The Ahellil of Gourara
Cultural heritage is not limited to monuments and objects that have been preserved over time.
This cultural heritage of humanity also embraces the living expressions, the traditions that countless groups and communities around the world have received from their ancestors and transmit to their descendants.
This living, so-called intangible heritage gives communities, groups and individuals a feeling of identity and continuity.
A driving force of cultural diversity and a powerful indicator of human creative genius, intangible heritage is transmitted from individuals to individuals and from generation to generation, with each of its custodians appropriating and constantly recreating it.
Over the last decades, living heritage has acquired true global recognition and has become one of the priorities of international cooperation thanks to the flagship role of UNESCO.
On the proposal of a file presented by Algeria, the Ahellil du Gourara was classified by UNESCO in 2005 as “world intangible cultural heritage”
Ahellil is a series of collective songs sung during gatherings and festivities of the Zénètes, Berbers of southern Algeria. The sessions begin with short songs, and are transmitted through interpretations by the most experienced choristers. Its interpretation can bring together a hundred people united shoulder to shoulder performing a gyrating movement during a session which can last an entire night according to an immutable order.
Flourishing for years, the tradition of Ahellil du Gourara is threatened with disappearance. Valorization and conservation actions in consideration of the importance of this living cultural heritage deserve to be encouraged for its safeguarding by and for the Gourara ksour communities.
This cultural heritage of humanity also embraces the living expressions, the traditions that countless groups and communities around the world have received from their ancestors and transmit to their descendants.
This living, so-called intangible heritage gives communities, groups and individuals a feeling of identity and continuity.
A driving force of cultural diversity and a powerful indicator of human creative genius, intangible heritage is transmitted from individuals to individuals and from generation to generation, with each of its custodians appropriating and constantly recreating it.
Over the last decades, living heritage has acquired true global recognition and has become one of the priorities of international cooperation thanks to the flagship role of UNESCO.
On the proposal of a file presented by Algeria, the Ahellil du Gourara was classified by UNESCO in 2005 as “world intangible cultural heritage”
Ahellil is a series of collective songs sung during gatherings and festivities of the Zénètes, Berbers of southern Algeria. The sessions begin with short songs, and are transmitted through interpretations by the most experienced choristers. Its interpretation can bring together a hundred people united shoulder to shoulder performing a gyrating movement during a session which can last an entire night according to an immutable order.
Flourishing for years, the tradition of Ahellil du Gourara is threatened with disappearance. Valorization and conservation actions in consideration of the importance of this living cultural heritage deserve to be encouraged for its safeguarding by and for the Gourara ksour communities.