Mauritanian holidaymakers celebrate date palm season of Guetna

2009-06-19

The date palm season of Guetna provides many Mauritanians a good opportunity to leave the city and to experience the beauty of the countryside.

Text and photos by Mohammed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud in Nouakchott – 19/06/09

Mauritanians stay in temporary lodges called tikatten when they visit the date palm oases.

Thousands of Mauritanians are packing their suitcases and getting ready to leave the big cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou for the rural provinces of Adrar and Assaba. From oases – with their 25 million palm trees – to mountains embracing the golden sand dunes, hills and valleys, the scenery draws Mauritanians to the region for the annual celebration of Guetna, or "date season".

Guetna runs from late June through late August. It means rest, recreation, a chance to spend time with relatives and friends and an escape from the routine of work and the noise of the city.

Mauritanians and palm trees have a long history. Conjuring an image of the quiet desert nights, gentle breezes, fresh air and shining stars, dates and the Guetna have been celebrated in Mauritanian literature for decades. Younger generations are also interested in the cultural, economic and social dimension to this phenomenon.

"At first, the phenomenon of Guetna was a purely economic event. Traders would come from everywhere to buy dates from their native places, and then transport them to big cities to sell them there. However, things changed, and Guetna became an annual social and cultural habit to which Mauritanians come from inside and outside the country," said sociology professor Najie Ould Ahmed Taleb.

People now take their annual vacations in June and July "to accompany their families to the society of Guetna", he added.

Date palm cultivators in the northern regions expect this year's crop to be bigger than usual, thanks to the heavy rainfall that poured into the oases last season.

"Thank God, the season this year looks good," says Mohamed Ali, owner of a farm in Chinguetti, east of Atar. The ancient Sahel trading centre is the oldest city in the country.

"Many families have already arrived and the rest are coming in the next days," he told Magharebia.

Guetna nights are full of recreation and fun. Traditional music bands, featuring women singers using local lyrics (ashouar), can be heard everywhere. These music soirees attract many city youths who come from all over and stay late into the night.

"Guetna features popular songs and recitation of poetry, something that gives us an opportunity as young people to get to know each other," says university student El Weli, who is visiting the city of Wadan.

'The local people are very kind and hospitable, and they enjoy an open spirit of heritage. We eat, drink and amuse one another," he adds.

Oasis near the popular "El Guetana" destination of Atar.

Magharebia met a family staying near Atar, about 500km from Nouakchott in the northeastern part of the country. The city – known for valleys filled with palm trees, oases and distinguished dates – is a popular destination for "El Guetana" (people who come from out-of-town for the date celebration).

"For many years now, we have held to this habit of Guetna, which our grandfathers observed in the past," said Ahmed, 56. "No sooner does June start every year than our sons and daughters start preparing to leave Nouakchott in the direction of the Amdir valley, which is just 7km away from Atar, where we spend the season. The atmosphere here is very cool and comfortable."

Some holiday-makers seize the opportunity of Guetna to practice their favourite sport, especially shooting or pétanque. Many have formed teams to compete against each other and win the "championship" title.

"Our team won the other year, and we hope to win again this year. We've taken all the necessary steps to ensure it," said Hamoud Ould Vall, captain of a shooting team in Assaba.

Other Mauritanians go to the date palm oases during Guetna for a change of pace, to catch up with friends and family from all over, or to convalesce. Such is the case for 50-year-old Zeineb, who said, "My doctor advised me to go to Guetna and live in its clean air and eat fresh dates, which are only available in this period, as they will later be turned into dried dates."

"When I came down here, I met a lot of families, who also came to enjoy this lovely season," she tells Magharebia.

The visitors to the valleys – El Guetana – stay in houses made of stones and palm tree branches. Known as tikatten, they provide shelter for everyone: rich and poor, young and old. They are usually built near palm trees farms so that everyone can be close to the oases to enjoy shade and pick fruit whenever they want.

"I came a few days ago to this valley because I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of Guetna and breathe the palm trees' air," says Hassen Ould Ahmed, who is spending the summer in the valley of Tirat, near Atar. "Life here is wonderful," he adds.

Teghy Ould Mohamed missed coming to the valley for the past 5 years. "I was living outside Mauritania. This year, I decided to come back take part in the season which I adore," he says.

"It's difficult to describe the feelings of happiness and enjoyment which I feel under these modest traditional houses which unite and welcome everyone."

Teghy tells Magharebia about the stars which adorn the Guetna sky: "At night, I sit down on one of the golden sand dunes that surround the tikatten, especially after dinner, to stare at the thousands of shining starts in the sky amidst the total silence of the desert."

"It's a wonderful, unparalleled painting that keeps many of the secrets of the universe. I can see them clearly, away from the pollution that has always kept that beautiful spectacle from us in the cities."

For those Mauritanians who do not travel to the oases, including unemployed young people, the Guetna season still provides other opportunities. Trade in fresh dates prospers, not only in the northern and eastern regions, but everywhere across the country, especially in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou.

Ahmed, an unemployed young man, has been preparing for the season for weeks.

"I've contacted some palm tree owners and I will start working with them soon. It's a good opportunity for me."