''Fantasia'' () is a traditional exhibition of horsemanship in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

performed during cultural festivals and for Maghrebi

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

celebrations. It is present in Algeria, Libya,

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

, Morocco,

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages It is attested in the ancient Numidian times during which it was practiced by the

Numidian cavalry Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. After they were used by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, they were described by the Roman historian Livy as "by far the best horsemen in Africa." History Numidian cava ...

.Recueil ..., Volumes 11-12
Commission des arts et monuments historiques de la Charente-inférieure. Imprimerie Hus.Journal des haras, chasses, courses de chevaux, des progrès des sciences zooiatriques et de médecine compareée
Volume 47. Historian Carlos Henriques Pereira stated that the North African fantasia also called barud is a modern watered down version of a Numidian military technique.Parler aux chevaux autrement: approche sémiotique de l'équitation
Carlos Pereira. Editions Amphora. Fantasia Sahara Festival

The fantasia is considered a cultural performance and a form of martial art; it also symbolizes a strong relationship between the man (or woman) and the horse, as well as an attachment to tradition. According to Jean-Pierre Digard, it is a watered down version of the

charge. Fantasia performances usually take place during local seasonal, cultural or religious festivals, also called موسم ''moussem'' "saint's day festival" in

Maghrebi Arabic Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Al ...

History of the performance

Fantasia has been attested in the ancient times during which it was practised by the Numidians, historian Carlos Henriques Pereira stated that the modern North African fantasia is a watered down version of a Numidian military technique. Fantasia has also been traced back to Arab-Amazigh tribes in the 17th century. Tbourida comes from the cavalry charge performed by an army's vanguard in battle. It was also used in cavalry raiding and celebrations.

Name

The horse is referred to as a fantasia horse and is of Arabian, Andalusian or Barb stock. The term “fantasia” is of Latin origin, meaning “entertainment”, or Spanish- Italian meaning “fantasy”. ''Fantasia'' is also a name used by French Orientalists. The

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

term ''mawsim'' () literally means "season". There are also regional names for the sport, such as ''Tbourida'' in Morocco, the word comes from the Arabic ''Baroud'', meaning gunpowder. The term ''laâb el-baroud'' () and ''laâb el-khayl'' () are also used in Arabic.

Fantasia in art

Some French, Sri Lankan and other Western artists have done oil paintings of the fantasia, including Edmon Vales,

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

, Nasreddine Dinet,

Théo van Rysselberghe Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. Biography Early years Born i ...

, Amiru K.

Eugène Fromentin Eugène Fromentin (24 October 182027 August 1876) was a French painter and writer, now better remembered for his writings. Life He was born in La Rochelle. After leaving school he studied for some years under Louis Cabat, the landscape painter. ...

and

Ulpiano Checa Ulpiano Fernández-Checa y Sanz (April 3, 1860 – January 5, 1916), known as Ulpiano Checa, was a Spanish painter, sculptor, poster designer and illustrator. He used both impressionistic and academic techniques, and mainly painted historical s ...

Fantasia in Algeria

In Algeria the Fantasia goes back to the Numidian period. Fantasia is common in Algeria, there are frequent regional Fantasia festivals and cultural events. Popular festivals include the ''Sidi Yahia Bensafia d'Ouled N'hare'' in

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

, the ''Sidi Ahmed Almadjoub'' festival in

Naâma Naâma (Arabic: النعامة or نعامة) is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria, of which it is the province seat. It is coextensive with the district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is ...

and ''Horse festival'' in

Tiaret Tiaret ( ar, تاهرت / تيارت; Berber: Tahert or Tihert, i.e. "Lioness") is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital o ...

. Fantasia is also performed around the Annual Pilgrimage of Sidi Cheikh. According to the Algerian Equestrian Federation, 350 traditional equestrian associations, spread across the whole of the national territory, perpetuate the Fantasia. The Fantasia in Algeria is usually performed on a delimited ground of more than one hundred meters long, either in groups made up of nine to eleven riders or individually. The aim is to showcase skill, speed, rifle firing display, traditional dress, as well as the horses and their harnesses. The collective or group Fantasia is classified into two categories of games: the Temerad and the Guelba. In both games, the riders travel from one extremity of the course to the other and then execute the three stages of the Fantasia on their way back. A group leader is responsible for coordinating the performance by signalling, in the form of cries, the start of each stage. In the ''Temerad'' game, the riders approach the other end of the course at a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

, make a U-turn and await the signal from the group leader. At the start cry, the riders start galloping in a single line. At the second cry, the riders stand up, aligned shoulder to shoulder, holding the rifles in aim. At the third cry, the riders deliver a single blast by firing their arms simultaneously and then continuing the ride without leaving the course until they reach the end in an orderly and calm manner. In the ''Guelba'' game, the riders approach the other end of the course at a trot. The first cry signal is given as soon as they reach it, at which point, they make an extremely fast U-turn and start galloping. Those who fall behind must catch up at even higher speed for the alignment of the second stage. Although the last two stages are more or less similar to the ''Temerad'', the speed at which the first stage is performed makes the ''Guelba'' the most accident prone of the two. The individual Fantasia, which can include up to three riders, is performed mostly in eastern Algeria. Always galloping from the start, the rider simulates an attack, and after firing, which can be done with one or two rifles successively, the rider then simulates a sabre attack. The game with two riders involves the two riders galloping at the start, holding each other tightly, boot to boot, sometimes going so far as to entwine the arm of one on the shoulders of the other, giving the impression from afar that it is only a single rider. After the volley, the two riders separate and finish the course with a sabre attack display. Local artists such as the painter Rachid Talbi and the photographer Nadjib Rahmani have produced artwork featuring the Fantasia in Algeria.

Fantasia in Morocco (Tbourida)

There are frequent Tbourida festivals (''moussems'') and cultural events in Morocco. Tbourida is also performed during national holidays and agricultural events. The performance consists of an odd number of horse riders, all wearing traditional clothes, usually carrying a copy of the Quran and a sword, who charge along a straight track called ''Mahrak'', at the same speed so as to form a line, and then at the end of the charge (about two hundred meters) fire into the sky using old

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...

s or muzzle-loading rifles. The difficulty of the performance is in synchronizing the movement of the horses during acceleration of the charge, and especially in firing the guns simultaneously so that one single shot is heard. The horses were bred from the

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

and

Barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

breeds or a mixture of the two. The riders are led by a ''Mokaddem'' in the center of the troupe, usually a more experienced rider, who coordinates the rest of the troupe's movements. A Tbourida show consists of two parts, the ''Hadda'' and the ''Talqa''. Th
SOREC
was created in 2003 as a public enterprise under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to promote and preserve the practice of Fantasia and Tbourida in Morocco, according to the SOREC, there are about a thousand registered Fantasia troupes. Fantasia troupes are also represented by the Royal Moroccan Equestrian Federation (FRSME). There has been 21 registered ''moussems'' for 309 troupes in the year 2014. Aimé-Nicolas Morot - Souvenir du Maroc (Fantasia)

Aimé-Nicolas Morot - Souvenir du Maroc (Fantasia)

Every year, about 330 Moroccan troupes compete for the Hassan II National Tbourida Trophy in El Jadida during the Week of the Horse promoted by the FRSME in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

, Morocco. They qualify for the finals through regionally organized competitions through the Federation and SOREC. Tbourida was inscribed in the

UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergove ...

in 2021 during the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, following an joint application filed in 2019 by the Ministry of Culture, the SOREC and 4 local Tbourida associations. Moroccan artists such as Hassan El Glaoui have prolifically produced artwork featuring Moroccan riders and horses.

References

External links

Morocco In Motion - FantasiaSociété Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval
{{Equestrian Sports Arab culture Berber culture Equestrian sports Equestrian festivals Maghreb Moroccan culture Tunisian culture Algerian culture Festivals in Algeria