who are the Berbers?

By AUTUMN on March 13, 2008 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The Berbers are the indigenous people of North Africa. They lived here long before the Arabs conquered the land some thirteen hundred years ago. Today Berber blood makes up about half of the population in Morocco, and thins out as you go further east across North Africa. The Berber culture has been resilient through centuries of conquests that have swept through Morocco. It has managed to live, work, and still distinguish itself among others in relative harmony. Traditionally they live in more rural areas. Just about all of the Berbers that I have talked to in the cities trace themselves or their parents back to some small town, which is where the majority of their population has lived. They have their own language which they speak among themselves, and can vary regionally. Berber was strictly spoken until recently they developed a writing system for it, but this has not caught on too much as the schools only teach in French and Arabic. I imagine, then, that the propagation of the language in the modern day will rely on recurrent meetings of Berber people in one place. After the Berber towns themselves, the other of these places is certainly the souq.

Yesterday I took the opportunity to visit a traditional souq outside Essaouira (choukrane jazilan!). It is called a Berber souq, but Arabic people may also conduct their business here. These markets meet only once a week, each one a different day of the week. They function as meeting places for exchange, dispute settlements, and discussion for other public concerns. Nearly all sellers and buyers are men. I might have been one of 5 (visible) women and of 10 foreigners in the whole souq, although Moroccan ¨city¨ people may also be seen somewhat as outsiders. A portion of the shops are in buildings, but most set up in tents or on rugs along the ground. A few sellers hawk their inventory and prices on loudspeakers, while others sit until someone comes by. Business is pretty active here, as I imagine some form of exchange must be on everyones mind for for having come to such a particular place at a particular time. Once lunch time comes around, sellers pack up their wares and their gains, and round up their animals to finish the business day.

This was by far one of the best experiences for my research, as it was unlike any of the other marketplaces I have seen so far. I would love to come back and do more work just in these souqs, as I feel this may give a better picture of Morocco from times before the cities depended on tourism for survival.

3 Comments

Marissa said:

Leaving a comment. Hopefully it'll show up?

Is that garlic in that picture?

March 14, 2008 6:42 AM

Autumn said:

Yes! My comments work! Yes, that is garlic and what looks like cumin in the picture.

March 14, 2008 7:08 AM

Jehanzeb said:

Finally, we get to comment :)

I learned so much from reading your wonderful blog. "Choukrane" instead of "Shukran"? Hmm, someone is definitely Moroccan-ized lol.

Hope everything is going well. Looking forward to more posts :) Khuda hafez.

March 14, 2008 8:05 PM