Ifni Independence Day
Ifni Independence Day
Little did we know that June 30 celebrates Sidi Ifni’s independence from Spain. There is an annual festival that looks like a strange mix between a carnival and a farmer’s market. There are carous wheels, ferris wheels, and bumper cars in one area and just 20 yards away there is a section of stands of women and men selling their goods – soaps, argan brauty products, honey, jam, clothing, woodworking, artwork, baskets, and much more Many of the women at these stands are representatives from local cooperatives, which gives us all the more incentive to buy their products because we know that the women are benefiting directly.
We catch the tail end of the Independence Day Parade and see a small girl dressed entirely in traditional Berber wedding attire proudly displaying the flag. The people seem so proud and spirited as they follow the parade down the main road toward the direction of our hotel. It is as if the city has made a complete 180 since the previous week – the hotel is full and there are musicians coming in and out. The town is lively late into the night and we can hear jubilant voices from our hotel room late into the night. When we head back to the hotel around 10 pm after having dinner at Jamila’s house, it is as if everyone has just woken up and swarmed the streets. Everyone seems to have somewhere it go.
Sunday night Fatima (our cultural guide) and Fatima (one of our amazing cooks) take me to the Saaida performance at the festival. She is famous all across Morocco and sings politically charged Berber songs about poverty and rising above. The crowd is divided into male and female sections and Fatima informs me that the women are happy to be separated because they feel more free to sing and dance. Women of all ages crowd around and clap their hands; feeling empowered by Saiida’s words. I only wish that I could understand what exactly this woman was saying to inspire such a wide and diverse array of women – traditional women exposing only their eyes right alongside young girls dressed in western clothing.
