Modernization and Marriage Ceremonies in the Amazigh Culture
Modernization and Marriage Ceremonies in the Amazigh Culture

Author: Fatima Gaddar

Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9783659353307

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Since its independence in 1956, Morocco has embarked on a process of social, economic and political development in an attempt to build a modern nation. However, this has resulted in profound mutations in the Moroccan culture in general and the Amazigh one in particular. From an ethnographic perspective, the book seeks to provide an account of the impact of modernization on the Amazigh cultural heritage in Morocco. More specifically, the study is concerned with the investigation of the gradual loss of the Amazigh culture among Ayt Merghad, with a special focus on the rituals of marriage. An attempt is also made to uncover the forces that have reshaped these practices and transformed them into their current state. The researcher argues that a vision of development that excludes the cultural dimension cannot do justice to the local cultures. Today, many voices, including UNESCO, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and researchers are calling for the inclusion of the cultural component in the development models. Therefore, for a process of development to be sustainable, it stands to reason that the policy makers should give more importance to the promotion of cultural diversity

The Amazigh Culture in the Context of Urbanization and Modernization
The Amazigh Culture in the Context of Urbanization and Modernization

Author: Fatima Gaddar

Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

Published: 2014-05-12

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9783659431753

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Cultural diversity is a feature of Morocco, and within such a multicultural society, the maintenance of the various existing cultures is critical for the preservation of the community's heritage and identity. However, as a result of the process of urbanization and modernization, some aspects of Ayt Merghad's culture have been affected. The study is concerned with the investigation of the gradual loss of the Amazigh culture in the Ayt Merghad community, with a special focus on the rituals of birth, marriage, and death. A deep understanding of the issues investigated is achieved through an ethnographic type of data which emerged from participant observation, interviews and focus groups. The researcher argues that the changes that the rituals of birth, marriage and death have undergone during the last decades are but micro manifestations of the macro changes that the community has undergone in its repertoire of values and mentalities. An understanding of the dynamics of urbanization, modernization and development leads us to conclude that the loss of the Amazigh cultural heritage is an inevitable consequence of these processes occurring in the whole society.

Birth Rituals In The Amazigh Culture And Socio-Economic Development
Birth Rituals In The Amazigh Culture And Socio-Economic Development

Author: Fatima Gaddar

Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 9783659340406

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During the last decades, Morocco has embarked on a process of modernization and development. However, the policy makers have disregarded the inherently close links that exist between culture and development. Adopting models of development that ignore and marginalize the multi-cultural aspect of the nation has led to the gradual loss of the country's cultural heritage. The current state of the Amazigh culture provides compelling evidence in that respect. The book, therefore, seeks to provide an ethnographic overview of the impact of socio-economic development on the Amazigh cultural heritage among Ayt Merghad. More specifically, the study is concerned with the investigation of the gradual loss of the Amazigh culture in the target community, with a special focus on the birth rituals. Thematically, the book will hopefully contribute to a better understanding of the Amazigh culture and enrich the on-going debates about the impact of socio-economic development on birth rituals among Ayt Merghad.

A Moroccan Wedding Ceremony Between Tradition and Modernity
A Moroccan Wedding Ceremony Between Tradition and Modernity

Author: jalila hajji

Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9783838382531

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This research thesis is about the traditional steps before and during the wedding ceremonies in Morocco, with a focus on women s role in these preparations. A part of this thesis in consacrced to the position of woman in Islam and in Moroccan society. A wedding ceremony in Fez is studied as an example to show how Moroccan keep their tradition in their modern life. the text was realised with a documentary film, showing the steps included in the text.

Matrimonial Ceremonies Displayed
Matrimonial Ceremonies Displayed

Author: Louis De Gaya

Publisher: Kessinger Publishing

Published: 2008-10-01

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 9781437040050

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This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Amazigh Arts in Morocco
Amazigh Arts in Morocco

Author: Cynthia Becker

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2014-04-15

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0292756194

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In southeastern Morocco, around the oasis of Tafilalet, the Ait Khabbash people weave brightly colored carpets, embroider indigo head coverings, paint their faces with saffron, and wear ornate jewelry. Their extraordinarily detailed arts are rich in cultural symbolism; they are always breathtakingly beautiful—and they are typically made by women. Like other Amazigh (Berber) groups (but in contrast to the Arab societies of North Africa), the Ait Khabbash have entrusted their artistic responsibilities to women. Cynthia Becker spent years in Morocco living among these women and, through family connections and female fellowship, achieved unprecedented access to the artistic rituals of the Ait Khabbash. The result is more than a stunning examination of the arts themselves, it is also an illumination of women's roles in Islamic North Africa and the many ways in which women negotiate complex social and religious issues. One of the reasons Amazigh women are artists is that the arts are expressions of ethnic identity, and it follows that the guardians of Amazigh identity ought to be those who literally ensure its continuation from generation to generation, the Amazigh women. Not surprisingly, the arts are visual expressions of womanhood, and fertility symbols are prevalent. Controlling the visual symbols of Amazigh identity has given these women power and prestige. Their clothing, tattoos, and jewelry are public identity statements; such public artistic expressions contrast with the stereotype that women in the Islamic world are secluded and veiled. But their role as public identity symbols can also be restrictive, and history (French colonialism, the subsequent rise of an Arab-dominated government in Morocco, and the recent emergence of a transnational Berber movement) has forced Ait Khabbash women to adapt their arts as their people adapt to the contemporary world. By framing Amazigh arts with historical and cultural context, Cynthia Becker allows the reader to see the full measure of these fascinating artworks.

Women and Social Change in North Africa
Women and Social Change in North Africa

Author: Doris H. Gray

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-01-11

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 110841950X

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A wide-ranging analysis of grass-roots activism, migration, legal, political and religious changes as basis for social transformation.

The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States
The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States

Author: Bruce Maddy-Weitzman

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2011-05-01

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0292745052

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Like many indigenous groups that have endured centuries of subordination, the Berber/Amazigh peoples of North Africa are demanding linguistic and cultural recognition and the redressing of injustices. Indeed, the movement seeks nothing less than a refashioning of the identity of North African states, a rewriting of their history, and a fundamental change in the basis of collective life. In so doing, it poses a challenge to the existing political and sociocultural orders in Morocco and Algeria, while serving as an important counterpoint to the oppositionist Islamist current. This is the first book-length study to analyze the rise of the modern ethnocultural Berber/Amazigh movement in North Africa and the Berber diaspora. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman begins by tracing North African history from the perspective of its indigenous Berber inhabitants and their interactions with more powerful societies, from Hellenic and Roman times, through a millennium of Islam, to the era of Western colonialism. He then concentrates on the marginalization and eventual reemergence of the Berber question in independent Algeria and Morocco, against a background of the growing crisis of regime legitimacy in each country. His investigation illuminates many issues, including the fashioning of official national narratives and policies aimed at subordinating Berbers in an Arab nationalist and Islamic-centered universe; the emergence of a counter-movement promoting an expansive Berber "imagining" that emphasizes the rights of minority groups and indigenous peoples; and the international aspects of modern Berberism.

Social Currents in North Africa
Social Currents in North Africa

Author: Osama Abi-Mershed

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-06-01

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0190934743

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Social Currents in North Africa is a multi-disciplinary analysis of the social phenomena unfolding in the Maghreb today. The contributors analyse the genealogies of contemporary North African behavioral and ideological norms, and offer insights into post-Arab Spring governance and today's social and political trends. The book situates regional developments within broader international currents, without forgoing the distinct features of each socio-historical context. With its common historical, cultural, and socio-economic foundations, the Maghreb is a cohesive area of study that allows for greater understanding of domestic developments from both single-country and comparative perspectives. This volume refines the geo-historical unity of the Maghreb by accounting for social connections, both within the nation-state and across political boundaries and historical eras. It illustrates that non-institutional phenomena are equally formative to the ongoing project of post-colonial sovereignty, to social construction and deployments of state power, and to local outlooks on social equity, economic prospects, and cultural identity.