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Sunday 8 June 2014

Berber

June 7  The  Ourika Valley at the base of the High Atlas Mountains is a short bus ride from Marrakech, (pronounced Maura-koosh by the locals, with a rolled r.) It is a lush, verdant valley compared to the dry countryside around Marrakech. Perched on the lower slopes of the mountains surrounding this valley, live the Berber people.

                                                               Ourika Valley

These people are descendants of the first people to settle Morocco. They have their own language, some Muslim, some Jews. They live in tribes and marry within them. 

                                              Mud homes hundreds of years old

We visited a Berber home in the Ourika Valley today. It was constructed of mud, straw, whatever was available hundreds of years ago. The stable is at the entrance of the house where the donkey and a cow had their quarters.  The woman of the house, Lalla Zahra, hosted us while her husband was farming. We had a tea ceremony with her and watched as she made the mint tea. We sat around their equivalent of our living room and were served bread, olive oil, fresh churned butter and honey. 

                                          Stable in the front of the house

                                        Lala ready for the tea ceremony

                                                   Lala Zahra in Arabic

Despite the heat, the home was cool because of the thick mud walls. It was also clean and comfortable, two bedrooms with beds lining the walls plus other rooms. The people clean themselves using steam baths. The home got running water last year after the King visited the tribe and discovered they didn't have it. The kitchen was ancient compared to modern standards but adequate for the family's use. They use charcoal and tagines for cooking as well as a gas stove top.There was a roof top area with a great view of the countryside and the little community.

                                              Kitchen in a Berber home

The woman herself communicated with the tour guide, Abdul, in her language. She had six children, one boy and five girls. The married son lives with her. The daughters are married and live nearby. She doesn't know her age because they didn't keep records and weren't literate. Today the children are being educated and she has learned to read in the last three years. She seemed proud of that fact as she should be!

                                The roof of the house

During the tea ceremony, the woman used beet sugar to sweeten the fresh mint tea. It comes in 2 kg hard cone shapes. She broke off big pieces to put in the tea pots. Most of us there were from the Western world, older people, who are concerned about our consumption of sugar. We almost emitted an incredulous gasp to realize that she would use so much. ( They use 2 kg a day.) Abdul coaxed her into making some sweet and unsweetened tea which she couldn't understand, but complied. Her culture doesn't have the same concern for sugar with the type and amount of work that they do daily.

         Lala holding the white beet sugar cone

Her Berber home was steeped in her culture and history. She is a woman working to improve herself and provide for her family, like many women today. We are more alike than we are different.

                Pouring the tea

4 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I like how Lala pours the tea -- now, THAT'S style!

Marie Smith said...

Lala made the ceremony special for us. It was a great experience.

Ginnie Hart said...

What fabulous photo-journalism, Marie. You can be proud of this informative and inspiring commentary!

Marie Smith said...

Thank you, Ginnie. Lala was an inspiration!