September 4, 2007
Professor of Anthropology Robert Moore Traveled to Morocco in January 2007
Last January, I was fortunate enough to participate in our “Morocco for the Professors” trip, an experience that included both lectures by Moroccan experts and visits to the homes of ordinary citizens of that country. Having never traveled to North Africa or to any Muslim country before, I was ready to learn a great deal during my trip, and I did. As an anthropologist who has done field work in Mexico, in Colonial Hong Kong and in the People’s Republic of China, I appreciate the educational bonus to be gained from visiting a place, a bonus that can’t be matched by reading alone. Of course an additional bonus was the simple pleasure of meeting some of the people of Morocco, a people who showed themselves to be extremely hospitable and warm.
One thing new to me was the distinction between the old cities and the new ones in some of the urban centers like Rabat and Fes. The Moroccan’s identify the new cities, or “nouvelles villes,” with the era of French colonial rule and these districts are characterized by sprawling avenues lined with high-rise buildings. These modern districts stand in stark contrast to the old cities or “medinas,” with their ancient, crowded, two- and three-story buildings. These old cities offer only limited access, if not with real walls, then with virtual walls in the form of closely packed buildings. Motor vehicles aren’t allowed in the medinas, so everything delivered to the narrow passageways in these quarters is carried by humans or on the backs of donkeys or other “beasts of burden.” These medinas are favorite destinations for people looking for work in traditional craftsmanship or locally grown food. In addition to their rustic appeal, these old cities offer something of a history lesson with political ramifications–a lesson concerning tradition, modernity, colonialism and the ways in which a contemporary nation must work to come to terms with the conflicting values it represents.
Morocco is a more geographically and ethnically diverse country than I realized before my visit. The entire nation is, to an extent, composed of east-to-west bands of climate and vegetation. In the north, near the Mediterranean, the climate is similar to that of Spain or Italy. But as you travel southward, you encounter one mountain range after another. Each intervening valley area seems more arid than the last, until finally you find yourself at the edge of the Sahara.
Our group spent a night in a campsite designed to show outsiders a little bit about traditional life in the Sahara. Though from one perspective, such a ready-made campsite may seem like a Moroccan version of a dude ranch, in fact the experience was enlightening in a number of ways. For one thing, it was apparent that educational tourism is becoming an important part of the life-way of the Sahara-dwelling “Berbers” or, as we were instructed, the people more correctly known as Amazighi. Of course, the simple experience of spending time in woolen tents, going for a little desert ride on camelback and enjoying the foods that the local people have long subsisted on (including the surprisingly delicious “sand bread”) was a great lesson in itself, despite the modifications that had been made in our camp to accommodate foreign visitors.
One of our Amazighi hosts offered to answer questions about life in the Sahara from the 1950s and 60s, before most of the effects of modernization had taken hold in this remote part of Morocco. We did have a lot of questions and his answers offered an unforgettable first-hand lesson about a now-vanished way of life. One particular point that he made has provoked a lot of thinking on my part since that conversation. When I asked him which way of life he preferred, the old, nomadic one or the new one in which his work is not physically demanding, but which depends on the moneyed economy, he said he preferred the old way.
This in itself didn’t surprise me, since we typically like what we knew as children, but when I asked him why, his answer was not what I had expected. He shared that what he liked best about the old way was that men showed they were men by their handling of animals. This required strength, courage and skill, but it was a great way for a young man to demonstrate who he was and what he was made of. And the women showed their worth by their modesty and their management of the home. His emphasis on what was special about the old way of life rested mainly on the definition of gender, on what was best about being a man and being a woman. This I didn’t expect, and it has colored my view of tradition and provoked me into asking similar questions in my work in China and other societies where tradition plays an important role.
Much of what I learned, only a small portion of which I can present here, has stayed with me, and will certainly color the way I teach my anthropology courses. I expected the Morocco trip to be both interesting and educational, and in both of these regards it exceeded my expectations.
- Robert Moore
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