Berber Parure Headdress Crown for Guedra Dance Performance

$ 1,800.00
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  • Berber Parure Headdress Crown for Guedra Dance Performance
  • Total length approx. 27"
  • Mid 20th century.
  • Materials: Old Shell Currency (Tafoun), 19th and Early 20th Century Venetian Trade Beads, Old Resin "Amber" Beads, and a finely granulated Boghdad Style Silver Cross.
  • The Guedra is associated with the village of Goulimine, in the southwest desert area of Morocco. The nomads there are known as the Blue People of the Tuareg Berber. They are so called because they wear distinctive robes of a very deep blue color, and the dye impregnates their skin.
  • The Guedra takes its name from the drum played to keep its rhythms. The word Guedra means, "pot" in Arabic. The drum is made of a common kitchen pot with goatskin stretched over the top. This drum is a hybrid of the percussive drums used in Africa and the Near East. No other instrument is played. The dance is performed to the beat of one drum and the chanting and hand clapping of onlookers. The rhythm is an unornamented 6, steady and hypnotic.
  • The purpose of the ritual is to serve as a blessing for friends or married people or to the community, or to submit the self to God. This is very unlike the placating of spirits or exorcism found in the Zar dance. Some say the Guedra has the power to attract a mate from miles away, drawn by the mystical rhythm of the drum
  • You can see a similar piece on:
  • page 28-29 of "A World of Head Adornment: Africa, Asia, Oceania, America" by Anne Van Cutsem.;
  • page 223 of "Africa Adorned" by Angela Fisher.
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