Morocco Culture

Morocco Culture
Morocco is a country with a multiethnic society and rich culture, civilization and etiquette. Throughout the history of Morocco, Morocco hosted many people in addition to the indigenous Berbers, coming from East (Phoenicians, Arabs), South Africa (SSA) and North (Romans, Vandals the Andalusian Muslims and Jews). All of these have left an impact on the social structure of Morocco. It has also hosted many forms of beliefs, from paganism, Judaism, Christianity to Islam. Each region has its own specificity, thus contributing to the national culture. Morocco has set among its priorities the protection of its diversity and the preservation of its cultural heritage.

The exotic allure of Morocco is imprinted into the cultural psyche of Britons. Shakespeare is said to have been inspired by the Moroccan ambassador to the Court of Queen Elizabeth I, Abdel-Messaoud Ben Mohammed Ben Ouahed Anoun, for his character Othello. Sir Winston Churchill, an ardent admirer of Morocco, recounted the beauty of Marrakech in his Memoires. Now, the British public can experience the modern face of Moroccan crafts and culinary expertise, where traditional artisan skills are interpreted for a discerning, contemporary audience.
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In the political world, Morocco is considered an African state. The majority of the population of Morocco is Arabic for identity. At least one third of the population speaks the Amazigh language. During the Islamic expansion, some Arabs came to Morocco and settled in the flat regions as Tadla and Doukkala. For example, there are groups called Charkawa and Arbawa who settled in Morocco from Arabia. The Charkawa claimed descent from Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam.
Morocco is considered by some as an Arab-Berber country. Others insist on the Berber-African identity of Morocco.
The classical Arabic is the official language of Morocco, rather than a native language and is used in a socio-economic and cultural formal and limited range of activities (such as newspapers and official documents), in competition with the French and until recently, Berber. The languages ​​most commonly spoken in Morocco are Berber and Moroccan Arabic.
Linguistically, Berber belongs to the Afro-Asian group, and has many variants. The three main varieties used are Shilha Morocco, Central Atlas Tamazight, and Riff (also called Tamazight by its speakers). Collectively, they are known as Shelha Moroccan Arabic, as Barbaria in classical Arabic used in the Middle East. The terms and Barbar Shelha are considered offensive by most Berber activists, who prefer the term Amazigh.
Shilha (also known locally as Soussia) is spoken in the southwestern Morocco, in an area between Sidi Ifni in the south, in the north of Agadir and Marrakech and the Draa / Sous East. Central Atlas Tamazight is spoken in the Middle Atlas, between Taza, Khemisset Azilal and Errachidia. Riff is spoken in the Rif region of northern Morocco, in towns like Nador, Al Hoceima, Ajdir, Tetouan, Taza and Taouirt.
Most Berbers embraced Islam quickly, although their ethnic and linguistic non-Arab distinction has stood the Arab-Islamic influence. Hundreds of Amazigh associations (Berber) were created to defend their culture and identity in recent decades, Morocco and Algeria. Kiosks and bookstores in all major cities are filled with new Berber publications that provide articles and essays on art and the Amazigh culture. In 1994, the public television station RTM (now TVM) began broadcasting a day, 10 minutes long newscast in three Berber dialects. Berber activists have repeatedly demanded a share of airtime from 50% in standardized Tamazight (Berber) on all public television. There is also a national channel Tamazight in Morocco, called TV Tamazight. It opened in 2010, and emissions of more than 6 hours per day, with extended weekend broadcast.

The traditional costume for men and women is called jilbab, a long, loose, hooded garment with full sleeves. For special occasions, men also wear a red cap called bernousse, more commonly called Fez. Women wear kaftans decorated with ornaments. Almost all men and most women wear balgha (بلغه) - soft leather slippers without heels, often dyed yellow. Women also wear high-heeled sandals, often with silver or gold foil.
The distinction between a jilbab and kaftan is that the jilbab has a hood, while a Kaftan does not work. Djellabas Most women are brightly colored and have ornaments, stitching or beads, while jellabiyas men are generally more clear and neutral color. Women are strongly attached to their "Moroccan" wardrobe, despite the financial costs, the production of these garments is relatively expensive, as most of the work is done by hand, but most women buy a minimum of one new kaftan or takchita each year, usually for a special social event, such as a religious holiday or a wedding. These days, it is an unwritten rule that traditional Moroccan dress is worn at such events.

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Moroccan Culture

The finished "wet" design on one hand. Front and back, this took about 45 minutes, and began to hurt after about 10. Most people feel only a cooling sensation, but I am mildly allergic to iodine (I think henna contains iodine, but I haven't yet found proof) and so my skin burned and felt extremely cold at the same time.



Warming my ice-cold hands over a brazier. The glass on the table has a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, and sugar, which was generously applied to the henna in order to alleviate the discomfort (it didn't help much). You can see a drop running down my right wrist, which is quite pink due to my allergy.



When the henna is more or less dry, the hands are "gloved": they are wrapped in thin cotton sheets so that the finished design is not disturbed. The woman who applied my henna told me to keep the gloves on overnight and wash my hands in the morning, but I only kept them on for a couple of hours.


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Moroccan Culture, Morocco's Culture & Community

Moroccan Culture, Morocco's Culture & Community
Dialectal Arabic : The Arabic language was introduced into Morocco through successive stages: in the 7th century with the arrival of the troops of Oqba Ben Nafi; in the 9th century thanks to the new education centres namely the famous Karaouyine Mosque-university in Fez; in the 12th and 13th centuries, marked by the settlement in Morocco of the Hilalian and mâaquilian tribes; and in the 14th century when Andalusians were chased away by Spain during the Christian Reconquista.

Dialectal Arabic includes four dialects: the first is urban (mdini); it is influenced by the Andalusian language and spoken in old cities such as Fez, Rabat Sale and Tetouan; the mountain dialect (jebli) is used in the northwest region and draws its origins from the amazigh.
the Bedouin dialect (aroubi) evolves in the communities of the Atlantic plains (Gharb. Chaouïa, Doukkala, etc.). It is also used in internal plains like the Haouz of Marrakesh, Tadla and Souss. Finally, the hassani dialect is practiced in some regions of the sahara, dialectal Arabic is used both at home and in the street.
It is not a written language except in the form of free unfixed codes, It is the mother tongue of Arabic-speaking people, the one through which they acquire education and popular culture, Spoken throughout all the Moroccan territory, it unites the various communities which are themselves subdivided by the variety of dialects. Communication with the Arabs of other countries is achieved through classical Arabic.

Classical Arabic

Classical Arabic is the language of the Quran. It is used in the religious, political, administrative, legal and cultural spheres. It is the language of education, media and all other intellectual activities. The Arabic language is a rich and complex language on which the sacred book confers an almost incantatory dimension.

Amazighe, the language of Berbers:

Amazighe is the most ancient language of the Maghreb. The coming of Amazighs to Morocco goes back to the Neolithic era. For historians, their origin remains a subject of controversy. We think that they are natives, came from the north shore of the Mediterranean, or natives of the south of the Arab Peninsula, archaeological documents of the ancient Egypt give evidence of the existence of the amazighe script at least 3000 years BC. Today, we speak Amazighe in the rural regions and in cities, particularly since the rural exodus of the 1970s. The Berber language includes three dialects: tarifit in the northeast; tamazight, in the Middle Atlas, in the northerly part of the High Atlas and in the southeast region; and tachelhit, in the southern part of the High Atlas and southwest region.


Moroccan Culture

Learning a foreign language is inextricably tied to learning about culture, because the countries that speak a given language all have some effect on that language (of course, some more than others). Most language students, and certainly anyone who speaks a second language fluently, are aware of this, because it is impossible to speak a language well without understanding the cultures that go hand-in-hand with it. Unfortunately for French students, there are so many francophone countries that learning about all of the related cultures is virtually impossible. Most teachers who want to foster an understanding of francophone cultures in their students are forced to focus on the "bigger" French-speaking countries like France and Canada.

I lived in Morocco from September 2000 to March 2003 and felt that I had a wonderful opportunity there to introduce French students to another member country of the francophone community. By living in this francophone country, I was able to share my first-hand experience with the culture. I wrote articles periodically on various aspects of Moroccan culture. In this way I hope to bring Moroccan culture alive for French students who might not otherwise have a chance to learn about it.

I did my best to bring the articles to life with pictures and personal anecdotes. All of the information in these articles was drawn from my personal, day-to-day experiences and in-country research in Casablanca. My goal is not to pass judgment on Moroccan culture; rather, it is to bring this rich culture to life for French speakers who might not otherwise know anything about it.



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