Nomads in Morocco
Who are the nomads?
In the age of information and immediacy, we can receive everything in an instant, but perhaps the modern way of life is more stimulating than nutritious compared to other realities around us. There are those who still maintain a lifestyle that has remained the same since time immemorial because they believe that their life, although much harder, is a constant quest for freedom and personal development. These are the Tuareg and Berber nomads of the desert.
From the past to the present, the daily life of the nomads is marked by ancient customs that are linked to the different phases of life in the Sahara. These include personal development from birth to old age, holidays, and religious ceremonies including those relating to the holy month of Ramadan. Despite the scarcity that exists in the Saharan regions, the nomads are still characterized by their hospitality, sense of family, and solidarity. They also have an innate sense of respect for their pets and farm animals.
In the southern provinces of the kingdom, the nomads continue to live their lives in the traditional way, and everything that concerns their daily life remains authentic and unparalleled.
Where they live?
Most nomads today live from their cattle. They spend some time in a place that meets the needs of their herd in terms of water and grazing, and they live in tents that they carry with them when they move. The tents consist of a wooden beam covered with different types of fabric, such as wool and cloth, which provide protection from wind and sand while allowing the necessary mobility for the constant search for water and pasture land. The Tuareg are often known by the nickname “Blue Man”, while the Berbers are not associated with any particular color, although their clothing is remarkably colorful, unlike most Arab societies. Many turbans are blue because a natural dye is used, indigo, which colors the skin.
Like the city women, nomadic women also have their share of beautification, using henna to color their hair or embellish their fingers and nails. They then decorate the body with silver coins and gems inherited from their mothers. An important part of their culture is the amulets. The most important is in the form of crosses, which represent compasses and are passed on from father to son. In this fraternal moment, this sentence is usually said: “Here I give you the four cardinal points to guide you in life because we never know where we will die. ”
What do the Nomads eat?
As far as nutrition is concerned, these nomads have their own cuisine, which offers delicious and natural traditional dishes. One of the dishes most consumed by these people every day is Marou & Lham (rice with meat). This dish is both easy to prepare and nutritious: a considerable amount of meat, preferably camel meat, is placed in a special pot with a little table oil and seasoned with a pinch or two of salt to enhance the flavor. But as important as it is to nourish the stomach, it is also important to nurture the mind and soul. The short free time that a life of constant vigilance allows is filled with conversations around a cup of tea, group activities related to oratory or music and education, either received from other Tuareg or going to small classes scattered throughout the area.
Most nomads follow the Muslim religion in a very personal way because they do so without renouncing what they have culturally identified, such as beliefs in different spirits or the manifestations of nature as direct proof of the divine will, viewing the desert almost as a unity.
The Nomads today:
The Tuareg and other Berber nomads who survive today do so in many different ways. Those who preserve the nomadic way of life still live with their families in camps. There are those who opt for semi-nomadism by taking turns coexisting with their nomadic community and staying in urban centers.
The most common situation is that young people, either on their own initiative or on their parents’ advice, take advantage of their education, leave the camp, and seek specialized work.
Although many paths ultimately make physical separation inevitable, the nomads are people with a strong sense of family forged by sharing the harsh conditions they face in the desert.
A day of a Nomad family:
Everyone, including babies, wakes up with the first rays of the sun. The moment when the day begins is widely appreciated. The light at this moment is extraordinary, you can see all the colors of the world and hear the birds.
They drink the tea for an hour or two and explain what they have dreamed and how they prepare for the day. In the desert, everyone knows what to do.
Small children take care of the small animals while their mothers watch them and talk to them about Abaraï Baraï, a legendary animal that prevents children from scattering and wandering away. While the father will tell his son when he is about 8 years old, that Abaraï Baraï does not exist, his mother will tell him that Abaraï Baraï has gone to heaven and he must now respect heaven. At about this age, the father teaches the child to orientate himself by the stars, the wind, the dunes…
The men go looking for water and the women set up the tents and prepare the food.
Around 3:00 p.m., when the animals have already drunk and the family has water, everyone eats, and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. another magic moment begins. The tea is taken, the light is looked at, nothing is spoken, and one only listens to the bru, bru, bru of the tea.
The animals are collected around the shop, the milk is obtained from the goats or sheep, and the grandparents stay with the children and start telling stories.
The night approaches and the voice of the grandfather or grandmother can be heard in the background, and everyone goes to sleep because they rise with the sun.
Morocco’s nomadic tribes are gradually abandoning their traditional way of life in order to offer their children a formal education.
Many of the Moroccan nomadic communities living through Atlas Mountains, such as the tribe Ait Atta, are gradually changing their way of life from wandering herders to partial settlers – or what sociologists call a “sedentary way of life”.
Traditionally, the nomads do not receive formal education. In the last decade, however, there have been efforts to introduce so-called “tent schools” to equip their children for the modern world. But in order for them to attend school, their families have to stay in one place all year round. This could also mean that the children will eventually leave the traditional nomadic way of life of their parents.
“They told us that they would offer our children education if we settled in a certain place,” says Nomade Daoud Ariba.
Social activists like Ali El Amine are helpful in this adaptation. It was his idea to bring the tent schools to the region with the help of international agencies and the Moroccan government.
“Our goal is to see nomads at all levels of education, in college and even at university. We want them to receive diplomas and not stop at primary level and then return to cattle grazing,” says El Amine, who is also the president of Chems Association.
The association not only provides tents, but also acts as a link between the nomads and the local authorities.
“We try to integrate the children into charity groups and get financial support for them,” he says.
While the tent schools are a first step towards the settlement of the nomads, the remote locations of the schools, the harsh winters and the heavy rainfall pose a challenge for teachers and students.
“When I came here, I walked for two hours,” says teacher Abdallah al-Sahraoui. “The road conditions gave me an idea of the area,” says teacher Abdallah al-Sahraoui. The road was difficult with dangerous curves. I had to go up and slide down the mountain. I had to walk for two hours to reach the school.
The hard mountain terrain also harbours risks. Teenager Ittou lost her leg after suffering a snake bite in the middle of nowhere. “My father came running and I told him I had been bitten. He poured household bleach on the wound. But it did not work. He carried me on the back of a mule because there was no transport,” she says.
The nomads who settle down also need to learn new skills, such as basic building techniques.
“We were nomads who lived in tents, but now we have settled here,” says Mohamed Ait Trichet about Tidakline Nomads Association. “We are learning how to build. We make mud bricks to build our houses and other facilities”.
Change is underway for Ait Atta and there is hope that nomadic communities that have struggled below the poverty line will begin to create a more viable way of life.
For the nomadic tribes, education was undoubtedly the catalyst for change. Sedentarisation will take time, and not all nomads welcome change.
“I do not see any difference between nomadic and non- nomadic children in terms of their abilities and potential,” says the teacher Mohamed El Bakri. “But I see in their eyes a desire to learn and discover new things”.
Morocco is not a wealthy country, but it wants to modernise and give its people the best opportunities in life. But if the process of change continues in this way, these proud people and their children will truly be the last nomads of Morocco.
