Aita is a traditional Moroccan sung-poetry genre whose name means "the cry" or "the call" in Moroccan Arabic (Darija). It emerged in the rural Atlantic plains (Doukkala, Abda, Chaouia, Haouz) as an expressive, often improvised form performed by ensembles led by cheikhates (female singer-dancers) and chioukhs (male masters).
Musically, aita features melismatic vocal lines, call-and-response refrains, and driving dance rhythms. Core instruments include the upright-played violin (kamanja), oud or luth, and robust percussion such as bendir and tbel, with handclaps reinforcing the groove. Its poetry draws on oral storytelling, zajal-like vernacular verse, satire, and love and social commentary.
Aita has both celebratory and plaintive facets: it can be a festive call to dance at weddings and moussems, or a vehicle for collective memory and protest. Over the 20th century it migrated to cities (notably Casablanca), shaping—and being reshaped by—urban chaabi while retaining its rural roots.
Aita developed in the 1800s among tribal communities of Morocco’s Atlantic plains (Doukkala, Abda, Chaouia, Haouz). The form took shape as sung vernacular poetry—performed by cheikhates and chioukhs—set to danceable rhythms for weddings, harvests, and local moussems. The repertoire absorbed meters and melodic turns familiar from Andalusian court traditions while remaining rooted in rural folk practice and oral storytelling.
By the early 1900s, distinct regional currents (e.g., Aita Abdaouia, Aita Doukkalia, Aita Marsaouia, Aita Haouzya) were recognized. Legendary narratives like “Kharboucha” (about resistance to an abusive caïd) exemplified aita’s capacity for social critique. Ensembles standardized roles: a lead cheikha, supporting chorus, violin/oud lead, and percussion driving cyclical grooves.
From the 1940s–1960s, rural performers moved to Casablanca and other cities. Radio, theater-café circuits, and early recording companies disseminated aita widely. Artists such as Bouchaib El Bidaoui and Haja Hamdaouia popularized Aita Marsaouia, and aita became a wellspring for emerging urban chaabi styles, while orchestration and amplification modernized its sound.
After independence, aita remained central to wedding circuits and popular festivals. Modern stars and ensembles reinterpreted canonical poems with new arrangements and larger ensembles. Festivals in Safi, El Jadida, and Sidi Bennour highlight regional schools and ensure transmission. Today, aita thrives both in traditional troupes and in chaabi-leaning crossover acts, preserving its dual identity as festive dance music and a vessel of collective memory.
