Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa (saint)

Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa al-Jazouli al-Semlali was born in the mid-15th century around 1460 in Boumarouan, a small town in the Ida Ou Semlal in the Anti-Atlas mountains of the Sous region.^[5][6] The date of his birth is unknown. His father was Sidi Musa and his mother Lalla Tawnut.^[6] He is believed to be of Sharifian origin.^[7][8]

Young, he moved to Marrakesh to study Islam before extensively travelling in the east for a long period of time. In 1521, he returned to Ilmatene, a small town in the Sous before settling in Tazerwalt.^[9] He founded the Tazerwalt dynasty, and he established an Islamic zawiya, attracting hundreds of followers to his religious mystical teachings.^[10]

Sidi Ahmed maintained good relations with the ruling Saadian dynasty and was able to use his religious standing to carve out an enclave of power within the Saadian state. Following his death in 1563, his grave became a pilgrimage site, and his offspring inherited much of the wealth and status he had acquired as a spiritual leader. His descendant Bu-Dmia continued as the emir of Tazerwalt, a short-lived dynasty centered in Iligh before its fall to the Alaouites.^[10]

After his death in 1563, a mausoleum was built in the zawiya and remains as a pilgrimage site in the village of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa, which shares his name.^[11]

Since the early 20th century, his name has been associated with groups of acrobatic entertainers called Oulad Sidi Ahmed ou Moussa^[12] or Ayt Sidi Ḥmad u Musa,^[2] and the yearly pilgrimage (or moussem).^[9][13][14] They are mentioned by George Borrow in The Zincali.

• Tazerwalt
• Muhammad al-Jazuli