Marriage ceremonies in Morocco / by Edward Westermarck.

  • Westermarck, Edward, 1862-1939.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Marriage ceremonies in Morocco / by Edward Westermarck. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Shloh of the Great Atlas range ; and several months in Marrakesh and Mogador, where I employed Shloh as my teachers. During my stay in Fez and Sgfru and the excursions I made from the latter place to the surrounding tribe of the Ait Yusi, I had a good oppor- tunity to study the customs of Berbers belonging to the group of the Briber, of whom it has been justly said that they are the least known people in Northern Africa. In Morocco very many districts are absolutely inaccessible to any traveller who cannot disguise himself as a native, and to do this is of course impossible in the case of a prolonged stay. Even for my sojourn in Andjra, which was then in a disturbed state, my Lega- tion required of me a written statement to the effect that I went there entirely at my own risk. Yet the treatment I received there, as well as among other mountaineers and peasants not generally noted for friendliness towards Europeans, was invariably of the kindliest nature ; and for this credit is due to my Moorish friend Shereef Abd-es-Salam el-Baqqali, who has accompanied me on all my journeys in Morocco and rendered me invaluable assistance. But also with regard to tribes which I have not visited myself I have in every case got my information from natives of those tribes, with the exception of the statements relating to the Ait Nder, most of which were made by an old Berber from another tribe who for very many years had been a resident among them—as also of a few other statements, the unauthoritative character of which is expressly mentioned in the text.