Hadda El Ghiyathia (Kharboucha)

Hadda El Ghiyathia, affectionately called Kharboucha, was a visionary singer of the Oulad Zid tribe in the Abda region near Safi. During the 1895 tribal insurrection against the extortionate feudal rule of Caïd Aïssa Ben Omar, Kharboucha transformed the traditional Aita into a scathing musical weapon of defiance, chanting verses mocking the Caïd's cruelty.

Following the massacre of her tribe, she was captured and brought before the Caïd, where she defiantly repeated her songs before being executed. Her poignant melodies and verses remain the foundation of classical Moroccan Aita poetry.