Marc Eliany – Pilgrimage

Moroccans are devoted to pilgrimage. Pilgrims plead their saints to intercede on their behalf to have their wishes fulfilled: good health, a husband or a wife, fertility, a baby boy, a baby girl, good fortune, rain in season, abundant crops or a prosperous season in the markets.

I was also impressed by the admiration of the Moroccan people to their kings, especially to the deceased Moulay Youssef. It equals saintly reverence.

In my painting, Loyal Followers, royalty and sainthood unite to suggest a holy place, a crown, the protecting eye of a benevolent king, perhaps a saint and a colorfully-dressed crowd of loyal followers.

Le p?lerinage – Marc Eliany

Les veux des p?lerins rassemblent les Marocains autour des tombes des saints. On cherche le salut,

le pardon est accord?? et des promesses sont formul?es. Taill?s sur les arbres ou grav?s dans un rocher, des v?ux de longue date:? un poisson pour la fertilit?, une main,? un ?il pour prot?ger du mal, le rouge pour le sacrifice et le vert pour l’abondance.

Pour les Marocains, le p?lerinage est une d?votion. Les p?lerins prient leurs saints d?interc?der en leur faveur, ou que leurs v?ux soient exauc?s: une bonne sant?, un homme ou une femme ? marier,

la fertilit?, une fille, un gar?on, la bonne fortune, la pluie en saison, des moissons abondantes ou une bonne saison au march?.

Royal Cavalryman Riding a Wave

Oil on canvas, 1993, Vienna (70 x 90 cm)
Cavalier royal Huile sur toile, 1993, Vienne (70 x 90 cm)
Royal Cavalryman Riding a Wave -Marc Eliany

In Royal Cavalryman Riding a Wave, green and red, the colors of the Moroccan flag, and royal guards riding horses? wearing ceremonial uniforms come to mind. Since my childhood, I remember a guard dressed in a colorful uniform, a red vest, black bottoms, a green tunic and snow white gloves, smiling at me.

I painted the guard riding what may be a horse or a wave, because I love the color of the Mediterranean Sea in Rabat and because of the respect I have for Moulay Youssef and his Majesty Hassan II, the kings of Morocco, masters of consensus, who overcame social and ethnic differences.

Pilgrims? Wishes in Green on Red

Oil on canvas, 1993, Vienna (40 x 60 cm)

Les veux en vert et rouge
Huile sur toile, 1993, Vienne (40 x 60 cm)
Pilgrims’ wishes – Marc Eliany

Pilgrims’ wishes bring Moroccans together around the tombs of saints. There, salvation is sought, forgiveness is granted and promises are made. Carved on a tree or a rock are timeless wishes: a fish for fertility, a hand, an eye to guard against evil, red for sacrifice and green for abundance.

Chasing Spirits in Blue

Oil on canvas board, 1993, Vienna (50.8 x 60.9 cm)
Dance nocturne en bleu
Huile sur toile carton?e, 1993, Vienne (50.8 x 60.9 cm)
Holy Grounds – Marc Eliany

When pilgrims stepped on holy grounds, the presence of saints inhabited them, their hair stood, prayers and wishes came out of their mouths as if they knew them by heart from some old and ancient time. And when a bird flew over a tomb or when a rain suddenly fell from above, pilgrims filled with joy:

“The saint is here!
The saint has come!
To bless
To cure,
Grant wishes, and
Hearts desires!”

And the pilgrims dipped their hands in the saints’ water and spread it on their eyes and lips and ears and every other part of their body craving for a cure. They went to the saints full of anxieties and left happy and content that all their wishes would be fulfilled…