Alessrmora Ciucq, Francois-Timoldon
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70 One Woman Writes An(Other) 6 "Mais ce qui est encorc i blaner davantage, elles ne sont pas seulement esclaves du monsenge en paroles, ains aussi en l'irtdricur par le voile d'une belle apparence. Je veux dirc conure la voluptd mesme bien souvent se couvre du DE-oRTEXTELIZINGTHE ATA manteau de la vertu, aussi voit on la femme impudique historier son nanrrel par AND RE-ORIENTING THF. SHIKHAt' I'Cmail d'une pidld, le plus souvent conFefaicte . ." Olilver, 98. o' Frangois-Timoldon de Choisy. MCmoires de I'abbi de Choisy habillC en femme, ed, Ceorges Mongddien (Paris: Mercure de France. 1966), o" On Choisy's cross-dressing. see Harris, chapter seven, "Transvestite Teldencres: AlessRmoRA CIUcq, Francois-Timoldon. abbd de Choisy," 2l l-32. COLUMBIA UNTVERSITY " 'Enfio, lon qu'elle en eot tild une vdritE, qui ne lui fit plus douter que je ne fusse Scanderberg . et vit bien queje lui rendais nalice pour malice . voulant aussi bien que moi sortir de cette aventure avec tout le plaisir que nous nous attendions d'y rencontrer " Villedieu, 47-50. 70 "AmuEl oublia afursi toutes les marques d'amour qu'il avait dormees e Servilie, Aira is a sung poetry by professional female singer-dancers pour m'honorer de ses passions les plus violentes . Je me trouvais I la fin Practiced (singular, a female leader) along the I'Amant de sa Maitresse et par cons€quent son Rival, comme Crisolis," Villedieu, known a.s sftikiat shikha, literally the 60_ Moroccan Atlantic plains and adjacent regions. By focusing on ?r (i'ada al-i'tibar)' of '?our l€ bomper . il fut rdsolu que je serais toujours Crisolis ferurle juive et discourses and -ethnographicpolitics employed in thc rcvalorization que j'irais aux appaftements des auhes Sultanes porter des meubles prdcieux . ." the 'aita, this investigation2 will show how the official Villedieu, 60. incorporation of the 'aita into the Moroccan heritage (al-tutath al- " "elle ne songeait qu'a b fahir et a se faire aimer du Sutlan. Depuis qu'elle avait magiribi) has affected the sung poetry and its performers. In the search for s0 la violente qu'il pour queUe inclination avait elle et marque il avait dtd pret de a icw and national oral poetry, a number of men intellectuals and lui €D donner, I'Ctatrt venu pfen&e pouf I'honorer du glorieux rang de Sultane, specialists of the 'aita, directly or indircctly assmiated with the USFP auquel son ambition aspirait . ." Villedieu, 254. (Union Socialiste des Fotces Populaires) and the IJEM (Union des '" "L€ ddsir d'Ctre dlevde dans un rang si glorieux, I'emporta sur sa tendres8e et sur narrative that presents theil view on celle de son Anant, sans considdrer quels dtaient les plaisirs et les biels qu'ellc Ecrivains du Maroc), havc produced a 'aita. narrative' avaia requs de I'un et de I'autre . Elle cacha si adrcit€ment ce qu'elle pensait, what is the "appropriate" way of experiencing the This gue Musulman ne s'en appercut pas." Villedieu. 29. along with the 1997 elections that brought the USFP to the head of the '" "ll fut pdndtrd de la plus vive douleur, qu'on puisse sentlr, lorsqu'il le s0t, gov;nment and the formcr hesident of the UEM to the head of the Scande6erg essayait en vain de le consoler, l'itfidelitd dtait trop rdcente et lui tlop Ministere de la Culture, influenced the political culture of Morocco and amoureux." Villedieu. 3 14. 'aita. ?s laid the groundwork for the re-valorization of the "la we de Thamar l'avait sensiblement rouchd I'esperance qu'il et avoit d'Ctrc I will begin with a discussion about the shikhat and the 'aita, calling le maitre de toutes ses b€autds." Villedieu, 234. 76 attention to d;bates on historiogaphy before analyzing the re-valorization "I-e lendemain or appdt qu'elle avait ddjA un gand nombre d,Esclsvcs . in reference to culturally establGhed views of female sexuality. Sexuality,3 qu'oo lui rcndait les memes honneurs qu'a la Sultane Favorite et aue le Sultan ue and resistance given la quittait presque poht." Villedieu, 314 in fact, is central to colonial relations of dominance modes " "Elle regardait l'inconsrance d'Amurat sans ere dmue." Villedicu, 314. that the reDresentation of othemess is also achieved through sexual 'o Dout.hwaile,52. of differentiation.a I will conclude that the re-valorization of the 'aita has 7e Although the reign of l-ouis XIV is traditionauy cited as thc fullest imposidon of called for its de-orientalizing, and, consequently, for re-orienting so-called absolute monarchy, examining the balance of power between l,ouis XIV ambiguous fcmale performers, such as the shikhat, into a moral system in and the nobility places this in doubt, See Roger Mettam, Power and Factioh ln which the reputation of women---+xpressed in the cultural equation of Iauis XN's France (Qxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988). 80 Patricia Francis Cholakian, "Rewriting History: Madame de Villedieu and the Wars of Religion" Arms and Wontoa: lVar, in the Gender, and Literury ' I would like to thank Ana Maria Ochoa, huise Meintjes, Ellen Gray' Amanda Represenration, eA. Helen Margaret Cooper, Adrienne Munich, and Susan Merrill Minsk, and Jennifer Woodruff for generously reading and commcnting on earlier Squier (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolim zt4. Press, 1989), drafts of this article. De-orientalizing the Aira and Rc-orienting the Shik:hat Alessandra Ciucci female chastity/purity and social worth-needs to be materialized and The guests listened attentively to the v'ords as they Sently rocked their confirmed every day in a wornan's behavior.s heads and upper torso to and fro, waved their zrms, clapped their hands' or ululated to incite the performcrs. Khadija and Khoucin, for their pdrt, ambience with their genfu shimmies. Their performing The Shikhat as Professional Singer-Dancers heightened lhe bodies projected sensuality to intensify the performance and worked with like In Morocco today, the shikhat perform in rural and urban milieus, for the emotions of the audience to the unlolding mood since dnnce, nuch the humble and the wealthy, for different audiences (all-male, all-female, poetry, is connected to an aesthetic of suSSestion. had or mixed), in different venues (such as private homes, nightclubs, and Almost 27 mimttes into the perfomwnce, the time for dancing judging atmosphere, the festivals), and for different types of occasions (private, public, and arrived, and, from the emotionally-charged experience, an ideal official). As symbols that produce action and as focuses of interaction, the guests were ready to move from a shared emotional shikhat stimulate emotions with their bodies-to which participants ihat bound them together, to an intense involvement in the emotional 'efperience to respond with gazing or by physically participating in the performance- itself. The focus of the celebration hqd shifted from listening to an and with their voices-to which participants respond by listening, dancing, from a fast to a slow temPo, and from an intemalized in rhythm and imagining/remembering their sociocultural and historical experiences extemalized response. It did not take long for the change intermingled and juxtaposed with eroticism in theverses. This is illustrated tempo to affect the atmosphere, beqan by the role of the shikhat at a mixed wedding celebration held in the Khoucia and Khadija, now facing one another, to Sentlt side to the coastal town of Safi ol 13 July 2003: bounce their hips shifting the weilht of their bodies from one place. The thick embroidered belts tied around the Stepping onto the roof of the two-story house felt like stepping into a other as if walking in orSanza material of the difierent world, Covered by a white impermeable tent on the outsid.e, on waists emphasized their Senerous hips while the With their aftns away the insde the rcof was clothed by a sort white polyester fabric whose caftans accentuated the flow of their movements. neck and head pleats undulated to the gentle summer breeze. Eurgundy drapes were from the body and their forearms bent upward, their shikhat arranged around the walls of white cloth, while modem red Rabat-like standing tall, their chest and shoulders held back and broad' the sensual movements as they opened up their carpets were spread on the floor. At the other end of the roof, directly ht faced the guests u,ith their front of the entrance, two huge and ichly adomed white thrones mounted bodies to the celebrants. chqnges in the nood on a pedestal had been set up for the bride aM the groom The female Suests were the rtr$ b respond to the the and the The performers positioned themselves on one side of the thrones; the of the celebration. One by one they began to crowd corridor groups among male instrumentalists sat on the chairs with their bacl6 against the cloth area in front of the shikhat sensually dancing in small male guests, their parl, had also gotten up and had wall while the shikhat stood a few feet away in front of the musicians anl themselves. The for qlso by close to the audience. Hafida and'Aicha, the two lead vocalists, situated sturted to dance; some of them were busy rewarding the dancers The themselves in the center reith the two dancers, Khadija and Khoucia, tucking money into their belts or on to the neckline of theircartans. respectively on their sides. floor became increasingly crowded wilh Suests u/ho seemed unable to stop It was about 3:00 a.m. when the second set of the wedding celebration moving; the music was afiecting everyone, even those who had remained dancing began.