That Returns

At the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, between September and November, gatherings known as El Waada take place across western and southwestern Algeria. Rooted in the social and cultural life of the region, these traditional celebrations bring together communities from nearby villages and distant towns. Although each gathering has its own character, they share a common spirit: the return of people to familiar places, the renewal of collective bonds, and the continuation of traditions passed down through generations.

In Mascara and beyond, open fields are transformed into temporary gathering spaces. Tents are erected, horses arrive, and traders set up their stalls. Families, horsemen, musicians, and visitors come together, turning these open landscapes into places filled with movement and anticipation. For a few days, a temporary town emerges, shaped by encounters, shared meals, conversations, and the rhythm of collective celebration.

At the heart of many Waada gatherings are the horsemen and their displays of horsemanship. Riders prepare their horses, adjust their saddles, and gather in the fields for performances that often culminate in coordinated gunpowder salutes, known locally as baroud. The sound of the horses, the movement of the riders, and the sudden bursts of gunpowder create moments of intensity in which skill, discipline, courage, and pride become visible. Traditional clothing, local music, dance, and popular markets add further layers to the gathering, reflecting the cultural diversity and social life of the region.

Yet El Waada is not only about spectacle. It is also a space for reunion, where families meet, old friendships are renewed, and people reconnect with places and customs that remain part of their shared identity. Children watch the horsemen and discover traditions they may one day inherit. Older generations carry memories of celebrations from years past, comparing what has changed with what remains. Around the tents, in the markets, and along the edges of the fields, everyday gestures become part of a larger story about belonging and continuity.

Although these celebrations return every year, they do not remain untouched by time. Landscapes change, generations grow older, and ways of life evolve. Some practices endure, while others adapt to new circumstances. Each gathering therefore holds a tension between permanence and change: the desire to preserve inherited traditions and the reality of a world that continues to move forward.

Through this photographic series, That Returns explores El Waada as a living cultural practice across western and southwestern Algeria, with Mascara as one of its points of reference. Rather than documenting the celebration solely through its most spectacular moments, the series also turns toward the quieter details: the preparation of the horses, the expressions of the spectators, the movement of people between tents, the children watching from a distance, and the traces left behind when the gathering comes to an end.

These photographs look at what returns each autumn, but also at what changes with every return. They seek to understand how a temporary gathering can hold a lasting place in collective memory, and how traditions survive not simply because they are repeated, but because people continue to give them meaning.

In the end, That Returns is a reflection on memory, place, and belonging. It is about the people who come back, the rituals they carry with them, and the moments through which a cultural heritage remains present in everyday life. When the horses leave and the fields become quiet again, the gathering disappears from the landscape, but its memory continues until the next autumn, when the people return once more.