Taskiwin

What is Taskiwin?

Taskiwin is a group dance of the Amazigh people, the Berber communities of Morocco's High Atlas. It belongs to the western part of that range. Men dance it, each one carrying a richly decorated horn known as the tiskt, from which the dance takes its name. The dancing is built on two motions: the shoulders are shaken, and the feet are stamped, all timed to tambourines and flutes. The bell fixed to each horn adds its own note. UNESCO describes the practice as one that holds communities together and gives its performers a sense of who they are.

Where does Taskiwin come from?

Taskiwin is believed to have begun in the High Atlas Mountains, danced by the Amazigh people, also called Berbers. Its first purpose was war: men trained for battle through the dance, and it also served to celebrate victories. It sits within the wider family of Moroccan group dances and is counted a subgenre of Ahwash. In 2017 UNESCO inscribed it as intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. The dance is now close to disappearing, as many young people turn away from such traditions; since 1993 local associations have worked to keep it alive.

How is Taskiwin danced?

The sources say little about exact steps, but the heart of the dance is clear: shoulders shaken in time with the drums and flutes, and feet that stamp out the beat. Dancers move as a group, in the manner of Morocco's traditional group dances. Each man holds his tiskt, the horn that names the dance, and uses it to make a rhythmic beat that goes with the dancers' movements; the small bell on it adds a bright pulse. What the record preserves is that pairing of shoulder, foot and horn rather than any fixed routine.

The music of Taskiwin

Four instruments are named for Taskiwin. The agwal is a small drum of clay, shaped like a barrel or a goblet. The tallunt is a frame drum. The tal'wwatt is a flute. And the tiskt, a powder horn with a small bell attached, doubles as a sound-maker, marking rhythm for the dancers' movements. Together, drums and flutes set the pace for the stamped feet and shaken shoulders.

Costume and what is carried

The one item the sources describe is the tiskt. It is a powder horn, richly decorated, and each dancer carries one. A small bell is attached to it. In the Berber language, tiskt simply means horn, and taskiwin, the dance's name, is that word in the plural. Beyond the horn, no dress or make-up is recorded; the decoration of the horn itself is the dance's visible mark.

When and where Taskiwin is danced

Taskiwin was originally a martial practice: a way for Amazigh men to train for battle and to celebrate victories. Today its purpose is social. UNESCO notes that dancing it fosters cohesion and harmony and gives the communities that perform it a sense of identity and continuity. That makes its decline the more serious: only a few villages still practise the dance, and dancers often cannot find younger people to succeed them. Local associations formed since 1993 work to preserve it.

Styles of Taskiwin

No regional styles or named versions of Taskiwin are recorded in the sources. What is noted is where it sits among related forms: it is one of many traditional group dance styles found across Morocco, and it is considered a subgenre of Ahwash. Within that larger frame, Taskiwin is set apart by its home in the western High Atlas and by the horn each dancer carries.

What Taskiwin means

UNESCO inscribed Taskiwin on its list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in 2017, with Morocco as the state party. The listing recognises the dance as a bond that holds communities together and passes identity down the generations. Its survival is uncertain: young people's disregard for such traditions has left only a few villages practising, and would-be successors are scarce. Since 1993, local associations have tried to turn that around.

Questions people ask about Taskiwin

Good reading and sources

• Taskiwin on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos and video on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data
• Videos of Taskiwin on YouTubeSearch results, not chosen by EveryGhunghroo