Lunja, the Atlas witch

Chapter 1 : The cursed wedding

"Quickly, quickly, we still have to serve the other guests" Tilila said to the women in charge of the feast, Tilila is the mother of the groom, and the wife of Koussaila, the leader, she wore her fanciest clothes that day, it's the wedding of her elder son, so she made sure that her outfit represents the clan properly, she wore a red Amazigh caftan, a silver coral horned headpiece crown over her white head scarf, and her silver jewelry...

"Dear wife, you look beautiful today..." says Kouassaila, Tilila looks at him " Oh dear husband, you look fine too..." with a soft voice. He was wearing a black cape, white djellaba underneath it, and a white turban. He smiles at her and then proceeds on his walk to check on the other arrangement of the wedding.

The Koussaila clan took the lead of all the Atlas clans for years, and they did a great job, the leader's title was Koussaila, no matter what was his birth name, everyone addresses him as Koussaila, out of respect to their leader, as the Koussaila title means the tiger, in the Amazigh language...

All the clans were gathered that day for the wedding of the son of their great leader, Azrur, the elder son of Koussaila, great posture, dark hair, charming features, he was wearing a white Djellaba, embroidered with golden lines. He was sitting in his spot, in the large white tent where the wedding is going to take place.

Ammar, the brother of the groom, has dark hair, a sharp jaw, black eyes that are identical to his father's, broad shoulders, and a V-shaped torso, also wearing a white djellaba. He is the head of the soldiers of the clans.

Ammar entered the tent and went to greet his brother. "Brother, you're finally getting married, congratulations...", "Thank you, brother, you're soon to be wed too..." Azrur replied...

Ammar looks at the guests who came in to join them. He smiles, "Well, I kinda enjoy my single life, so it won't be soon..." Then he turns to Azrur and adds,"You are the next Koussaila of the Atlas clans... you need to be careful, and take good care of your people..."Azrur frowns."Are you lecturing me... now?" Ammar startles and then smiles "No I am not... I am just trying to say that... I'll be by your side... no matter what..."

They both smile, and soon their father joins them, they stand up...he looks at them with pride and says, "My sons...my men...."He hugs them, and then the groom sits down at his place.

The ceremony begins, the young men and women of the clans start dancing, they in the chorus sing songs about love and marriage with the rest of the clan drumming, clapping, and stomping to the rhythm of the movements. The musicians, standing in the center of the dance, play the bendir "tallunt," which is a framed drum about 15 inches whose skin was stretched first over a fire. As the pace of the music accelerates, dancers who are standing begin to move slowly and slightly swaying shoulders and hips in a circle. it's a custom where the men can look for their future wives, and vice versa...

After a moment the bride came in, under "the zagharit" : ulutations of the women who escorted her, along with the members of her clan...she was wearing a white caftan, veiled and adorned with a head-piece, and a silver Heirloom Coral Dowry Crown, over it with extra silver jewelry. She already has henna tattoos on her hands & feet two days prior. The bride sat next to her groom, who stood up to receive his bride.

After a moment, they announced that dinner was going to be served. The guests had their dinner in a warm atmosphere. Everyone was happy for the son of their leader...

At the end of the ceremony, Azrur stood up to thank the guests and give a speech, "My dear cousins...my siblings...thank you for sharing this great...Ah...moment..." Azrur began to breathe heavily...his brother noticed, he tried to reach him, but Azrur collapsed and fell on the ground, Tufitri, his bride, startled, she stands and screams his name "Azrur...!"