تحت الرعاية السامية لصاحب الجلالة الملك محمد السادس نصره الله ⴷⴷⴰⵡ ⵜⵎⴰⵜⴰⵔⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵜⵜⴰⵢⵜ ⵏ ⴱⴰⴱ ⵏ ⵡⴰⴷⴷⵓⵔ ⴰⴳⵍⵍⵉⴷ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵉⵙⵙ ⵚⴹⵉⵚ Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI
- 22 Thursday
- 23 Friday
- 24 Saturday
المهرجان الوطني لفنون أحواش ⴰⵏⵎⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⵜⵥⵓⵕⵉⵡⵉⵏ ⵏ ⵓⵃⵡⴰⵛ National Festival of Ahwach Arts
فنون أحواش وإيقاعات العالم Ahwach Arts and the Rhythms of the World
فنون أحواش وإيقاعات العالم Ahwach Arts and the Rhythms of the World
أحواش
ⴰⵃⵡⴰⵛ Ahwach
- One man sets a chant. Thirty voices answer. يرفع رجلٌ نشيدًا، فتجيبه ثلاثون صوتًا.
- The drums enter one after another. تدخل الطبول واحدًا بعد الآخر.
- Hands clap what the feet already know. تصفّق الأيدي ما تعرفه الأقدام من قبل.
- The circle tightens, opens, and the village sings. تضيق الحلقة، وتنفتح، وتغنّي القرية.
Ahwach is the collective art of the Amazigh communities of the High Atlas, the Anti-Atlas and the Souss: dance, song, poetry and percussion carried by a whole village. Each valley keeps its own form of it.
The festivalSources Encyclopédie berbère, “Danse” B. Lortat-Jacob, Cahiers de littérature orale
Three movements
- 22 Thursday 16:00Heritage arts performances19:00National anthem and address by the organisersTribute to the living human treasures of the Ahwach artsFirst evening of performances See the programme
- 23 Friday 10:30Heritage workshops16:00Heritage arts performances19:00Second evening of performances See the programme
- 24 Saturday 09:30Symposium15:30Masterclass with the masters of Ahwach16:00Heritage arts performances19:00Third evening of performances See the programme
- 22 Heritage arts performances · National anthem and address by the organisers · Tribute to the living human treasures of the Ahwach arts · First evening of performances
- 23 Heritage workshops · Heritage arts performances · Second evening of performances
- 24 Symposium · Masterclass with the masters of Ahwach · Heritage arts performances · Third evening of performances
Three days in Ouarzazate: evenings at the Kasbah Taourirt, performances in the tourist zone, workshops, a symposium and a masterclass.
See the programmeTroupes of the 14th edition
Fifteen troupes announced by Ouarzazate Events for the 14th edition, 22 to 24 October 2026 in Ouarzazate.
15 troupes announced
- 01 Ahwach Sidi Daoud أحواش سيدي داوود
- 02 Ahwach Tarkhnit أحواش تفرخين
- 03 Akhlakal اكلاكال
- 04 Ahwach Timont أحواش تمونت
- 05 Madih and Hassani Folklore Troupe فرقة المديح و الفلكلور الحساني
- 06 Ahwach Aoud Tiznit أحواش عاود تيزنيت
- 07 Ahwach Islim for Development and Heritage Preservation أحواش اسليم للتنمية والمحفاظة على التراث
- 08 Ahwach Mokhafman احواش مخفمان
- 09 Ahwach Talouine احواش تلوات
- 10 Ahwach Tamast احواش تماست
- 11 Ahwach Tissint احواش تيسنت
- 12 Ahwach Youth of Ait Benhaddou احواش شباب ايت بن حدو
- 13 Ahwach Ait Abdallah احواش ايت عبدالله
- 14 Ahwach Hamaim Salam احواش حمائم السلام
- 15 Ahwach Azzel احواش ازضل
Ouarzazate ورزازات ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ
At the gates of the Drâa, Ouarzazate is surrounded by earthen kasbahs and ksour. Kasbah Taourirt, a national monument, is its historic centre and the festival’s main venue.
A fortified complex of rammed earth and mud brick, listed as national heritage in 1954. Oral tradition attributes its first construction to the Imzwarn family in the 17th century; the Glaoui expanded it in the 19th. Sold to the municipality in 1972, the kasbah has been conserved since the late 1980s by CERKAS, with UNESCO support in the 1990s and the Getty Conservation Institute since 2011. It is the festival's main performance venue.
Sources Wikipedia, "Kasbah Taourirt" Getty Conservation Institute
The wall of editions
Fourteen posters, fourteen years in Ouarzazate since 2012.
Dispatches
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14th edition announced: 22 to 24 October 2026 in OuarzazateInfomédiaire, Le7tv, Quid.ma, I3lam TV
The organisers have announced the fourteenth Festival National des Arts d'Ahwach, under the theme "Ahwach Arts and the Rhythms of the World", with close to a thousand artists expected.
-
13th edition closes at Kasbah TaourirtMadar21 (MAP dispatch)
The thirteenth edition ran from 23 to 25 October 2025 under the theme "Ahwach arts embrace the sounds of the world", with performances combining traditional song, projections and light.
Institutions
Organised by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication (Department of Culture) and the Province of Ouarzazate, in partnership with the Association Ouarzazate Events.
List published by Ouarzazate Events, which also names the Province, the Municipality and the Provincial Council of Ouarzazate among the sponsors, shown above.
Source Ouarzazate Events
Official logos published by the institutions where available; the others are reproduced from the official 2026 material, pending each institution’s files.