AP PHOTOS: Wild costumes, drums mark Algerian New Year fest
Posted January 13, 2018 6:00 am
BENI SNOUS, Algeria (AP) - New Year's celebrations come in all shapes and sizes.
With animal hide costumes and banging drums, the western Algerian town of Beni Snous has noisily celebrated the new year - and an ancient military victory over the pharaoh - with a traditional Berber Ayred festival.
Young men wear lion masks, drape themselves in hides and parade from door to door to the beat of drums during the Ayred, which means "lion" in the Berber language. They gather food and other items to distribute later to the poor, and residents sing along their journey.
The three-day festival that started Thursday also commemorates the victory of a Berber king over the Egyptian pharaoh in 950 BC.
A man adjusts a mask in Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. Algerians in the Beni Snous region dress in elaborate animal-hide costumes and parade through town with traditional instruments as part of the Ayred festival. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
Performers dressed in animal-hide costumes greet children as part of the Ayred festival in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
Performers dressed in animal-hide costumes entertain the crowds as part of the Ayred festival in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
A disguised man strolls through the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. Algerians in the Beni Snous region dress in elaborate animal-hide costumes and parade through town with traditional instruments as part of the Ayred festival. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
A disguised man leaves a house in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. Algerians in the Beni Snous region dress in elaborate animal-hide costumes and parade through town with traditional instruments as part of the Ayred festival. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
Residents applaud a disguised man in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018 during the Ayred festival. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
Disguised people parade in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. Algerians in the Beni Snous region dress in elaborate animal-hide costumes and parade through town with traditional instruments as part of the Ayred festival. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
A man dressed in an animal-hide costume of the Ayred festival walks through the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
Performers dressed in animal-hide costumes meet residents during the Ayred festival in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
A disguised man parades in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. Algerians in the Beni Snous region dress in elaborate animal-hide costumes and parade through town with traditional instruments as part of the Ayred festival. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
Performers dressed in animal-hide costumes entertain the crowds as part of the Ayred festival in the village of Beni Snous, south of Tlemcen, Algeria, Thursday, Dec.11, 2018. The three-day annual festival highlights agricultural traditions of the Amazigh, or Berbers, and celebrates the victory of a Berber king in 950 BC over armies of the Egyptian pharaoh seeking to colonize the region. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
The Associated Press
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