Rain ceremonies at Imi n Tala (High Atlas, Morocco)

              Almogaren XXXI / 2000 Wien2000
Harry Stroomer
Rain ceremonies1 at lmi n Tala
(High Atlas, Morocco)
Summary:
125 - 132
The author presents two Tashelhiyt Berber texts from the collection of F.
Corjon, the first one dealing with rain ceremonies in Imi n Tala, a village in
the High Atlas (Morocco), the second one dealing, among others, with a rock
drawing of a jackal in the same village. The author discusses briefly some
"non-islamic" features in these texts and speculates about the possible relation
of these features.
Zusammenfassung:
Der Autor prisentiert zwei Texte der Taschelhit-Berber aus der Sammlung
von F. Corjon; der erste handelt von Bittzeremonien fiir Regen in Imi n Tala,
einem Dorf im Hohen Atlas (Marokko), der zweite handelt u.a. von einem
Felsbild eines Schakals im gleichen Ort. Der Verfasser diskutiert kurz einige
"nicht-islamische" Elemente in diesen Texten und spekuliert iiber ihre mog­lichen
Zusammenhinge.
Sumario:
El autor presenta dos textos bereberes (en silha) de la colecci6n de F. Corjon.
El primero trata sobre !as ceremonias de lluvia en el caserio de Imi n Tala
(Marruecos). El segundo trata, entre otras cosas, sobre un grabado rupestre
de un chacal situado en el mismo caserio. El autor discute en breve sobre
unos elementos "no-islamicos" en estos textos y especula sobre posibles
relaciones.
1) Introduction
The village of Imi n Tala is situated in the Anougoual valley (Tashelhiyt
Berber: Angg"af) approximately 20 km south of Amizmiz, a small town 65
km south of Marrakech. Before entering Imi n Tala village, one passes by a
cistern, where the water from the Imi n Tala well is stored2
• At this point two
steep mountain sides form a gorge that opens up into the Anougoual valley.
1 Rain ceremonies in berberophone Morocco have been studied by some anthropologists.
The best introductions to this topic are still Laoust 1920: 204-255 and Westermarck 1926
ii: 254-282.
2 Three meters above this well one can find the name of an ancient French "chef de bureau",
M Duffaug in red paint and a date: 16-1-26.
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The well is at the bottom of that gorge, giving its water to the Amizmiz river
that flows through the Anougoual valley. The toponym Imi n Tala meaning
"mouth, access to the valley" in Tashelhiyt Berber is well chosen indeed.
I visited Imi n Tala on the 7th of March 1996, primarily to see the well
and to find a prehistoric rock drawing. Both well and drawing were mentioned
in the papers of a certain F. Corjon, who collected Berber texts in the Moroccan
colonial period, probably in the late thirties and early forties of the twentieth
century. Corjon was appointed of.icier des affaires indigenes at Amizmiz. He
collected Berber stories, poetry and ethnographical texts about the Amizmiz
region in order to obtain a degree as a translator. I found his memoire papers
back in the archives of the well known berberologist Arsene Roux, who acted
as Corjon's tutor3
• I studied Corjon's materials, all in all some thirty Berber
texts, in order to use them as a basis for a Tashelhiyt Berber text edition.
The purpose of this article is to discuss briefly some features in two Corjon
texts concerning Imi n Tala, features that may be labelled "non-islamic". As I
do not have any evidence about the time-depth of them, I refrain from calling
them "pre-islamic" or "archaic". Yet they may be of interest to students of
early history or prehistory.
When I discussed these features in the Corjon texts with the people of
Amizmiz and Imi n Tala in March 1996, it became clear that all of them are
still known today.
2) Two texts concerning Imi n Tala
I adapted the Tashelhiyt Berber texts of Corjon to modem linguistic and
modem berberological standards. The texts are given in a transcription that
basically follows the conventions adopted by Lionel Galand and Paulette
Galand-Pemet.
Text 1
Iggi n ddsr Imi n Tala illa gis yan ujarif a?ggway, y ddaw ujarif ann illa yan
lein mqqurn. f'inn a y d iffuy wasif n Um?mi?. S waman ann a s a sswan
timadayin d talq􀁛􅭩in n tyzut. ly tlla tayart, ar qqrsn ayt Imi n Tala i yan ubukir
i9lan y tama n ldn. Ar srs skam lmeruf, ar t ttfrraqn i lmsakin, fad ay yili
un?ar. Ar ttawint tmyarin yat tkurt, ar tt sgalnt y lein. Ar attunt f snat rrbaye,
ar srusnt takurt y tU??Umt. Ar kkatnt takurt 11i s i9am. Yat rrbiet ar tet}:lay
3 After his death in 1973, Arsene Roux left his archives to the Institut des recherches et
eludes du monde arabe et musulman (JREMAM) at Aix-en-Provence. I thank Madame
Claude Brenier-Estrine for her warm interest in my research and her kind cooperation
during my stays in the Roux archives.
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takurt a stt inn tsitti zy lEin, ima nbiEt ya<;lnin ar tt id ttrra s lEin, ar kiy nn gis
t<;lr. Ar ttbddadnt tmyarin y tama n ldn, ar attunt i il)smiyn tirufin d tum?in, ar
ttinint:
Ya 􀁖􅙢bbi, fk ay an?ar,
fk ay an?ar bla i?illi<;l,
fk ay an?ar bla tamzawuyt.
ly iwin waman takurt y yan <;l<;lur, ar ttinin mddn: Ira ay yili un?ar, ard ingi
wasif. Imil, iy tt s<;lwwmt tmjwiwsin y lEin ar kiy tmatl tkurt, ar ttinin: Ira ay
yili yir imikk n ursis.
Iy ur illi un?ar ar skarn krnmus. Ar ttawint tmyarin d tEzriyin yan izikr igan
ljdid zy zzawit n Ayt Tasaft. Ar attunt f snat nbayE, kaygat 􀁗􅜀􀁗􅝦f n tmyarin ar
ittam? ixf n izikr. Ar lddint, ard bbint izikr. Ar ttamt tmyarin. Ti nna <;lrnin
}:lssmnt, asku ur darsnt ssrawl. Ima irgazn lli }:la<;lmin, ar <;l􀁗􅜀􀁗􅝡an. Iy ur ibbi izikr,
ar ttinin: Ira a imatl un?ar nyd ur ra yili. Wayni ar nn ttuxxam i}:lsmiyn s trksa,
ar ttbbin izikr s Imus i kullu tmyarin, ar nn ttarnt s tywrdin. Mn baEd ar ttawint
izikr s tnutfi n ssrfa, grnt t inn gis. Ar tt}:lwasnt y tama n tnutfi. Lliy ikmml
u}:lwas, ar sfat}:lant, ar ttinint:
Ad d yawi 􀁖􅙢bbi an?ar,
ad d yall 􀁖􅙢bbi asggwas,
a ikmml 􀁖􅙢bbi f iflla}:ln.
ly d ingi wasif, yawi timadayin, ar ttawi yat tEzriyt kra<;l iznzar n tasaft s
tm?law, ar tn tgr y lEin n Imi n Tala, fad a nn ibbi un?ar, ard iq􀁗􅝲r wasif.
r Um?mi, iy iggut un?ar, ar akkw isxsr lyllt, yat tgigilt tyli f iggi n fi}:lina,
tqllb lmri s ignwan, tass lqtib fwazzar nns, tgr iyd n tbnayut s wa<;lu n un?ar.
Translation
Above the village of Imi n Tala there is a red coloured rock, at the bottom
of which there is a big well. It is from there that the Amizmiz river rises. With
it's water people irrigate their plots on the riverbank and the vegetable gardens
of the valley. When there is a drought, the villagers of Imi n Tala slaughter a
black billy-goat beside the well. With the meat of it they arrange a meal (JDlf,ruf)
and distribute its meat among the poor, in order to get rain. Women bring a
ball (made of rags of clothes) and throw it into the well. They divide them­selves
in two groups, they place the ball in the middle. They hit this ball with
their feet: one group pushes the ball removing it from the well, the other group
strives to get the ball towards the well until it falls in. Then women, standing
near to the well, start to distribute maize grains and roasted barley to children
saying:
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0 God, give us rain,
give us rain but no tornados
give us rain but no gales.
If the water carries the ball away at once, people say: there will be rain and
the river bed will be flooded. However, if small whirlpools make the ball turn
in the well so that it is slow (i.e. it is not taken away by the current immediately)
people say: there will be only a drizzle rain.
If it does not rain at all, they practice a ceremony called keramush. Women
and girls bring a newly made rope from the zawiya of Ayt Tasaft. They divide
themselves in two groups, each row of women taking an end of the rope. They
start to pull, until they actually break the rope. Then the women fall down
(backwards). Those who fall down, feel shame, because they don't wear
trousers. As for the men in their presence, they laugh. If the rope does not
break, they say: There will be rain very late or no rain at all. But (usually) boys
come near, acting innocently, and cut the rope with a knife for the women,
who will fall backwards. After this, they take a rope to the water reservoir of
the sharifs and throw it into the water. After a ritual al;was dance they pray,
hands raised, saying:
May God bring rain,
and a prosperous year,
may God accomplish (the works of) the farmers.
If abundant rains makes the river overflow, carrying away the small fields
rounded by little walls of stones, a virgin will take three burning branches of
oak wood and throw them into the well oflmi n Tala in order to stop the rain
and the flooding.
When, in Amizmiz, continuous rains threaten to destroy the harvest, an
orphan girl climbs up to the terrace, she reflects the sun in a mirror, wearing a
shawl attached to her hair; she throws some of the ashes, left over from the
Achoura bonfire, in the direction of the west.
Text2
Ar ttinin mddn, tamazirt n Unggwal zzman zdyn gis Irumiyn. Bnan ddsur
mqqurnin s ifrirn srmnin. Yan zy ifrirn ann, mraw n isrdan ur 􀁍􄴼<;lam at t asin.
Ar ttinin, Irumiyn a i􀁍􄴀􀁍􄵡an taqqayin y tlatin n udrar, wahli ur ta ilul nnbi. Tasga
n Imi n Tala iqama gis lhdm n yan ddsr bnan t Irumiyn. Llan gis i􀁍􄵲ran mqqu­rnin
y lmakan ann, kraygat yan y i􀁍􄵲ran ann ittyanjar. Ar ttinin yan lknz intl
gis, wayni gabln t ljnun, iga Hun nnsn zund lEfiyt. Wuy lli zrinin y yi<;l, ar
ttinin is Hant tm􀁍􄵬liwin y ngr ifrirn; iy Hant tillas, ar tt]:iwasn ljnun n Imi n Tala.
r iggi n yan ujarif tlla yat tt􀁎􄹷wira n wussn, 􀁎􄹷wwrn t Irumiyn, uran ddawas
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l}:iruf, wayni }:itta yan ur tn issn. Llant amaka n tirra zund ytinn y tmazirt n
Isksawn y udrar illan iggi n Lalla Lziza.
Ufan ibudrarn amaka n tm<;llin y Imi n Tala, y Unggwal, y Tgidar n Ayt
I:Imd, tama n Inmuyas. Tim<;llin ann yzzifnt, drant f ti n imuslmn. Ism<;lal ann
ttwidalnt s ifrirn usrnnin, ur ssqwblnt zund ti n imuslmn. Ufan gisnt ddgg n
wanas d 􀁍􄴀􀁍􄵲ruf, ur gin zund wi n yila.
Translation
They say that once the Anougoual region was inhabited by frumiyn. They
built big villages out of enormous cut rocks. Ten donkeys could not move one
of these stones. They think that the frumiyn planted nut trees in the valleys of
the mountain a long time ago, long before the birth of the prophet (Muham­mad).
Beside Imi n Tala one still finds the ruins of one of these villages of
which the construction is attributed to the irumiyn. At this place there are big
stones, each of them has been quarried (lit.: cut). People say that there is a
hidden treasure there, but that it is guarded by fire-coloured djinns. Those
who pass (this place) during the night say that there are flames between the
stones and that the djinns of Imi n Tala dance the aiJwas in the dark.
On one rock there is a drawing of a jackal, made by the frumiyn and above
it they wrote some characters that nobody knows. There is a considerable
number of similar inscriptions in the Seksawa region in the mountains above
the sanctuary of Lalla Aziza.
The Berber mountain dwellers found many graves at Imi n Tala, at Anou­goual
and at Tiguidar of the Ait Hamd, near Inmoughas. These graves are
longer and deeper than those of Muslims. They are covered by large slabs of
stone, their orientation is not according to Muslim prescriptions. Jewels and
bronze money have been found there; these jewels and money are unlike those
of today.
3) Non-islamic features in these texts
Let us have a closer look to these texts and discuss briefly some of their
non-islamic features. As for text 1:
a) The slaughtering of a black billy goat takes place next to the Imi n Tala
well, a crucial water supply for the gardens and fields of this region. The
slaughtering itself seems to be an expiation, a sacrifice to please some
atmospherical being, a god, a djinn, responsable for rain and perhaps thought
to be living in this well. Distribution of food among the poor is well known
in the anthropological literature and corroborates the idea of the sacrifice
being an expiatory activity.
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b) Augury by means of a rag ball (cf. Laoust 1920: 242) may point also to the
fact that the people place their destiny in the hands of the god in the well,
the rain god, the water god. His/her will or decision is expressed by the
current of the water in the well.
c) Distribution of delicacies by women to children can be interpreted in a way
similar to distribution of food to the poor.
d ) Rope-pulling Ubbad JfJbal) in the case of extreme drought4 is a ceremony
given by Laoust (1920: 242, 244) and Westermarck (1926 ii: 2). Amahan
gives a recent account of it (Amahan 1983: 91 ). The element of combat of
old versus young women may reflect the atmospherical battle between the
decayed and the fresh, between stand-still and growth, between barrenness
and fertility.
The breaking of the rope seems to be the key moment in this ceremony, the
moment everyone is waiting for. It can be seen as a symbol of a turning
point in an atmospherical situation.
e) One of the most intriguing features of this text is its statement about the
exposure of female pudenda after the rope was broken. Laoust says: "La
maniere dont le rite est rapporte semblerait indiquer que !'exposition des
organes genitaux constitue, dans ce cas, l'element essentiel de la ceremonie,
a cause d'une association d'idees plus aisee a deviner qu'a traduire" (Laoust
1920: 244). Westermarck reports in similar phrases: "The manner in which
this procedure was described almost made it appear to me as if the exposure
of the urinary organs of the women formed an essential feature of the rite,
owing to an association of ideas already familiar to us." (Westermarck
1926ii: 271, 27 2). Innocent boys (in other reports: men, Westermarck 1926ii:
271 ) help to break the rope provoking the exposition of the female pudenda.
Both Laoust and Westermarck describe a variant situation in the case of the
Middle Atlas tribe Ay t Warayn, where two or four naked women, in a place,
hidden from the sight of men, play a kind of hockey (Laoust 1920: 243;
Westermarck 1926 ii: 27 0 ). The feature of rope pulling followed by the
showing of pudenda may refer to fertility, to capacity of reproduction. The
act of showing itself may also be interpreted as an invitation to copulation.
f) Bying the rope at a zawiya, implies that it contains a blessing (baraka) of
the founder of the zawiya. Throwing the rope back into the cistern of the
zawiya can be seen as a final gesture of honour to its founder. These ele­ments
were probably introduced to make the rites acceptable for Muslims.
4 Note that the text does not mention the talywnja ceremonies, well known and wide spread
in North Africa. It is basically a ceremony around a dressed laddie that is taken outside
the village in order to provoke rain (Laoust 1920: 204 f; Westermarck 1926 ii: 266).
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g) For rites against too much rain see Laoust 1920: 247 and Westermarck
1926ii: 274-279. One fights water with its opposite: fire. The fire is symbo­lized
by burning oak branches, ashes of the Achoura bonfire (the latter also
implying a baraka from the Achoura). A mirror, like other shiny objects
such as a brass pestle or a looking-glass, can be seen as charms to stop the
rain (see also Westermarck 1926 ii: 275).
As for text 2:
a) Note that the word a[lmiy, pl. fmmiyn, derived from rum "Rome", means
"Westerners, Europeans, French, Christians". Here it seems to mean "non­Berbers,
unknown outsiders".
b) The alJwas dance performed by the djinns (ljnun) is still known by the Imi
n Tala village people. Westermarck reports Imi n Tala being haunted by
djinns (Westermarck 1926 i: 291 ).
c) The report of the rockdrawing of a jackal is important. Villagers have guided
me to this drawing in a cave, only to be seen from a very small ridge on a
steep mountain side. One arrives at this ridge after a jump of 2.5 meters
over a deep chasm. The inscription reported in this text, undoubtedly of the
kind found elsewhere in the High Atlas, was not visible to me.
According to Corjon the neolithic traces abound in the Ougdemt and Erdouz
area and other high valleys of the Oued Amizmiz and the Asif n Lmal. On
High Atlas rock drawings, cf. Rodrigue 1997 et 1999.
4) A connection between the well and the jackal drawing ?
W hat is perhaps important too - I realize it is my interpretation and perhaps
I push it too far - is the fact that the jackal drawing is only some 200 meters
from the well, which made me speculate about a possible link between the
ceremonies around the well and the jackal drawing:
a) Is it possible that the being, the god at the well was in fact the jackal drawn
in this cave?
b) Was the jackal once a god responsable for rain and water supplies?
c) Is the exposure offemale pudenda at the well an invitation to the god in the
well, to the jackal god, to copulate in order to obtain fertility?
d ) Do the Tachelhiyt Berber expressions for "rainbow", describing an atmo­spherical
situation after rain, constitute linguistics evidence for these
speculations?
tislit n un.;mr (lit.: the bride of rain),
tislit n waman (lit.: the bride of the water),
tamyra n wussn (lit.: the marriage of the jackal)
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e) Are the women who expose their pudenda in the keramush ceremony the
ritual brides of the jackal, the god of rain and fertility?
5) A final remark
Text features such as the ones discussed above may constitute parts of an
interpretive context for scholars in prehistoric sciences. Of course the highly
speculative nature of this discussion should be kept in mind. On the other
hand, it is quite understandable that elements in rain ceremonies may be old
and survive in a region where drought threatens humans and crops constantly.
6) Bibliography
Amahan, Ali (1983): Abadou de Ghoujdama, Haut-Atlas marocain, etude socio­linguistique
I Peuplement et vie quotidienne Jans un village du Haut-Atlas
marocain, Abadou de Ghoujdama, etude socio-Jinguistique.- preface de
Paulette Galand-Pernet, Supplement 11 des Comptes rendus du Groupe
Linguistique d'Etudes Chamito-Semitiques (G.L.E.C.S.), Paris 1983
Laoust, Emile (1920): Mots et chases berberes.- Paris, 1920, 531 p.
Rodrigue, Alain (1997): Bibliographie de ]'art rupestre du Sud marocain. - BCSP
(Bolletino del Centro Camuno du studi preistorici) 3 0/1997, Capo di Ponte
(Brescia), p. 67-72.
Rodrigue, Alain (1999): L 'art rupestre du Haut Atlas marocain.- L'Harmattan,
Paris 1999
Stroomer, Harry (forthc.): Dictionnaire Tachelhiyt-Fram;ais
Westermarck, Edward (1926): Ritual and Belief in Morocco.- 2 vols., London,
1926 (reproduced by University Books 1968 )
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