Fantasia (performance)

Fantasia (Arabic: الفانتازيا) is a traditional exhibition of horsemanship in the Maghreb performed during cultural festivals and for Maghrebi wedding celebrations.

[5][6] Historian Carlos Henriques Pereira stated that the North African fantasia also called barud is a modern watered down version of a Numidian military technique.

[7] Fantasia is considered a cultural performance and a form of martial art;[8] it also symbolizes a strong relationship between the man (or woman) and the horse, as well as an attachment to tradition.

[17] The Fantasia in Algeria is usually performed on a delimited ground of more than one hundred meters long, either in groups made up of nine to eleven riders or individually.

The aim is to showcase skill, speed, rifle firing display, traditional dress, as well as the horses and their harnesses.

[17] 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 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.

[17] Local artists such as the painter Rachid Talbi and the photographer Nadjib Rahmani have produced artwork featuring the Fantasia in Algeria.

[12] The performance consists of an odd number of horse riders, all wearing traditional clothes, usually carrying a copy of the Quran and a sword,[21] who charge along a straight track called Mahrak,[11] at the same speed so as to form a line, and then at the end of the charge (about two hundred meters)[12] fire into the sky using old muskets or muzzle-loading rifles.

The difficulty of the performance is in synchronizing the movement of the horses during acceleration of the charge, and especially in firing the guns simultaneously so that one single shot is heard.

[12][11] Every year, about 330 Moroccan troupes compete for the Hassan II National Tbourida Trophy in El Jadida[26] during the Week of the Horse promoted by the FRSME in Rabat, Morocco.