Environmental Transmission by the Mountain Dwellers: Case of the Moroccan Middle-Atlas Women

Fatima-Zohra Iflahen; Fatima Ez-zahra  Benkhallouq

doi:10.21834/ebpj.v7i22.4178

Authors

Fatima-Zohra Iflahen English Studies, FLSH, Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco
Fatima Ez-zahra Benkhallouq Applied Languages to culture, FLAM, Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i22.4178

Keywords:

Environment, Local, Transmission, Amazigh-women

Abstract

The role of indigenous people in the preservation and transmission of local knowhow and wisdom is well documented. In its different aspects, storytelling is the most important form of expression reflecting the essence of the Amazigh (native) population in the Middle Atlas. Amazigh storytelling displays several social indicators and modes of capturing the world and its resources, crystallizing representations that highlight a shared culture transmitted from one generation to another. Spoken language is an omnipresent instrument for concluding acts, establishing pacts, and preserving natural heritage through the likes of proverbs, tales, myths, focusing on central societal activities such as: harvesting, plowing, threshing, sheep mowing, wool work, milk processing, weaving, wedding ceremonies, etc. Amazigh women more often than not tend to act as the living repositories of this culture. Their strong ties with their close environment, the sustainability knowledge that they pass from one generation to another, and their strong resilience capacity has been observed, studied, and recognized in other environments. Based on conversations, life stories, and testimonies of men and women, and observation of different practices and rituals led by women, we managed to closely examine a feminine faunal and floral knowledge and showcase this homogeneous and solid structure labeled "woman knowledge". This article thus aims to report the transmission within this environment and the role of Amazigh women in the sustainability of local knowledge.

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