The Boujloud Festival - Morocco's Halloween?

An unusual festival called Boujloud (sometimes "Bo Abatain") takes place in some areas of Morocco during the days following the celebration of Eid al-Adha. It involves individuals wearing the skins of rams, and roaming the neighbourhood streets, going from door to door asking for money or sheep and goat skins. Some say that to touch the skin being worn can bring good fortune. If it sounds familiar, then it is probably because it is an ancient echo of halloween.

But the festival is not without its critics because of a number of problems. Some critics claim that the Boujloud festival has no cultural value and that individuals use it as an excuse for anti-social behaviour. The critics say it has lost its heritage value and that being dressed in goat skins hides the person's identity and so they feel free to harass girls and demand money.

Researchers, however, say the custom is ancient and has its origins in Africa, inspired by the legends of a leather-clad monster that terrorised people in remote areas. It may also have reflected a tribal raiding party dressed in skins.

Some believe that lighting a fire in a house during Eid brings bad luck

Another custom associated with Boujloud is a prohibition on lighting a fire inside a house in order to cook the meat on the day of Eid. Some people insist that lighting a fire at Eid ruins the sanctity of the day, as does working. This belief is held by many in the south of the country where one researcher claims people are fearful of lighting a fire, believing that it will lead to their death.

But beliefs and superstitions aside, there are even more cogent reasons to question such celebrations. Each year the Eid celebration costs Morocco huge sums of money, almost 300 million dirhams, and also 1500 working days per year, due to poor handling of the skins animals sacrificed during Eid al-Adha.

According to experts from the Moroccan Leather Industry Association, on the one day of Eid the industry lost nearly four million sheep or goats skins out of an estimated five million - a loss of about 40 percent of Morocco 's skin consumption for clothing and footwear, in a single day. Something that could be avoided if people understood the importance of cleaning, salting and storing skins in the shade to avoid rotting.

"Heading the message" - Fes residents make certain the skins are ready for tanning

Such is the extent of the problem that a campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the importance of the skins from the sacrificial feast. The campaign has brought together not only leather industry specialists, but also veterinarians and imams from Morocco's mosques. As a result of the poor handling these skins, Morocco is forced to import around one billion dirhams  worth of leather annually from France and Italy.

Some Arabic language news sites report that the future of the ancient festival is "between a rock and a hard place" because of all the controversy.

While Boujloud is not celebrated in every area of Morocco it can be found in places such as Tiznit, Agadir and Amazigh regions in the south of the country and the Rif Mountains in the north. The festival is notable because of the participation of both males and females. In some area the festival has been turned into a local carnival lasting up to seven days and expanded to include concerts of folk music. This change has made Boujloud into a cultural event that highlights the Amazigh cultural heritage and attracts thousands of tourists who come specifically to see the "Carnival Boujloud ".

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In Fez, Community Service Benefits Everyone

Michael Kaplin reports on a new student initiative that allows American Language Center and ALIF students to get involved in activities that help the local Fez community.

Community Service Club President, Sohaima Lahmine, with residents from the Girls' Centre

Since its inception in March, the Community Service Club (CSC) members have organized weekly volunteer and cultural exchange opportunities for ALIF and ALC students living in Fez.

Angela Bryant, an American who has lived in Fez for the past 13 years, felt that bringing International and local students together through community service would provide an excellent cultural exchange opportunity, while also benefiting the local community. “We exist to serve our community,” she explained. “This is not just a Moroccan or International thing. We’re all in this together, and it’s really the students that run this.”

Angela Bryant chats to one of the residents at the Girls Centre

The CSC regularly visits a centre for people living with with physical disabilities, and a boys’ and girls’ center for orphans as well as the Centre for the Protection of Girls at Ziat. The students involved believe that their work has had a strong impact on the people they serve.

At the Centre for the Protection of Girls, Club member Yassine Rais explains, “These girls (at the Centre for the Protection of Girls) have been through a lot and life has been unfair to them. What we’re trying to do is talk to them and help them express themselves without shame or fear.”

Sohaima Lahmine, the Club’s President, thinks that part of the goal is to look beyond the faults of others by practising compassion towards those who are often judged harshly.

Another Moroccan student who has been involved with the CSC since its beginning, Youssef Roundi, believes that the group’s involvement in the centres has helped children create a sense of community. “We help them find out who they really are… We help them form a small community within the center, because many of them do not have a family.”

Last Ramadan, students helped several children in need of medical attention reach doctors, shared sunset meals with the girls, and joined them to celebrate a number of holidays traditionally spent with one’s family.

Naomi Munro-Lott, a student from Leeds University, shared her first experience volunteering, “Community service has provided me with a great opportunity to interact with Moroccan people – both the students we work with and the children we help.” Lauren Kalish, a student from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, echoed Naomi’s opinion, and admits that at first she felt a little uncomfortable. “However, I was quickly put at ease when the girls welcomed me with open arms.”

At recent meetings, members spoke about the possibility of starting more language and life-skills classes since many of the children are unable to attend school. “We teach them languages like English and Arabic, and other things that might help them in their future,” explained Radouan Rais, one of the founding members of the CSC.

ALIF and ALC students conduct English language classes at the Girls' Centre

On a recent Saturday, more than 40 students showed up to volunteer at the girls’ centre; about half of the students were Arabic-language students, many of whom had never volunteered with CSC before. Angela Bryant stated that those wishing to become involved are easily welcomed into the community. “It’s just a group of students – friends – that meet together, and we want everyone to get involved,” Angela said. There are now more than 400 followers on the club’s Facebook group.

In addition to community service projects, the CSC also has a number of cultural exchange initiatives, such as a book reading club and a language-exchange partnership, where an English-language student is paired with an Arabic-language student in order to help one another improve their communication skills. There are additional ideas in the making. “We’re trying to start out small now,” she explains. “We want to establish our initiatives well before we branch out and do more.”

Angela, like other members of the CSC, emphasizes the importance of more students getting involved. If you would like to participate, feel free to join the club’s Facebook page by searching for “Community Service Club – Operation Reach Out” or contact Angela Bryant at akbfez@yahoo.com

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More Yoga Classes in Fez - Community to Benefit

While there are now a number of yoga and exercise classes on offer in Fez, United States Peace Corps Volunteer, Samantha Matty, will be offering something different  - yoga classes at Café Clock in Fez with the proceeds going to assist to local community groups in need.

Classes will be held on Fridays and Sunday at 9.30 am. The cost per class is sixty dirhams (which includes an after class smoothie) and all proceeds from classes will support local organisations that work with vulnerable populations. At this stage the organisations to benefit are still being decided, but it is hoped that sufficient funds will be generated to do more than simply buy yoga mats for women in a women's shelter. There are many charities in Fez, such as the orphanage and the girls' home, that are in desperate need of assistance.

Ms Matty has over 10 years of experience in practicing various types of yoga as well as a Master of Social Work degree. Matty is interested in the relationship between yoga and the influence it has on one’s emotional and physical health. Samantha Matty strongly believes that yoga has benefits for everyone and that yoga should be accessible for all. She hopes to build a vibrant yoga community in Fez.

She will be teaching Vinyasa-style (connecting breath with movement) yoga that will be accessible for all levels. Classes will be taught using a variety of sequence of poses to free both the mind and body with an emphasis on strength, flexibility, and flow.

Call in to Cafe Clock for more details, or visit their site.

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Jmaa el Fna ~ The restaurant at the end of the world

Camel’s head, sheep’s testicle, calf’s feet and plenty of less exotic treats – all to be had at Marrakech’s famous open-air restaurant. Derek Workman reports.

In 2008, Paula Wolfert’s book, Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, won the Cookbook Hall Of Fame award, twenty-five years after its publication. At the time, Moroccan cuisine would probably have seemed pretty exotic. These days fancy food trucks and posh catering carts may be blocking the highways in Europe and the US, but Morocco’s biggest street food heaven hasn’t moved in a thousand years.

Jmaa el Fna, The Place of the Dead, The Mosque at the End of the World, North Africa’s most vibrant and exotic square, the ancient heart of Marrakech, where snake charmers, storytellers and acrobats entertain the passing crowds. By day the bustle of henna artists, potion sellers, fresh orange juice vendors and red-robed water sellers; by night the curling smoke of a hundred barbeques spirals over the largest open-air restaurant in the world.

When dusk falls, handcarts are wheeled into Jmaa el Fna and unfolded to reveal portable grills, tables, benches, pots and pans. While the mounds of food are prepared young men in long white coats work the crowds trying to convince you that the succulent dishes served at their stall are the absolutely top-notch best; “Deliah Smith created our menu”, “All our fish comes fresh from Sainsbury’s”. And Sainsbury’s would probably be proud of the fish the stalls served, dipped in flour seasoned with salt and saffron before being deep-fried in bubbling oil until crisp and golden.

There are stalls to fit every taste and pocket; a bowl of harira, a traditional rich tomato and lentil soup with beef or chicken, seasoned with ginger, pepper, and cinnamon, or b’sarra, white bean soup with olive oil and garlic; add a sandwich served in a khobz, a small, round flat loaf with the top nipped off to form a pocket, filled with freshly deep-fried slices of liver dribbled with a green chilli sauce, or a hand-full of merguez, thin spicy sausages, and you will be set up for a stroll around the souks. (Keep an eye open for the really esoteric mixture of merguez, hard-boiled egg and tuna fish.)

Kebabs shops appear on almost every street corner around the globe these days, but in Marrakech vendors snub the effete pressed meat served elsewhere in favour of slices of real lamb, glistening with dribbling fat, sprinkled with cumin and salt as the cook hands it over to you wrapped in a paper cone. Chicken with preserved lemons, delicately spiced with kasbour (fresh green coriander) and served with piquant olives; brochettes of lamb and liver, seasoned with red pepper and cumin, carefully grilled over charcoal, which spits and smokes as the luscious fats fall on to it; beef or lamb tajines, cooked with raisins, prunes and almonds, have their conical tops whisked off by the waiters, just as the lids of elegant silver salvers would be at the Savoy. (Although you may want to leave the tajine of sheep’s or calf’s feet and the sliced camel’s head to the locals to enjoy, and it would take a certain amount of culinary courage to sample a cooked sheep’s head or bowl of sheep’s testicles – cooked, of course.)

On the west side of the square, a row of chefs steam mounds of snails in battered enamel bowls. The menu is simple, snails or snails, but as the little gastropods served in a tantalising broth are a gastronomic institution in Morocco, it isn’t always easy to get a seat at these stalls. Apparently wonderful for the digestion, locals drain the broth after having their fill of the snails. (They also often carry a safety pin to wheedle the little devils out, but a toothpick is usually provided.)

Vegetarians might not savour their best gastronomic experience, but it can delicious. Hard-boiled eggs are chopped and mashed with potatoes, with the inevitable sprinkle of cumin, (served alongside salt and pepper on every stall). Bright vegetable salads, glistening piles of savoury chick peas spiked with fresh-ground black pepper or bowls of lentil stew cooked with finely chopped onion and garlic; fried aubergine with a hot green pepper served alongside a pile of fresh cut and fried potatoes, all washed down with a glaringly orange Fanta.

Young boys man-handle small handcarts or struggle with large wooden trays laden with glistening sweetmeats through the densely packed crowds. Delectable as the pastries may look, aren’t always that sweet. If your taste is for fruit for desert, try, carmose, prickly pear, and the vendor will carefully remove the skin for you.

For a simple wandering snack, strings of sfenj donuts are held together by a strip of leaf to make carrying easier. They are delicious with a coffee, and come either sweet (with egg beaten into the batter) or savoury. Also useful for a back-up snack on long journeys.

If you haven’t washed your meal down with a drink at the stall, a glass of fresh orange juice will be squeezed before your eyes at one of the many carts around the edge of the square. You might also find raisin, pistachio and pomegranate juice, which have a mysterious flavour of their own. The Technicolor yogurts sold in big glasses look more off-putting than delectable, but raib, a home-made yoghurt with a milkshake consistency, slides down the throat deliciously.

The beautiful chaos of the food stalls is entertainment in its own right, but when you have eaten your fill there is still the raucous street entertainment of Jmaa el Fna to keep you from your bed.

Photos and story: Derek Workman

Derek Workman is an English journalist and regular contributor to The View from Fez. At present he is living in Valencia City, Spain – although he admits to a love of Morocco and would love to up sticks and move here. To read more about life in Spain visit Spain Uncovered. Articles and books can also be found at Digital Paparazzi.

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Internet Outage @ The View from Fez

Regular readers will have noticed our spectacular silence over the last few days. This was caused by a telephone and Internet problem due to heavy rain. The Maroc Telecom technicians have returned to work today, after the Eid holiday and so we are now up and running again. So stay tuned!

Cheers
The Team @ The View from Fez


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November Dates to Remember in Morocco

The famous Green March

If you are visiting Morocco in November, then make a note of a couple of very important dates. This month, all Morocco commemorates two of the most significant dates in the country's history over the last century.

November 6th

On November 6, the day of the Green March is the anniversary of peaceful deployment in 1975 of 350,000 civilians who marched to recover the territory of Morocco's Western Sahara that had been previously occupied by Spain.

The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government. During this march 350,000 Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II to cross into Western Sahara. They brandished Moroccan flags, U.S.A. flags, Saudi Arabia flags & Jordan flags; banners calling for the “return of the Moroccan Sahara.” The color green for the march’s name was intended as a symbol of Islam. The Green March is considered an important symbol of Moroccan nationalism and liberation from colonialism.

November 18th

Another important date, November 18, 1955, the day the late king Mohammed V of Morocco announced to the people the end of the period of the French protectorate.

After the royal family returned to Morocco from exile in Madagascar on November 18, 1955, the late king Mohammed V announced the end of the French protectorate and the advent of the era of freedom and independence.

Moroccans have paid an expensive price for their independence that was gained after enormous sacrifices and a long struggle that left scores of martyrs. They managed to foil France's attempt in 1930 to impose the "Berber Dahir," that aimed to sow division between Arabs and Berbers, as well as the Spanish occupiers endeavor in 1946 to impose on inhabitants of Ait-Baamrane and the neighboring tribes the Spanish nationality to reinforce its colonizing power.

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