"To the rear of the Grand Mosque is the Zawiya of Sidi Abdallah ibn Hassoun, the patron saint of . Salé. This respected Sufi died in 1604 and is revered by Moroccan travellers in much the same way as St. Christopher is revered among Christians. An annual pilgrimage and procession in his honour makes its way through the streets of Salé on the eve of Mouloud (the Prophet's birthday...) On this day, local fisherman dress in elaborate corsair costumes, while others carry decorated wax sculptures and parade through the streets, ending up at the shrine of the marabout (saint)."
This is how Lonely Planet describes the festival that we attended yesterday. Not only do they have the procession through the old town, but they also had musical performances.....and LOTS of people to enjoy it all! One of the traditions, which we learned about on a previous trip to Salé, is a visit to the home of the family of the saint. Visiting this home is supposed to bring you luck all year.
The procession was a lot of fun, with floats made up of greenery and pictures of important people in Moroccan Islam, including the king. There were also a few "commercial" floats. One had furniture set up as a Moroccan style eating room - a low table surrounded by divans. Another one displayed mannequins wearing the robes they call jelabas.
The procession started with a marching band and ended with two men on horseback, but by the end of the procession, the crowds were in the street and the horsemen had to give up and turn around!
The festivities allowed me to take pictures of people that I normally would not feel comfortable filming. As a general rule, we must ask before we take a picture. I didn't approach many men, but a number of the women would let me take their pictures. Especially younger ones. The picture of the fully covered woman was taken surreptitiously. I have always hesitated to ask permission for a picture from someone dressed like that because I don't want them to think I see them as a tourist attraction. But I wanted to share with you that there ARE women here who fully cover themselves. I should also note that out of respect for the culture, I wore a scarf for the day. I got the feeling that the women around me appreciated my effort - I got a lot of smiles and maybe even a chuckle or two. I know I didn't have the scarf on right, but as anywhere in the world, they appreciated my effort!
