The MATA International Horse Riding Festival in its 12th edition from May 17 to 19, 2024

MATA equestrian art: Ancestral heritage and centuries-old traditions under the sign “MATA, an ancestral intangible heritage and a space for cultural exchange of humanity”

Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the MATA International Horse Riding Festival returns in a new edition from May 17 to 19, 2024, in the village of Zniyed, commune of Larbaa de Ayacha, provincial district of Moulay Abdessalam Ben Machich, province from Larache. , Region of Tangier Tetoun Alhociema.

This year’s edition is organized in a particular context constituted by the consecration of the integration of the intangible heritage of MATA within the World Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).

In this national context, the President of the MATA International Equestrian Festival indicated that this consecration was obtained thanks to the Patronage of His Majesty the King during all editions of the festival, and that the safeguarding of the intangible heritage of Morocco, including the MATA festival , came to fruition under the aegis of His Majesty the King affirming in his directives that:

The safeguarding of MATA heritage is also a continuation of the important process initiated by Hadj Mohamed Baraka, dean of the Chorfas of Alamiyine, and the late Sidi Abdelhadi Baraka Naquib of the Chorfas of Alamiyine.

The President of the festival, Mr. Nabil BARAKA, underlined that the integration of the MATA intangible heritage into the ICESCO list on behalf of the Kingdom of Morocco constitutes a great historical event, achieved thanks to the High Royal Patronage, as well as the support of the festival’s partners in its various cultural, economic and social spaces and constitutes a well-deserved recognition of the MATA riders and the JEBALA regions who have made this rich ancestral cultural heritage shine and vary.

The president of the festival also highlighted the distinction recently awarded in Seville, Spain, at the Mata International Horse Riding Festival, namely the prize of the Spanish historian, politician and writer Emilio Castellar, this recognition was awarded by the great efforts made by the festival. promote the rapprochement of cultures between civilizations and nations. The award was received by Ms. Nabila Baraka, president of the Alamia association, in the presence of major personalities and international organizations in recognition of the cultural and national achievements of the late Sidi Abdelhadi Baraka, dean of the Alamiyine chorfas.

He also underlined the attachment to the spiritual tradition that the festival perpetuates for the Chorfas Alamiyines and the followers of the Tarika Machichiya Chadiliya, encouraging the men of thought, religion, culture, art and politics, present at this celebration, to disseminate the values ​​​​bequeathed. of the great Quotb Moulay Abdeslam Ibn Machich in the world, while inviting a prayer for peace, in zones of conflict and war, particularly between Palestinians and Israelis, Ukrainians and Russians, while affirming that the Chorfas Alamiyines and the followers of the Tarika Machichiya Chadiliya, are under the direction of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful.

The president of the MATA International Equestrian Festival also indicated that the program for this year’s edition will be rich in competitions and performances by MATA horses and riders, in addition to the organization of an international conference under the theme:

“Mata, space for cultural exchange of humanity”, supervised by researchers from various international and national organizations, to celebrate a heritage that has become the prerogative of promoting dialogue between cultures and civilizations in the four corners of the world. To this end, he underlined the strengthening of links between Africa and Europe, thanks to the geographical and historical crossroads between Morocco and Spain, and between the rest of the world, noting the essential role played by the different media outlets that honor the festival. spaces with their presence.

Ms. Nabila Baraka, president of the Alamia Laaroussia Association for Social and Cultural Action, declared that the MATA festival is organized in a context of debate around the Moudawana, and consecrates the role of the Moroccan woman who has been and will remain active in society, thus highlighting the role of women from the JEBALA tribes in the celebration of this ancestral Moroccan heritage in all MATA spaces. The festival is also an opportunity to discover the strong links between the northern region and the Moroccan Sahrawi tribes permanently invited to the festival, and represented by cultural and media organizations, and cooperatives of local products and crafts.

The last 2023 edition had recorded, according to the president of the MATA international festival, a great success at all levels, cultural, social and economic, and saw the participation of more than 300,000 people between national and international visitors, the competition attracted more than 300 riders from different tribes of Jebala and 80 agricultural and industrial cooperatives exhibited their local products to visitors, in addition to an evening of traditional Moroccan music hosted by the artists: Bachir El Attar, Faisal Saghir, Ikram El Abdia , Lemsari and Iman El Hajeb, and the actors Hassan and Mohsin. During this evening, a tribute was paid to the great art artist Jebli El Hajji Srifi, as well as to other cultural personalities.

“MATA”, a world heritage site

All around Jbel Allam, farmers welcomed spring by playing a particularly original game which calls on the courage, skill, flexibility, delicacy, intelligence and finesse of those who indulge in it. It is a game where horse and rider, in perfect symbiosis, celebrate a legendary complicity and above all the ancestral culture of an extraordinary region. The “jbalas” named this game “MATA”.

Even today, the tradition is jealously guarded by the tribes of Bni Arous and the rules of the game are scrupulously respected. After sifting the wheat fields, first in the village of Aznid, then in others later, young girls and women from the tribe to whom this operation is entrusted accompany it with their songs and their ululations. and their famous ‘iyou’, to the sound of ghaïtas and drums specific to the region. It is these same women who make, using reeds and fabrics, the doll for which the most courageous riders of the country of Jebala will compete, a region where the art of riding, raising and training horses is a strong cultural heritage. specificity. Riders who participate in the “MATA” game must ride bareback, dressed in ancestral jellabas and amamas. According to oral tradition, the winner of the “MATA” game is the one who, thanks to his skill and daring, will be able to snatch the doll from the other riders and take it away. A supreme reward was then awarded to him: he was married to the most beautiful girl in the tribe.

The game “MATA” is probably inspired by Bouzkachi, a similar but more violent game, imported, according to legend, by Moulay Abdeslam lbn Mashich during his visit to Ibn Boukhari. . The buzkachi practiced in Afghanistan concerns the corpse of a goat for which the horsemen fight during brutal jousts which leave many injured.

This annual event celebrates an ancestral culture through which the sense of rehabilitated honor, rooted faith, patriotism as a Sufi school and spiritual and universal values ​​are expressed; all the humanist heritage bequeathed by the great Quotb Moulay Abdeslam Ibn Mashich to the Chorfas Alamiyines, to the Tarika Mashichiya Shadhiliya and to the inhabitants of this exceptional region.