Moroccan Chikhats fight with words and songs, against society stereotypes

“I never planned to be chikha. I believe in Maktoub, that some things are already written for you, and time brought me to fight with words and sounds,” said Chikha Souad.

Souad, 45, has been working as a chikha for 10 years. According to her, many chikhats are poor and choose this career as an option to make a living.

“Today, however, there are still some very popular chikhats, such as ‘chikha Tsunami’, who is the most popular in Morocco, and very well paid for her performances,” Souad told Hespress English.

Souad’s family had a very conservative opinion about dancing and music in general, but as she couldn’t continue her studies, they ended up agreeing, that she was born to be an artist, as she said.

Stereotypes against chikhats

“Who would accept to marry a chikha? Who would love to have a chikha in his family; whether she is his mother or sister? No one. I’m pretty sure,” she said, raising her eyebrows.

Poverty wears her face. The circles beneath her eyes darkened with each night she stayed up to fill out her job. Souad’s full natural-looking eyebrows as well as her skin full of lines tell the story of a fighting Moroccan women.

In Morocco, chikhats are misunderstood, stigmatized, and abusively eroticized in Moroccan popular culture. “People often forget that chikhat, like Kharboucha, denounced colonialism, which is something that even men couldn’t do at that time,” she added.

Being a chikha is stigmatizing, and seen as an unhonorable job to do. It is associated with “shame”, according to her.

“I decided to stop working in Cabarets because I have been humiliated several times there. They think that if you sing or dance there, you are a prostitute,” she told us.

On the other hand, her colleague Najat, 49, learned to dance in Cabarets. “I don’t care what they say as long as I know who I’m,” she said.

Born in a small village near Marrakech, Najat, with her fresh and unlined face, was asked to cover her body with large clothes and was not allowed to wear make-up, or earrings so that she wouldn’t draw men’s attention.

Najat’s eyes appear to be a window to her tired soul. She has an oval-shaped face, with bright brown eyes, that were often red underneath.

“The conservative values grew up with me, but I decided to completely change my path and what society wanted, and then moved to Marrakech,” she said.

Just like Souad, Najat never planned to be a chikha, but wanted to be a “famous” singer instead, very known for her albums. “I love Oum Kelthoum and Warda songs, they were inspiring me and used to sing them whenever I was alone so no one can hear my voice,” she added.

In the beginning, Najat used to sing Arabic songs in Cabaret, and then decided to switch to Chaabi songs, because “Moroccans like them more,” according to her.

“I learned to dance in Cabarets. People’s looks usually made me uncomfortable while singing and dancing. People stare with judgments, and this is very heartbreaking”, she added.

Chikhats, part of Morocco’s history

Chikha’s songs represent a very important archive of Moroccan history. Their presence was essential in traditional Moroccan wedding celebrations and other festivities.

There are different styles of chikhat dance, but there are generally characterized by fast and energetic hip movements.

Chikhats usually perform in small groups of three or four. Aita, a Moroccan rural genre of song with lyrics originating from Moroccan Arabic, is commonly known among chikhats.

Deborah A. Kapchan, Associate Professor of Performance Studies in the Tisch School of the Arts in New York University, has written an insightful article about Moroccan Shikhat in 1994, after interviewing more than 40 chikhats across the country.

“Media helps us to further comprehend how chikhats can produce alternative and non-oppressive representations that have depicted the oriental female body as fragile, submissive and passive,” she noted.

Kapchan defines Moroccan chikhat as females who commodify their bodies and voices by performing in various contexts, they are usually interlocked with the market place where women with bad reputation appear.

Kapchan argues that “there is a profound relation between the performance and the body of the chikha to that of Moroccan culture. She then classifies the chikhat’s body into four major types; one of them is the competent body that skilfully master the moves of the dance.”

Shikhat, through their bodies, are presented to the audience to transmit and express their ideas and feelings. The same argument was developed by researcher Sondra Fraleig, when she argues that dancers are accustomed to their bodies, and how certainly dance drives them to practice everyday movements, learn new ones, and embody each act professionally.

“Al-Maktub”: Moroccan series depicting the life of a chikha

“Al-Maktub”, a Moroccan series featuring the struggles associated with being chikha, is currently the most trending show in Morocco during Ramadan.

The series tells the story of the daughter of a chikha, Hind, who is bullied by her classmates as they make fun of his mother’s job (Halima).

Yassine El Amri, a religious figure criticized the normalization of “Shikha,” a socially offending, and a religiously forbidden job.

El Amri’s comments sparked controversy. While some agreed with his remarks, other social media users have hailed the new drama- show, and heavily criticized his opinion.

“The Moroccan media wants to normalize being a chikha, which is frequently used as an insult,” he said in one of his videos.

His comments received a remarkable interaction from many citizens, as there was a virtual hashtag circulating on social media to defend him against criticism.

On the other hand, Muhammad Abdel-Wahhab Rafiki, a researcher in Islamic heritage, published an article in which he simplifies his opinion on the issue, saying, “the series is a respectable Moroccan work.”

“The chikha is part of our culture and features among other social categories, and therefore drama has the right to give it its right. She is like all Moroccans,” he said.