Mata is an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

game and performance performed by the Beni Arous tribe typically in May or June in the village of Znied, in the municipality of Larbaa Aicha, in the province of

Larache Larache ( ar, العرايش, al-'Araysh) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast, where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Larache is one of the most important cities of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Man ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. The competition takes place in the hills upon the tomb of the Sufi saint Moulay Abdeslam ben Machich with over 200 participants. Over the course of three days, tribal teams on

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s ride bareback and vie for control of a female puppet, which symbolizes the fertility of the spring season, and take it across the finish line. Women typically fashion the puppet out of tissue and traditional fabrics, making it smell of roses and drawing a face on the doll. Historically, the rider who brought the puppet across the finish line was given the hand of the most beautiful woman of the tribe. Today, the prize is money and prestige. The equestrian display is thought to represent the relationship between man and nature and man and horse. For male riders, it is a representation of their warrior prowess, but there is a single woman who participates in the practice. The practice is rumored to be a variation of the Afghan

buzkashi Buzkashi ( Pashto/ fa, بزکشی, lit=goat pulling) is a traditional Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. It is played primarily in Afghanistan. Similar games are known as kokpar, ...

game that the Moulay Abdeslam saw in Asia and brought to Morocco where it was integrated with local customs. For the past nine years, the Baraka family, descendants of Moulay Abdeslam, have revitalized the tradition and sponsored the annual competition in association with the Alamiya Laaroussia Association and the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

International Festival of Cultural Diversity. The festival also exhibits over 45

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

s in the region to promote the local handicrafts and products. On 19 December 2023, ICESCO added the equestrian art of Mata as an intangible heritage of Morocco.

References

External links

Mata Moussem
{{Equestrian Sports Culture of Morocco Equestrian sports Arab culture Equestrian festivals Maghreb