Awessu

Awessu (Tifinagh: ⴰⵡⴻⵙⵙⵓ) is a sea ceremony by the Zuwara Berbers (Twillult) held in the town of Zuwarah, Libya and parts of Tunisia during a day in the end of July or the beginning of August, the only day of the year in which the ocean takes the form of a black mirror reflecting the stars of the Sky. It could also possibly refer to a sea deity.

The rite is a religious ceremony to attract the benevolent and banish the malevolent. In this ceremony, the Zuwara Berber go into the sea before sunrise to absolve themselves, their livestock, and their cloths. They believe this will allow them to obtain the sea's blessing, and that bathing in the sea during this time will release their sins. Following the bathing, the Zuwara Berbers feast on the beach. The rite was practiced until the 1980s, after which it began to slowly disappear after the Libyan government declared it a pagan festival. Some scholars believe this rite originated with the Berber St. Augustine. The festival nowadays is a commercial festivital in Libya. However, the holiday is still practiced in its traditional form by the Twillult in neighboring Tunisia.