“Hakouz” is a festive custom of the tribes of the central countryside for the Amazigh New Year
The people of the Central Rif region are keen to practice the traditions and rituals of celebrating the beginning of the Amazigh New Year, or the Peasant New Year as is popularly known, whether related to food and clothing, in a family atmosphere characterized by joy, brotherhood, and renewal of social ties.
Families insist on commemorating the occasion with great joy according to customs inherited from their ancestors, as the joy is double, especially if rain falls during the first part of the “Nights” phase, which extends for forty days from December 25 to February 2, and the two parts are separated by January 13.
The Amazigh New Year, which is celebrated starting January 12, carries within it a number of symbolisms and beliefs, perhaps the most prominent of which is the Moroccans’ connection to the land, agriculture, and the customs and traditions of our ancestors extending throughout history. The Amazigh New Year is also called the Agricultural Year, while the Amazigh New Year is called “Nair” in the East and Chaouia. “Id Nair” in Souss, and “Al-Hakouz” or “Al-Hawaz” in the countryside and some areas of Jbala.
The head of the Amazigh Sanhaja Rif Association, Sherif Aderdak, highlighted in a statement to the Maghreb Arab Press that each region of the central countryside has its own peculiarities and customs in commemorating the “hakouz,” pointing out that celebrations in some tribes extend for several days, interspersed with “municipal” popular feasts.
He pointed out that among the “Zarqat” tribe, for example, the Hakooz is celebrated for three days during which it is forbidden to cook qatani, and on the morning of the Hakooz a special dish is prepared for the occasion, which includes almonds, walnuts, raisins, and dried figs, and the main meal for dinner is baladi or rabbit, marking the arrival of... The new year.
As for the Ait Sedath tribe, the speaker adds, the women work during the hakouz period to prepare an almond pie called “tancoult,” which is served to young children who place part of it under their pillows, believing that the hakouz (an old woman) will come at night to take her share at night, that is, they share their share of the pie with her. They celebrate in order to bless them and make them lucky throughout the year. In the morning, a dish full of dry fruits is prepared, and during dinner, “Eberin y Ebaon” is cooked. Dashisha with beans is served especially for the occasion.
In connection with this, the speaker points out that women abstain from working outside the home in the Ait Bounssar tribe, as it is a holiday for them, as they do not bring firewood or other work related to agriculture. The celebration begins on the night of January 12, when residents of the house are offered dry fruits, and harira is also prepared. Ibrin (the municipal dishshah) is placed in a pot called “Tanouchet” outside the home, where it is taken to drink in the mosque.
It is customary among the Taghazout tribe, especially the “Teririn” Madshar, to prepare the sponge dish collectively and leave it in the “tabak” so that “Lalla Hakouza” does not turn it over, according to their belief. On the night of the occasion, the dish “Hummus with Karain” is prepared, while in the Kutama tribe, specifically the Bani Madshar. Issa says from the same source that women prepare the “Erkman” meal, which is a meal that includes all kinds of grains and cereals, cooked in a pot called in their dialect “Aqnoush.”
Madsher Bouaala, who is located in the Ait Bachir tribe, was not devoid of the rituals and traditions of the Hakouz, including family celebrations and food. The celebration takes place for three days, and it is also forbidden to cook qatani at home, so his family is content with eating semen, sponges, bread, oil, and other foods, not qatani. On the third day, dishisha food is prepared for dinner and it is natural. From the fruits of the earth.
Many families are also keen to put henna on the hands of children as an expression of the atmosphere of joy, and some teachers participate in purchasing the carcass and then distribute its meat among them to hold festive banquets on the day of the Hakooz, as it is an occasion that remains a time for joy and the gathering of loved ones and relatives and the exchange of blessings in the different dialects of the people of the region by repeating the phrases “Askas.” Dhamimun” or “Askas Aminu”.
Source: websites