‘Oh Dhar Obaran , Oh Cemetery of Bones!’ An Anti-Colonial Song from the Moroccan Rif as a Counter-Archive of Diasporic Memory

Abstract

This article examines the transnational circulation of the anti-colonial Riffian song Dhar Obaran in contemporary socio-political contexts between Morocco and the Netherlands. Originating from the Rif region of northern Morocco, this epic poem is an essential part of Riffian oral tradition and testifies, from the perspective of the colonised, to the atrocities of the Rif War (1921–1926), when local tribes fought the Spanish colonial army. I trace the evolution of the song across different settings and periods, showing how Dhar Obaran has been transformed from a symbol of resistance to colonial violence and postcolonial state oppression into a means of cultural expression and memory that voices Riffian identity and socio-political concerns in a migration context. I argue that Dhar Obaran serves as both a vehicle for cultural reinterpretation and a sonic decolonial counter-archive, enabling local actors to challenge marginalising narratives and reinscribe themselves into Riffian history through intergenerational processes of learning, appropriation and innovation. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this study contributes to debates in memory studies, decolonial theory and sound studies by highlighting the role of music in preserving and transforming cultural heritage in a context of migration.