“In El Baz Ouchen, a folk baliad about a jackal, Rais Ahmed was at his most engaging. He had arranged his men on a rug under a tamarisk tree; at one point he clapped his hands for tea to be brought for them, and at that point he announced his intention of singing this particular piece. When it was played back to him, he had a fit of laughter which so affected him that he fell over backwards and had to be helped back into a sitting position by the other musicians. The entire courtyard of soldiers also found it highly amusing. No one volunteered, however, to translate the Chleuh* text into Arabic for us.
“El Maya dial Chtah is a traditional dance number, indistinguishable from those which can be heard in the Djemâa el Fna of Marrakech late in the afternoon when the troupes of Chleuh boys assemble and put on their daily show of dance and song.
* Or more correctly: Tachelhit
Source:
Bowles, Paul F. "Tiznit." in Folk, Popular, and Art Music of Morocco. The Paul Bowles Moroccan Music Collection. Washington, DC: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, 1959-1962.
The Paul Bowles Moroccan Music Collection (AFC 1960/001), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Courtesy of the Paul Bowles Estate and Irene Hermann / Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies.