Rose Festival
The spring season in Kalaat Magouna coincides with rose-picking season. Since ancient times, people of the citadel have been honoring the famous flower, Rosa Damascena, for its unique fragrance. The festival used to be a local seasonal celebration until it gained wide popularity, eagerly awaited by fans from various Moroccan cities. Corporate partners and local cooperatives, which produce rose water, have also attracted foreign tourists in recent years.
Picking roses is a significant task for women living close to the mountain town of Kalaat Magouna, located in the southeast of Morocco.
The city of daggers and sand waters scattered along the banks of the Dades River offer its visitors a vast variety of Damask roses.
Previously, Kalaat Magouna would hold a small celebration for the joy of the Damascus rose, but over time, the event has transformed into a season-long occasion. In 2012, it became a local festival with tourists from abroad, as well as visiting owners of foreign companies who had local rosewater cooperatives in Morocco. The festival also reached the villages near Kalaat Magouna and other cities in Morocco.
The Festival of Roses has maintained its essential function as “the Carnival of the Queen of Roses” since 1963, and after its opening, its events have ranged from cultivating roses to holding scientific and academic symposia on the flower.
Throughout the recent four-day festival, local art groups participated, singing in the Amazigh language and wearing their varied traditional clothes. These groups included "Rokba", "AHIDOUS," and the "LOUZ IMGRANE" groups. At the festival, there were also local associations which care for people with disabilities and difficulties faced by women and children.
This series of photos was taken during a trip to the south of Morocco to visit the festival. My work showcases some sequences from the Miss Kalaat Magouna event, where the participating models showed off their traditional clothes. 12 contestants battle for the title of the "Queen of Roses" in the festival, wearing the traditional dress of the castle: caftan, black-and-white wrapper, Moroccan slippers (Belgha), Tasmert (to wear on the waist) a braided hairstyle, and tasbenit (soft red silk) on the head.
The Moroccan and Chinese Arbitration Committee also included a Chinese contestant in the festival. The set criteria for choosing Miss Kalaat Magouna were: "Beauty of the face, beauty and harmony of the body, beauty of indignation, and beauty of movement.” All of these qualities transcend one’s place of birth and root ethnicity, and a young woman named Soukaina won the title.
While the Queen of Roses title currently prizes physical beauty above all, older criteria for the title mandated that the contestants must be a daughter of the castle who grew up with an extensive knowledge of their customs and traditions.
On the last day of the festival, the contestants present themselves to the public wearing traditional outfits and singing songs. Quite often, the festival features a show in which a few important guests from the region are welcomed. There is also a display of fantasia, which is considered a cultural performance or martial art that symbolizes a strong relationship between the man and the horse, as well as an attachment to traditions.
Ultimately, the Rose Festival and its various events are a source of money for the town of Kalaat Magouna. They also draw attention to the authorities, urging them to give importance to this historic place.
Karim Achalhi is a documentary photographer dedicated to social, humanitarian, and environmental issues. Born and raised in Morocco, he studied Management and holds a master’s degree in Finance. Achalhi has worked as a photojournalist for several national and international agencies. Follow him on Instagram: @karimachalhi