Karim El Maktafi documents Morocco’s war-like traditional sport of Fantasia
For his latest photographic series, Italian-Moroccan artist Karim El Maktafi has returned to his ancestral home to shoot the extraordinary spectacle Fantastia, also known in Arabic as “lab el baroud” - the gunpowder game.
Raised in Italy, El Maktafi has visited Morocco every year throughout his life. His relationship with the country is complex – a home away from home, the land where his parents grew up, but still a country that he sees from a distance. Through his work he tries to address issues of identity, memory and belonging, as if discovering more of Morocco’s secret traditions might lead him closer to a deeper understanding of himself. “I question and reflect on the topics that concern me both as a photographer and as a human being,” El Maktafi says. “I want people to discover – to get closer to rather than be afraid of – other cultures.”
El Maktafi had heard stories of Fantasia as a child from his mother and always longed to see it. It’s a tradition that dates back to the 8th century and now takes place at special occasions as well as annual competitions. He finally had the chance to realise this dream - and to take his camera amongst the riders as they prepared for and played the game – during a festival in his family’s hometown, Bouznika last year.
“I want people to discover – to get closer to rather than be afraid of – other cultures”
The riders, who only in recent years have had women among their number, dress in immaculate djellabas and wide trousers. In each of their hands is an old musket raised towards the sky, and underneath them their horses are fitted with harnesses and colourful saddles.
During the war-like performance the cavalry gallop in a straight formation, and at the end of a 200-metre charge they fire their guns into the sky. The most difficult part of the performance is synchronising the movement of the horses during their acceleration and firing simultaneously so that it appears that only one single shot is heard. Red dust rises from the earth as they ride, gradually covering everything as it heads skyward to meet the dark smoke from the gunpowder. “It was something pretty absurd; it seemed to take me back in time. All the beautiful clothes and the atmosphere made things a bit magic. That’s something my pictures try to communicate,” he says.
The Milan-based photographer studied at the Italian Institute of Photography and has undertaken scholarship both at Fabrica and with Magnum photographer Alex Majoli, as well as a one-year mentorship with Maggie Steber. His work has featured everywhere from National Geographic to Vice and he’s currently carrying out a long-term project on Morocco called Searching For Heritage. As part of the on-going series, he hopes to document more of the country’s traditions. “They are part of Morocco’s identity, therefore they are part of my photographic research as well. They are useful and meaningful to me.”