Each year on the eve of the Mawlid, Salé carries wax through its medina. Towers of coloured wax cones, mounted on wooden frames and weighing close to fifty kilos, are borne from Bab Bouhaja to the mausoleum of Sidi Abdellah Ben Hassoun, patron saint of the city and of its boatmen. The tradition dates to the late 16th century and survives nowhere else in Morocco. Made by one family, guarded by one lineage, carried by a crowd that recognises itself for a single night.