Ritual and belief in Morocco
WESTERMARCK Edward (2 vols.)
London, 1926
London, 1926
[…] The Berber word aghunja or aghenja means a ladle, and is given to the dressed-up pitch-fork because in the original Berber rite a ladle is used, owing to its connection with fluids.
The custom of using a ladle as a rain-charm is common among the various Berber groups. Among the Ayt Waryager in the Rif the women dress up a wooden ladle (aghenja) in women’s clothes and walk with it to the village mosque or some shrine, praying for rain. So also the At Ubaxti dress up a ladle as a woman and take it about to shrines, singing, Allah n-nu n-nu dllah n-nu n-nu, dllah ma fiha dû, allah n-nu c-carf, allah ngaddu lmgharef,a n-nu z-zelzala bac tàic l-hajjala, “God rain rain, God rain rain, God there is no light in it, God very much rain, God we shall burn the ladles (that is, give us so much rain that we cannot even go out and fetch fuel but have to burn our ladles), O thunder-shower, [fall] so that the widow shall remain alive”. Among the Ayt Sadden the women dress up a wooden ladle (aghenja) as a bride and tie it to a bamboo cane or some other stick, after which they carry it round to the shrines of the neighbourhood, singing, A Talghunja yasi uraw nnem s ignna, gher i rabbi, y anzar atkker tuga, “O Talghunja, raise the palms of your hands towards the sky, call to God, O rain may the grass grow”. Among the Ayt Yusi a bamboo cane is dressed up as a bride, with a ladle tied crossways on it to represent the arms. This puppet, called Tlghenja, is for a day or two taken about from village to village and shrine to shrine by women and children playing the tambourine (allun), singing, dancing, and clapping their hands, and, as has been said above, they receive alms at the places they visit. Among the Ayt Nder the women walk about in the village and perhaps go to neighbouring villages as well, with a large ladle dressed up as a bride, singing, Aghenja a bu rrja, a rbbi ucanagh anzar, “Ladle O master of hope, O God give us rain”. They also, as we have seen, receive alms, with which afterwards a feast is made. The Ayt Warayn give the name of taslit unzar, “the bride of the rain”, to the dressed-up ladle which, attached to a bamboo stick, is carried by the women to the cemetery of the village and neighbouring shrines. Among the Shluh the dressed-up ladle is equally common as a rain-charm. At Amzmiz it is the custom to throw it into a river, pond, or spring, after it has been carried about from one shrine to another with prayers for rain. At Demnat the people pour water over the boys who go from house to house with a ladle dressed up in cloth, and present them with flour. Among the Igliwa, when the ladle (aghenja), fastened to the end of a bamboo stick and with a piece of cloth tied to it like a flag[1], is taken to a shrine, the children pray, A Tlghunja a mu rrja, a rabbi awid anzar, “O Tlghunja, O mother of hope, O God give rain”. At Aglu a wooden ladle (aghunja) and a pot-stick (uffal) are together draped with the head-wrap (a’broq) of a woman who has never given birth to a child, the turban (rrzza) of a man who has never had more than one child, and the turban of another man who has never married. Fastened to the top of a bamboo stick, this puppet, called Blghunja, is carried from house to house by boys and women who pray for rain and who also, as has been already said, receive corn, figs, and other eatables, of which a woman blessed with a large family prepares a meal for the children. The bamboo cane with the ladle and pot-stick is, like the food-stuff, handed over to the woman, who, with a prayer for rain, places it on the roof of her house after she has loosened the married man’s turban; it is believed that if the wind makes the turban fly there will soon be rain, whereas in the opposite case the drought will continue. It should be added that the woman herself must have her hair uncovered and dishevelled, and that it is also regarded as a sign of rain if it flutters in the wind[2].
The custom of using a ladle as a rain-charm is found not only among the Berbers but among the Arabic-speaking people as well[3]. In the Gharbiya the women dress up a large wooden ladle as a woman and carry it to a siyid, singing, Aghunja têtlbt r-rja, isêbbâh a mulana b ccta, “Agunja asked for hope, make the morning rainy, O our lord”. In Dukkala the women likewise dress up a ladle as a woman or a bride, and take it about from tent to tent dancing and singing, Taghenja hallet rasha, ya rabbi tbell xrasha, “Taghenja has loosened her hair[4], O God mayest thou wet her ear-rings”. But they may also make use of an ordinary piece of wood instead of a ladle and carry this to a neighbouring shrine, where they place it in a standing position and dance and play round it singing as before. The same words are sung among the Mnasara when a dressed-up ladle is carried to a shrine for the purpose of obtaining rain. At Marrakech, when men, women, and boys walk without shoes to Sidi Bel ‘Abbas’ xalwa on the hill Giliz outside the town to pray for rain, a wooden ladle fastened to the top of a bamboo cane and decorated with a flag – the so-called Tenoghja – is carried in front of the procession. At Fez the women dress up a bamboo cane in female clothing, take it up to the roof of a house, and sing there, Ghanja Mnnana jib cta zrbana, “Ghanja Mennana, bring rain quickly”. Among the Tsul the women tie a ladle crossways on the handle of a shovel used for winnowing, dress them up as a woman, and walk with this puppet, which they call Manta, from shrine to shrine, taking it three times round each place, singing, A Manta lgrraba jib cta zerraba, nemci màak l lghaba, ma nsib fin nddêraq "O Manta the stranger[5], bring rain quickly, I shall go with you to the thicket, I shall find no place where to shelter myself”. In the same tribe women for a similar purpose go to a place where they cannot be seen by men and play there, in a state of complete nakedness, a game of ball called kura with wooden ladles. In this case, however, it seems that the rain-producing effect is ascribed not only to the ladles but to the game itself.
The dressed-up ladle is a widespread rain-charm in North Africa, and the Berber name given to it even among Arabic-speaking people may be taken as a mark of its origin. Dio Cassius testifies that magical rain-making was practised by the inhabitants of Libya[6]. According to some modern writers the puppet represents an ancient goddess – either a rain-goddess[7], or a personification of the earth conceived sometimes as the terra mater and sometimes as a bride who is doomed to sterility unless fecundated by the rain[8]. As to these conjectures it may be observed that the personification of a natural phenomenon does not necessarily imply deification; that the Berber word for a bride, taslit or tislit, is also used for a puppet[9]; and that effigies or dolls figure in the rain-charms of various peoples[10], for example the Arabs of Moab[11] and other inhabitants of the same neighbourhood[12]. In any case there can be no doubt that the use of a ladle as a rain-charm is due to its connection with fluids. The same connection has led to the belief that if an unmarried person eats food from a pipkin with a ladle, there will be rain at his or her wedding (Hiayna, Temsaman)[13]. On the other hand, if a person beats another with a ladle there will be no rain (Temsaman)[14]; in such a case the ladle is, contrary to its designation, used for a “dry” purpose.
The custom of using a ladle as a rain-charm is common among the various Berber groups. Among the Ayt Waryager in the Rif the women dress up a wooden ladle (aghenja) in women’s clothes and walk with it to the village mosque or some shrine, praying for rain. So also the At Ubaxti dress up a ladle as a woman and take it about to shrines, singing, Allah n-nu n-nu dllah n-nu n-nu, dllah ma fiha dû, allah n-nu c-carf, allah ngaddu lmgharef,a n-nu z-zelzala bac tàic l-hajjala, “God rain rain, God rain rain, God there is no light in it, God very much rain, God we shall burn the ladles (that is, give us so much rain that we cannot even go out and fetch fuel but have to burn our ladles), O thunder-shower, [fall] so that the widow shall remain alive”. Among the Ayt Sadden the women dress up a wooden ladle (aghenja) as a bride and tie it to a bamboo cane or some other stick, after which they carry it round to the shrines of the neighbourhood, singing, A Talghunja yasi uraw nnem s ignna, gher i rabbi, y anzar atkker tuga, “O Talghunja, raise the palms of your hands towards the sky, call to God, O rain may the grass grow”. Among the Ayt Yusi a bamboo cane is dressed up as a bride, with a ladle tied crossways on it to represent the arms. This puppet, called Tlghenja, is for a day or two taken about from village to village and shrine to shrine by women and children playing the tambourine (allun), singing, dancing, and clapping their hands, and, as has been said above, they receive alms at the places they visit. Among the Ayt Nder the women walk about in the village and perhaps go to neighbouring villages as well, with a large ladle dressed up as a bride, singing, Aghenja a bu rrja, a rbbi ucanagh anzar, “Ladle O master of hope, O God give us rain”. They also, as we have seen, receive alms, with which afterwards a feast is made. The Ayt Warayn give the name of taslit unzar, “the bride of the rain”, to the dressed-up ladle which, attached to a bamboo stick, is carried by the women to the cemetery of the village and neighbouring shrines. Among the Shluh the dressed-up ladle is equally common as a rain-charm. At Amzmiz it is the custom to throw it into a river, pond, or spring, after it has been carried about from one shrine to another with prayers for rain. At Demnat the people pour water over the boys who go from house to house with a ladle dressed up in cloth, and present them with flour. Among the Igliwa, when the ladle (aghenja), fastened to the end of a bamboo stick and with a piece of cloth tied to it like a flag[1], is taken to a shrine, the children pray, A Tlghunja a mu rrja, a rabbi awid anzar, “O Tlghunja, O mother of hope, O God give rain”. At Aglu a wooden ladle (aghunja) and a pot-stick (uffal) are together draped with the head-wrap (a’broq) of a woman who has never given birth to a child, the turban (rrzza) of a man who has never had more than one child, and the turban of another man who has never married. Fastened to the top of a bamboo stick, this puppet, called Blghunja, is carried from house to house by boys and women who pray for rain and who also, as has been already said, receive corn, figs, and other eatables, of which a woman blessed with a large family prepares a meal for the children. The bamboo cane with the ladle and pot-stick is, like the food-stuff, handed over to the woman, who, with a prayer for rain, places it on the roof of her house after she has loosened the married man’s turban; it is believed that if the wind makes the turban fly there will soon be rain, whereas in the opposite case the drought will continue. It should be added that the woman herself must have her hair uncovered and dishevelled, and that it is also regarded as a sign of rain if it flutters in the wind[2].
The custom of using a ladle as a rain-charm is found not only among the Berbers but among the Arabic-speaking people as well[3]. In the Gharbiya the women dress up a large wooden ladle as a woman and carry it to a siyid, singing, Aghunja têtlbt r-rja, isêbbâh a mulana b ccta, “Agunja asked for hope, make the morning rainy, O our lord”. In Dukkala the women likewise dress up a ladle as a woman or a bride, and take it about from tent to tent dancing and singing, Taghenja hallet rasha, ya rabbi tbell xrasha, “Taghenja has loosened her hair[4], O God mayest thou wet her ear-rings”. But they may also make use of an ordinary piece of wood instead of a ladle and carry this to a neighbouring shrine, where they place it in a standing position and dance and play round it singing as before. The same words are sung among the Mnasara when a dressed-up ladle is carried to a shrine for the purpose of obtaining rain. At Marrakech, when men, women, and boys walk without shoes to Sidi Bel ‘Abbas’ xalwa on the hill Giliz outside the town to pray for rain, a wooden ladle fastened to the top of a bamboo cane and decorated with a flag – the so-called Tenoghja – is carried in front of the procession. At Fez the women dress up a bamboo cane in female clothing, take it up to the roof of a house, and sing there, Ghanja Mnnana jib cta zrbana, “Ghanja Mennana, bring rain quickly”. Among the Tsul the women tie a ladle crossways on the handle of a shovel used for winnowing, dress them up as a woman, and walk with this puppet, which they call Manta, from shrine to shrine, taking it three times round each place, singing, A Manta lgrraba jib cta zerraba, nemci màak l lghaba, ma nsib fin nddêraq "O Manta the stranger[5], bring rain quickly, I shall go with you to the thicket, I shall find no place where to shelter myself”. In the same tribe women for a similar purpose go to a place where they cannot be seen by men and play there, in a state of complete nakedness, a game of ball called kura with wooden ladles. In this case, however, it seems that the rain-producing effect is ascribed not only to the ladles but to the game itself.
The dressed-up ladle is a widespread rain-charm in North Africa, and the Berber name given to it even among Arabic-speaking people may be taken as a mark of its origin. Dio Cassius testifies that magical rain-making was practised by the inhabitants of Libya[6]. According to some modern writers the puppet represents an ancient goddess – either a rain-goddess[7], or a personification of the earth conceived sometimes as the terra mater and sometimes as a bride who is doomed to sterility unless fecundated by the rain[8]. As to these conjectures it may be observed that the personification of a natural phenomenon does not necessarily imply deification; that the Berber word for a bride, taslit or tislit, is also used for a puppet[9]; and that effigies or dolls figure in the rain-charms of various peoples[10], for example the Arabs of Moab[11] and other inhabitants of the same neighbourhood[12]. In any case there can be no doubt that the use of a ladle as a rain-charm is due to its connection with fluids. The same connection has led to the belief that if an unmarried person eats food from a pipkin with a ladle, there will be rain at his or her wedding (Hiayna, Temsaman)[13]. On the other hand, if a person beats another with a ladle there will be no rain (Temsaman)[14]; in such a case the ladle is, contrary to its designation, used for a “dry” purpose.
- M. Laoust suggests that the frequent use of bamboo canes in the present connection is due to the fact that they particularly grow in humid places.
- Since the first publication of the above facts, in 1913, similar customs among various other Berber tribes have been mentioned by M. Laoust in his Mots et choses berberes, p. 204 sqq.
- M. Doutté (Marrakech, p. 383) mentions its occurrence in the Rahamna and M. Bel (loc. cit. pp. 64-67, 71, 85 sq.) in certain parts of Algeria.
- Notice the cases mentioned in this chapter in which the actual dishevelling of a woman’s hair serves as a rain-charm.
- I take l-gharraba to stand for l-ghriba so as to rhyme to zerraba and l-ghaba.
- Dio Cassius, Historia Romana, 1x. 9.
- This opinion has been expressed by M. Bel (loc. cit. p. 86 sq.) and M. van Gennep, (L’état actuel du problème totémique [Paris, 1920], p. 218n.). The existence of a Dea Caelestis maybe inferred from a fragment in Duris Samius (Historiae, 34; in Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, ed. by Müller, ii. [Parisiis, 1848], p. 478). In the Roman period this goddess appears under the title of Dea Nutrix (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. viii. Inscriptions Africae Latinae [Berolini, 1881-1904], no. 2664 ; cf. ibid. no. 8245) ; and it would seem that it was this goddess, in her Punicized form, whom Apuleius (Metamorphoses, xi. 5) characterises as “rerum naturae parens, elementorum omnium domina”. See Bates, The Eastern Libyans (London, 1914), p. 203.
- Laoust, op. cit. especially pp. 214, 226 sqq.
- Cf. ibid. p. 240 ; Herber, ‘Poupées marocaines’, in Les archives berbères, iii. (Paris, 1918), p. 68.
- Frazer, op. cit. i. 275 sq.
- Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes au pays de Moab (Paris, 1908), p. 326 sqq. Cf. Clermont-Ganneau, ‘Traditions arabes au pays de Moab’, in Journal Asiatigue, ser. x. vol. viii. (Paris, 1906), p. 365 sqq.
- Among the Greek Christians of Kerak in Palestine, whenever there is a drought, a winnowing-fork is dressed in women’s clothes and carried from house to house by girls and women singing doggerel songs (Curtiss, Primitive Semitic Religion Today [London, 1902], p. 114). In Syria, “wenn eine längere Trockenheit eintritt, so nimmt man zwei Stöcke, bindet dieselben kreuzweise zusammen und zieht ihnen die Kleider eines kleinen Kindes an. Diese Art Puppe, welche man schoschballi nennt, muss von einem Derwisch durch die ganze Stadt getragen werden. Eine Schaar Kinder folgt hinten nach, welche singen : schoschballi, schoschballi, wir gehen nicht weg, bevor wir nass geworden sind“ (Eijub Abela, ‚Beiträge zur Kenntniss abergläubischer Gebräuche in Syrien’, in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palistina-Vereins, vii. [Leipzig, 1884], p. 94).
- I have also heard that the same will happen if an unmarried person eats food directly from the pot in which it was cooked (Fez, Ayt Warayn, Ayt Waryagher).
- In other cases it is said that it is bad to beat a person with a ladle (Hiaina), or that if an unmarried person does so he or she will never marry (Ayt Nder).
