{{Short description|Traditional exhibition in the Maghreb}} {{expand Arabic|topic=cult|date=March 2024}} [[File:Fantasia à Ain Larba.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Fantasia exécutée à َAïn El Arbaa, dans la wilaya d'Aïn Témouchent, par un groupe de cavaliers photographiés au moment du tir de la salve de fusils.|Fantasia at Aïn El Arbaa (Aïn Témouchent, Algeria).]] thumb|''Fantasia Arabe'' by Eugène Delacroix, 1833
'''''Fantasia''''' ({{Langx|ar|الفانتازيا}}) is a traditional exhibition of horsemanship in the Maghreb performed during cultural festivals and for Maghrebi wedding celebrations.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Veils and Daggers: A Century of National Geographic's Representation of the Arab World|last=Steet|first=Linda|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2000|location=Philadelphia|pages=141}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Tbourida: Performing Traditional Equestrianism as Heritage Tourism in Morocco|last=Talley|first=Gwyneth|publisher=Springer|year=2017|location=New York|pages=219–240}}</ref> It is present in Algeria, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger and Tunisia.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cheval et tradition en Afrique du nord|last=Lorenzo|first=Annie|publisher=Caracole|year=1988|location=Lausanne}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> It is attested in the ancient Numidian times during which it was practiced by the Numidian cavalry.<ref name=Hus>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aIZNAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA229 Recueil ..., Volumes 11-12]. Commission des arts et monuments historiques de la Charente-inférieure. Imprimerie Hus.</ref><ref name=Journal>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3EY7AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA179 Journal des haras, chasses, courses de chevaux, des progrès des sciences zooiatriques et de médecine compareée], Volume 47.</ref> Historian Carlos Henriques Pereira stated that the North African fantasia also called barud is a modern watered down version of a Numidian military technique.<ref name=Pereira>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TeP55GjsxucC&pg=PA16 Parler aux chevaux autrement: approche sémiotique de l'équitation]. Carlos Pereira. Editions Amphora.</ref> thumb|Fantasia at the 43rd International Festival of the Sahara in Douz, Tunisia thumb|Fantasia in Morocco
Fantasia is considered a cultural performance and a form of martial art;<ref>{{cite book|title=Arabies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3kuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22martial%20art%22|edition=114-120|year=1996|publisher=Arabies|page=65}}</ref> it also symbolizes a strong relationship between the man (or woman) and the horse, as well as an attachment to tradition.<ref name=":3">{{cite podcast |url=https://player.fm/series/from-the-tangier-american-legation/gunpowder-women-a-generation-galloping-past-the-mudawana-lecture-by-gwyneth-talley-ucla |title="Gunpowder Women: A Generation Galloping Past the Mudawana" |website=player.fm |publisher= Tangier American Legation |host=Gwyneth Talley |date=2017 |access-date=21 October 2019 }}</ref> According to Jean-Pierre Digard, it is a watered down version of the Numidian cavalry charge.<ref name="Digard">{{cite book|author=Carlos Pereira|title=Parler aux chevaux autrement approche sémiotique de l'équitation|year=2009|publisher=Editions Amphora |isbn=978-2-85180-775-5|pages=16}}</ref>
Fantasia performances usually take place during local seasonal, cultural or religious festivals, also called موسم ''moussem'' "saint's day festival" in Maghrebi Arabic.
== History of the performance == [[File:Vermeyen - Fantasia a Tunis.jpg|thumb|alt=Fantasia in Tunis, circa 1535|Fantasia in Tunis, Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, circa 1535]] Fantasia has been attested in the ancient times during which it was practised by the Numidians, historian Carlos Henriques Pereira stated that the modern North African fantasia is a watered down version of a Numidian military technique.<ref name=Pereira /><ref name=Journal /><ref name=Hus /> Fantasia has also been traced back to Arab-Amazigh tribes in the 17th century.<ref name="MCCF"></ref> Tbourida comes from the cavalry charge performed by an army's vanguard in battle. It was also used in cavalry raiding and celebrations.<ref name=":3" />
== Name == The horse is called a fantasia horse; it is of Arabian, Andalusian or Barbary stock. The term “fantasia” is of Latin origin, meaning “entertainment” or Romance meaning “fantasy”.<ref name=":0" /> ''Fantasia'' is also a name used by French Orientalists.<ref name=":0" /> The Arabic term ''mawsim'' ({{lang|ar|موسم}}) means "season". There are also regional names for the sport, such as ''tburida'' ({{lang|ar|تبوريدة}}, from the word for gunpowder) or ''khiyāla'' ({{lang|ar|خيالة}} "horses") in Morocco.<ref name="SORECT">{{cite web |title=La Tbourida |url=https://www.sorec.ma/fr/la_tbourida/ |publisher=Société Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval}}</ref> The term ''laʿb al-bārūd'' ({{lang|ar|لعب البارود}} "gunpowder game") and ''laʿb al-khayl'' ({{lang|ar|لعب الخيل}} "horse game") are also used.
==Fantasia in art== Some French, Sri Lankan and other Western artists have done oil paintings of the fantasia, including Edmon Vales,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=D40E9826A5B02BAE|title=Fantasia au Maroc|work=artnet.com}}</ref> Eugène Delacroix,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=L'art de la Fantasia|last1=Sedrati|first1=Azeddine|last2=Tavernier|first2=Roger|last3=Wallet|first3=Bernard|publisher=Plume|year=1997|location=Casablanca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The World of Delacroix 1798-1863|url=https://archive.org/details/worldofdelacroix0000prid_f7w7_1966|url-access=registration|last=Prideaux|first=Tom|publisher=Time Incorporated|year=1966|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Olmsted|first=Jennifer W|date=2009|title=The Sultan's Authority: Delacroix, Painting, and Politics at the Alson of 1845|journal=Art Bulletin XCI|volume=1|pages=83–106|doi=10.1080/00043079.2009.10786175 |s2cid=154839889 }}</ref> Nasreddine Dinet, Théo van Rysselberghe, Amiru K. Eugène Fromentin and Ulpiano Checa.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}
== Fantasia in Algeria == Fantasia goes back to the period of Numidia (until the end of the Roman Republic).<ref name=Hus /><ref name=Journal /> Fantasia is common in Algeria; there are frequent regional festivals and cultural events. Popular festivals include those of Sufi saints like that of Sidi Yahia Bensafia d'Ouled N'hare in Tlemcen and Sidi Ahmed Almadjoub in Naâma, and the Horse Festival in Tiaret. Fantasia is also performed around the annual ziyara (pilgrimage) of Sidi Cheikh.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Bayadh : La procession de Sidi Cheikh, un rituel ancré dans l'histoire de la région |url=http://www.dknews-dz.com/article/106778-el-bayadh-la-procession-de-sidi-cheikh-un-rituel-ancre-dans-lhistoire-de-la-region.html |publisher=DK NEWS}}</ref> According to the Algerian Equestrian Federation, 350 traditional equestrian associations, spread across the whole of the national territory, perpetuate the Fantasia.<ref name="FEA" />
The Fantasia in Algeria is usually performed on a delimited ground of more than one hundred meters long, either in groups of nine to eleven riders or individually. The aim is to showcase skill, speed, rifle firing display, traditional dress, and the horses and their harnesses.<ref name="FEA">{{cite web | title=Fantasia | website=LA FEDERATION EQUESTRE ALGERIENNE | date=9 Jul 2018 | url=http://fea-dz.org/equitation-traditionnelle/fantasia/ | language=fr | access-date=18 Dec 2021 | archive-date=16 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216104122/http://fea-dz.org/equitation-traditionnelle/fantasia/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
The collective or group Fantasia is classified into two categories of games: the Temerad and the Guelba. In both games, the riders travel from one extremity of the course to the other and then execute the three stages of the Fantasia on their way back. A group leader is responsible for coordinating the performance by signalling, in the form of cries, the start of each stage.<ref name="FEA" />
In the ''Temerad'' game, the riders approach the other end of the course at a walk, make a U-turn and await the signal from the group leader. At the start cry, the riders start galloping in a single line. At the second cry, the riders stand up, aligned shoulder to shoulder, holding the rifles at the ready. At the third cry, the riders deliver a single blast by firing their arms simultaneously and then continuing the ride without leaving the course until they reach the end in an orderly and calm manner.<ref name="FEA" />
In the ''Guelba'' game, the riders approach the other end of the course at a trot. The first cry signal is given as soon as they reach it, at which point, they make a swift u-turn and start galloping. Those who fall behind must catch up at an even higher speed for the alignment of the second stage. Although the last two stages are more or less similar to the ''temerad'', the speed at which the first stage is performed makes the ''Guelba'' the most accident-prone.<ref name="FEA" />
The individual Fantasia, including up to three riders, is performed mainly in eastern Algeria. Galloping from the start, the rider simulates an attack, and after firing, which can be done with one or two rifles successively, the rider then simulates a sabre attack. The game with two riders involves the two riders galloping at the start, holding each other tightly, boot to boot, sometimes going so far as to entwine the arm of one on the shoulders of the other, giving the impression from afar that it is only a single rider. After the volley, the two riders separate and finish the course with a sabre attack display.<ref name="FEA" />
Local artists such as the painter Rachid Talbi and the photographer Nadjib Rahmani have produced artwork featuring the Fantasia in Algeria.<ref name="El Watan">{{cite web | title=Galerie d'art Dar El Kenz : La peinture lumineuse de Rachid Talbi | website=El Watan | date=21 Dec 2011 | url=https://www.elwatan.com/archives/culture-archives/galerie-dart-dar-el-kenz-la-peinture-lumineuse-de-rachid-talbi-21-12-2011 | language=ht | access-date=18 Dec 2021 | archive-date=19 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219004352/https://www.elwatan.com/archives/culture-archives/galerie-dart-dar-el-kenz-la-peinture-lumineuse-de-rachid-talbi-21-12-2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="LŒil de la Photographie Magazine">{{cite web | title=Alger: Nadjib Rahmani -Le cheval et La Fantasia | website=L'Œil de la Photographie Magazine | date=14 March 2013 | url=https://loeildelaphotographie.com/fr/alger-nadjib-rahmani-le-cheval-et-la-fantasia/ | access-date=18 Dec 2021}}</ref><ref name="Vinyculture 2013">{{cite web | title=Alger- Exposition Vente "Fantasia des Hommes et des Traditions" à partir du 15 février | website=Vinyculture | date=10 Feb 2013 | url=https://www.vinyculture.com/alger-exposition-vente-fantasia-des-hommes-et-des-traditions-a-partir-du-15-fevrier/ | language=fr | access-date=18 Dec 2021 | archive-date=19 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219004353/https://www.vinyculture.com/alger-exposition-vente-fantasia-des-hommes-et-des-traditions-a-partir-du-15-fevrier/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Fantasia in Morocco (Tbourida) == {{Related articles|Horses in Morocco}} {{Infobox intangible heritage | ICH = Tbourida | State Party = Morocco | Region = AST | ID = 01483 | Year = 2021 | Session = 16th | List = Representative }} [[File:Fantasia in Morocco 1.JPG|thumb|Tbourida in El Jadida]] There are frequent Tbourida festivals (''moussems'') and cultural events in Morocco.<ref name="MCCF">{{cite web |title=Tbourida |url=https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/42475-FR.pdf|publisher=Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Communication}}</ref> Tbourida is also performed during national holidays and agricultural events.<ref name="SORECT"></ref>
The performance consists of an odd number of horse riders, all wearing traditional clothes, usually carrying a copy of the Quran and a sword,<ref name="tbou">{{cite web |title=Tbourida, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/tbourida-01483 |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> who charge along a straight track called a ''mahrak'',<ref name="MCCF"></ref> at the same speed to form a line, and then at the end of the charge (about two hundred meters),<ref name="SORECT"></ref> discharge muskets or muzzle-loading rifles into the air. The difficulty of the performance is in synchronizing the movement of the horses during acceleration of the charge, especially in firing the guns simultaneously so that one single shot is heard.<ref name=":0" /> The horses were bred from Arabian and Barb breeds or a mixture.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Maroc: Les chevaux du Royaume|last=Préaudau|first=Philippe Babier de|publisher=Daniel Briand|year=1990|location=Panayrac}}</ref> The riders are led by a muqaddam ("boss") in the center of the troupe, usually a more experienced rider, who coordinates the rest of the troupe's movements.<ref name="SORECT"></ref> A Tbourida show consists of two parts, the ''hadda'' and the ''talqa''.<ref name="MCCF"></ref>
The SOREC (''Société Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval'', engl. ''Royal Horse Promotion Society'')<ref>[https://www.sorec.ma/fr/ SOREC website]</ref> was created in 2003 as a public enterprise under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to promote and preserve the practice of Fantasia and Tbourida in Morocco,<ref>{{cite web |title=Missions de la SOREC |url=https://www.sorec.ma/fr/historique_missions/ |publisher=Société Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval}}</ref> according to the SOREC, there are about a thousand registered Fantasia troupes.<ref name="nom">{{cite web |title=UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage nomination form |url=https://ich.unesco.org/doc/download.php?versionID=60519 |publisher=Société Royale d'Encouragement du Cheval}}</ref> Fantasia troupes are also represented by the Royal Moroccan Equestrian Federation (FRSME). There were 21 registered ''moussems'' for 309 troupes in 2014.<ref name="SORECT"></ref><ref name="MCCF"></ref>
thumb|Aimé-Nicolas Morot - Souvenir du Maroc (Fantasia) Every year, about 330 Moroccan troupes compete for the Hassan II National Tbourida Trophy in El Jadida<ref name="frinfo">{{cite web |title=La "tbourida", l'art équestre marocain, entre au galop au patrimoine immatériel de l'Unesco |url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/afrique/culture-africaine/la-tbourida-l-art-equestre-marocain-entre-au-galop-au-patrimoine-immateriel-de-l-unesco_4883057.html |website=FranceInfo |date=16 December 2021 |publisher=AFP}}</ref> during the Week of the Horse promoted by the FRSME in Rabat, Morocco. They qualify for the finals through regionally organized competitions through the Federation and SOREC.<ref name="MCCF"></ref>
Tbourida was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in 2021<ref name="tbou" /> during the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, following a joint application filed in 2019<ref>{{cite web |title=La "tbourida", l'art équestre marocain, entre au galop au patrimoine de l'Unesco |url=https://www.geo.fr/histoire/la-tbourida-lart-equestre-marocain-entre-au-galop-au-patrimoine-de-lunesco-207509 |website=Geo |date=15 December 2021 |publisher=AFP |access-date=19 December 2021 |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219085235/https://www.geo.fr/histoire/la-tbourida-lart-equestre-marocain-entre-au-galop-au-patrimoine-de-lunesco-207509 |url-status=dead }}</ref> by the Ministry of Culture, the SOREC and 4 local Tbourida associations.<ref name="nom" />
Moroccan artists such as Hassan El Glaoui have prolifically produced artwork featuring Moroccan riders and horses.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/moroccan-master-hassan-el-glaoui-remembered-by-his-daughter-touria-founder-of-1-54-contemporary-african-art-fair|title=Moroccan Master Hassan El Glaoui Remembered by his Daughter Touria, Founder of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair|date=22 February 2019|website=Sotheby's|access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref>
==See also== * Mawsim
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Fantasia (Maghreb)}} * [http://vimeo.com/51840738 Morocco In Motion - Fantasia] *[https://www.sorec.ma/fr/historique_missions/ Société Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval]
{{Equestrian Sports}}
Category:Arab culture Category:Berber culture Category:Equestrian sports Category:Equestrian festivals Category:Maghreb Category:Culture of Morocco Category:Culture of Tunisia Category:Culture of Algeria Category:Festivals in Algeria