Echoes from the <i>ksour</i> : preserving <i>Bahbi</i> in the margins of Amazigh Morocco

This article explores Bahbi, a little-studied subgenre of Ahidous specific to the Iqbliyen Amazigh communities of southeastern Morocco, particularly in the oases of Ghriss (Goulmima) and Ferkla (Tinjdad). Rooted in oral tradition and characterised by metaphorical language, untitled verses, and dialogic couplets, Bahbi serves as a vehicle for emotional expression, communal memory, and socio-political commentary. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, performance recordings, and archival fragments, the study foregrounds Bahbi as both a cultural artifact and an endangered form of intangible heritage. Focusing on dynamics of power and identity, the study examines how social status and poetic lineage operate as symbolic capital, particularly amid intercommunal rivalries and the historical marginalisation of Black Amazigh communities. It also highlights Bahbi’s gendered choreography, wherein men and women engage in symmetrical, egalitarian performance. Despite its expressive richness, Bahbi faces critical endangerment due to shifts in media consumption and weakened intergenerational transmission. Although grassroots revival efforts have emerged, institutional support remains limited. The study calls for urgent documentation and recognition of Bahbi as a vital resource for linguistic, cultural, and historical research, and as a testimony to the aesthetic resilience of marginalised Amazigh communities.