24 January 1935)."Sur la" Sébiba "".Journal des Africanistes.5(1): 61–66.doi:10.3406/jafr.1935.1630– via persee.fr.
- ^"Algerie - Djanet: la fête de la Sébiba la dernière semaine 2009".oopartir.
- ^"Unesco / Patrimoine culturel immatériel: Alger retire le dossier de classement de la musique Raï | REPORTERS ALGERIE".Reporters.dz.Retrieved24 January2021.
- ^"Un 1er pas pour la préservation du patrimoine immatériel".Djazairess.
- ^"Le couscous, un plat fédérateur, rassembleur et réconciliateur".Djazairess.
- ^"Une plasticienne et un photographe croisent leurs arts".Djazairess.
- ^"UNESCO - Le rituel et les cérémonies de la Sebeïba dans l'oasis de Djanet, Algérie".ich.unesco.org.
- ^"Programme MAB"(PDF).unesco.org.Retrieved24 January2021.
- ^"La fête de la S'beiba de Djanet classée au patrimoine immatériel de l'humanité | Radio Algérienne".radioalgerie.dz.
- ^"Le couscous classé au patrimoine immatériel de l'humanité par l'Unesco".17 December 2020.