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The Goat-Man of the High Atlas - By Liz Williams
"The more time that I spend 'off the beaten track', the more I encounter the traditions of a culture that, at times, seems barely touched by the modern world; a culture that proudly preserves it's rich cultural heritage."
I have independently travelled throughout Morocco for almost 20 years and, after all these years, Morocco is a country that continues to surprise and delight me.
The more time that I spend 'off the beaten track', exploring dramatic landscapes dotted with isolated Berber villages and nomadic people, the more I encounter the traditions of a culture that, at times, seems barely touched by the modern world; a culture that proudly preserves it's rich cultural heritage.
I was recently offered the opportunity to visit a small Berber village, in the High Atlas mountains, for the first time. As I sat in the village café sipping a glass of mint tea and thinking of how much I enjoy relaxing to the pace of Moroccan life, I noticed a goat in the doorway of a small shop; nothing unusual in Morocco and I presumed that someone was on their way home with 'meat on the hoof' from the local market.
Sensing something odd about the animal, I glanced a second time and realised it was no ordinary 4-legged goat, like those often seen in the branches of an Argan* tree, it was a person dressed as a goat from head to toe. Startling everyone, this goat-like creature suddenly leapt from its hiding place and, running towards a group of youths, hurled a sack of flour at them. Screaming, the youths fled in every direction and, as if on cue, three other 2-legged goats appeared and joined in the chase.
Enquiring in the village I was told that the appearance of the goat-men is an annual Berber tradition when young men dress as the spirits of the goats and terrorise the village. Their objective is to each mark at least one other person with their flour sack and thereby free themselves from having to dress as goats the next year. Anyone marked by flour is bound to dress as a goat the following year and thus the tradition continues.
I left the village feeling privileged to have arrived on the one day of the year when the goat-men appear, hoping that my camera had captured something of this Berber tradition.
*The argan tree, only found in Morocco, has small fruits whose kernels contain a nourishing oil. In a country where little is wasted, nimble goats climb the trees and eat the fruits; the kernels are subsequently collected and the oil is traditionally extracted by hand. Argan oil has a distinct taste and is usually used as a dip for bread; it is also mixed with honey and ground almonds to produce a delicious paste.
