Marriage in Taliouine Village

After the harvest ,when you have just sold your year's crop is a good time to hold a wedding. Noureddine Nidmoussa tells us about weddings in his home village. Taliouine is a good two hours from Taroudant so he has to board to attend the High School. He wrote this in the first year of his Bac studies

Every community in the world is characterised by its own traditions, customs ,and its own style of life.  Hence comes my eagerness to write about one of the most exciting topics. It is marriage in my native village of  Taliouine (almost 120 kms away from Taroudant).  Taliouine is a small tribe in the South of Morroco.  It is located between Taroudant and Ouarzazate city.  The inhabitants of Taliouine are Berbers « Imazighen ».  Their main occupation is to farming.

     Once a visitor to the village of Taliouine attends its marriages, he will certainly detect some differences and resemblances. For instance, each individual looks forward to an ideal couple so as to build up a positive society. Therefore, several moral principles should characterise the woman to be apt for marriage. They are generally of Honour, Modesty, and Virginity. As to the man, they are of Manhood and Loyalty to his family.

A. Honour :

     Women strongly pay attention to their own behaviour in order not to break down the institution of Honour. The parents from the very beginning of their daughters’ upbringing insist on teaching them the religious principles of Qurran for a considerable way. Basically, mothers show them how to cook and to wear clothes according to special conventions that must be respected. They also insist on the shawl over their heads and not to be unveiled in the presence of strangers or even their fathers.  Thus, the girls grow up with an engrained idea of Honour in their minds.

B. Modesty :

     Modesty means to get nervous or embarassed about meeting and speaking to other people. In the very past days, the visitor to an Amazigh tribe, in general, and to Taliouine, in particular, will be struck by a very special sight totally amazing : a world full of men and boys with the apparent absence of the other gender from the social life. Girls had better consider their homes as their kingdoms to enjoy and to prepare meals to their husbands.Therefore, it is shame on the virgin girl to be seen outdoors all the time.

This will be against her if someone happens to ask for her marriage.

C. Virginity :
     Those two traits already mentioned and that characterise the Amazigh girl lead her to be virgin.   This makes her wanted by respected families.  It is, then, a sign of pride to her family and the one of her would-be groom.

D. Manhood :

     Manhood means the ability to look for a source to provide for the needs of his family and keep up with the standard level of living. So, a good man is the one who stays outdoors working all the time from morning till evening.

E. Loyalty and faithfulness :

     Once the young man gets engaged with a girl he has chosen, in most cases parents are the ones who choose for their son.  He is consciously thrown to a world of restrictions in the sense that he must keep himself close to his wife as well as his parents.

     Having an agreement between the two families, then, they arrange celebrations that accompany the marriage ceremony. The two families happily prepare for the wedding day.  The first day is usually for the « talba » men who have learnt the Quraan   (the Muslim holy book) by heart and know about islamic teachings.  They are invited to read and recite chapters from the Quraan.  The family deliberately begins their celebrations as a good omen for the couple to live under islamic education .

     Around three o’clock in the afternoon, women of the whole village come usually in groups.  They sing beautiful songs until they reach the bride’s house.  This latter’s mother is the first one who should welcome them before anyone else and sprays them with sweet perfume as is the custom at all important events.  Then, they sit around  a large plate of crops which they winnow  while singing beautiful songs until food is served. 

 Next, various meals of tagines and couscous are ready to be eaten.  After, all the women prepare themselves for a short march to the « laain » fountain: a natural source of water situated outside the village.  They walk and sing poetry.  When they reach it, they throw away the chaff from the cereal.

     After two days, the most important event happens the day when the groom finally meets the bride and they retire to a  room to consumate the marriage.

     Then comes a day for men who celebrate in their turn but somehow different from women because they usually stay calm,are less noisy and when they talk it is usually about some business matter. 
In the end, they play « Ahwach » dance in the night. This dance is attended by all the inhabitants of the village, both men and women.

Finally, a woman close to the bride and bridegroom announces the success of the wedding by displaying the bridal sheet. Then, everybody is happy and  return to their houses.

     All in all, marriage in the South of Morocco and in my native village in particular is full of excitement and symbols that reflect the local culture.

Noureddine had some wonderful pictures to accompany his work but I have not been able to copy them and have borrowed images from the net.