Marriage Ceremony in Imilchil
The Imilchil marriage ceremony takes place in the Atlas Mountains every year. Two main Amazigh tribes participate in the festival, the Ait Hadidu an the Ait Ouazza. Hundreds of young men and women meet and marry at the three-day event. Because the villages are snowbound for most of the year, the festival offers an occasion for trading, amusement and matrimony.
Henna, a reddish-brown organic dye, is applied to the bride’s hands and feet before the weeding to ward off the evil eye. A tray is kept next to the bride with a sugar loaf, two raw eggs, and some perfume. On the next day, the dried henna is washed off leaving beautiful patterns which last for up to six weeks.
Hospitality is very important to Moroccans. A host traditionally welcomes guests by offering them milk and dates. During the weeding ceremony, the bride and groom share a bowl of milk and feed each other dates, thus symbolically becoming both guest and host for each other.
On the third day of the festivities, all the newly married couples must go to the lakes Isli and Tislit for a traditional visit. It is believed that long ago a young man married a young girl whose parents did not approve. The couple ran away and cried all night and their tears created the two lakes.