THE BERBERS AND THEIR HABITAT IN MOROCCO
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| Tighremt Aït Baba near Skoura (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Assarag is a photographic project about Berber culture and habitat in Morocco. In Tachelhit, the southern Berber language, assarag indicates the central place in the village where people meet for major events. It is also the core of the house where family life takes place. Assarag thus represents the two principal aspects of this documentary: the context and the social organization of Berber society in rural Morocco. The major source of inspiration for this work was the essay ‘La maison Kabyle’ by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. He focused on the relation between the house and its ideological and symbolic significance. My own experience in Morocco equally convinced me that social organization in Berber society at any given time or place has always been expressed through a collective creativity which shapes their habitat. Whether it concerns the tents of the semi-nomads of the Middle Atlas, a village in the High Atlas, or a ksar (fortified village) in the valley of the Drâa, the intimate relationship between the surroundings and the human settlement is always a testimony to the refined social organization of Berber society. It is these testimonies that I am documenting in seven rural Berber communities in Morocco.
The Berbers, an underappreciated culture
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| Timkatti, Idzdo family (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Despite the fact that Berber culture is one of the major and most ancient foundations of North Africa, it remains neglected abroad. Since the nineteen sixties Europe has received millions of Berbers, mostly from Morocco and Algeria, without having any knowledge of their specific cultural identity. Numerous Europeans and North Americans enjoy the legendary Berber hospitality, craftsmanship, and music during their holidays. However, they are often uninformed of how these Berbers live in their native communities. Most popular publications about Berbers and Berber culture limit themselves to an idyllic image of kasbahs (fortified dwellings), dancing girls, camels and palm oases. With this project I hope to adjust this representation and show the complex social reality of traditional Berber settlements and their inhabitants.
Morocco, the heartland of Berber culture
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| Ksar Tissergate, interior (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
This project is focused on Morocco because it harbors the largest Berber populations of Northern Africa. Although Morocco never had a census taken along ethno linguistic lines, it is commonly agreed that about 40 percent of the population consists of Berber speakers. The large majority (about 90 percent) of Moroccan migrants in Europe has Berber roots. Moreover, in Morocco Berber culture has flourished incomparably. Throughout history the Berber kingdoms of Marrakech have deeply influenced Western culture. Especially in Spain and Portugal their intellectual and cultural heritage is still very prominent. One of the most striking examples is undoubtedly the famous Alhambra in Granada. A palace partly build in adobe (sun dried bricks of raw earth), a technique that was imported from the south of Morocco. Briefly, Morocco was and still is the heartland of Berber culture.
Habitat as a statement of cultural identity
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| Tagharghist, terraced field (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
I consider habitat as the primary statement of cultural identity, especially in rural communities such as the ones I am documenting. In this case the term ‘habitat’ should be interpreted in the broadest sense. I’m not only referring to houses and formal architecture, but also to functional and collective constructions such as irrigation canals, fields, terraces, pastures, shepherds’ shelters, olive presses, etc.. In Berber communities building and living are integrated as collective activities. This conception implies an approach that assigns a preeminent role to the users, the inhabitants. What I’m trying to show is how the habitat emerges in dialogue with the geographical constraints, how habitat fulfills the cultural and social needs of a people, and how Berbers manage the extreme natural elements to make space habitable.
A house for the future
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| Timkatti, olive oil mill and press (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Apart from offering a survey of Berber culture in rural Morocco, this project may also serve as an instrument for reflection on the social and environmental consequences of habitat in general. Western society is faced with a fundamental ecological and energy crisis. Within decades the end of the unbridled use of fossil fuels is expected. We have to anticipate the important cultural shift this will bring, and live up to the requirements of sustainable development. At present, building and living are responsible for the largest energy consumption next to transport and industry. This fact implies a radical modification of our housing concepts. It means we have to re-design our houses in a way that they are less dependent on energy consumption, wasteful production techniques, and industrial materials such as concrete, steel and synthetic products. It involves a modern and post-industrial use of natural materials: wood of course, but also natural stone and earth. In other words, we will need to return to the same primary materials the Berbers value and use so well. This photographic project hopes to contribute to a better appreciation of traditional building skills. All too often these are considered as primitive, although they have always satisfied the demands of what we define today as sustainable development.
Comprehensiveness through specificity
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| Tagharghist, Fatima Id Bag (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Given the social and geographical complexity of Morocco, this project is structured around a selection of seven rural Berber communities. Each one is representative on a sociological, linguistic as well as on an architectural level. By immersing myself for several weeks in each community, I hope to understand and reveal something of its identity. The purpose of this method is to illustrate the general via specific cases. Thorough research and reflection preceded the choice of the locations, and a balance is kept between the various regions from north to south and east to west. As a result these seven photographic case studies reflect the diversity of rural Berber culture and its habitats in Morocco. Nevertheless, this initiative remains open to dialogue and potential partners to determine its final shape. Contributions or remarks in the fields of anthropology, architecture, sociology, history and agronomy are particularly welcomed. The first part of this comprehensive photographic survey highlighted the Berber communities of Timkatti, in the Southwestern High Atlas, and Ksar Tissergate, in the Drâa Valley. It was realized in collaboration with Mr. Jean Dethier, former consulting architect of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and published by Mercatorfonds in 2006. Currently I am working on a new book about the village of Tagharghist with Dr David Crawford, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at Fairfield University, Connecticut USA.
The photographic approach
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| Tagharghist, young girl (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
This work is conceived as an extensive ethnographic photo-essay. It consists of landscapes, architecture and portraits. Habitat and its inhabitants form the axis. With great care for the form and structure of the dwellings I try to render visible something as abstract as ‘social organization’. By showing the day-to-day life of the Berbers, larger patterns such as their ability to adapt to climatological and geographical conditions emerge. For the execution of this work I have chosen to use a 4 x 5 inch field camera. This is a choice with far-reaching consequences. Firstly, it’s a large camera that has to be put on a tripod and manipulated beneath a black cloth. This implies the photographer has little space to move and that he is very visible. As a result any improvisation is restricted to a minimum. Moreover, exposure with this type of camera is limited to a single shot, unlike the fast repetitive takes allowed by handheld cameras. This method makes it virtually impossible to secretly steal images or portraits. It appears paradoxical, but it is this time-consuming process and the size of the camera that have made me choose it. The installation of the equipment and the actual making of the picture are an almost ritual enterprise. In this way the, inherently aggressive, action of the photographer is softened and considered much less as an intrusion upon one’s privacy. Also, the people I am portraying perceive this deliberate and time consuming method as the appropriate way of being photographed.
This project has been made possible with the help of countless people, friends and family, in Morocco, Europe and the USA. I owe a special debt to the following. Jean Dethier and David Crawford for their invaluable help on the field as well as for guiding me in the right direction. Sebastian Schutyser who has been motivating me all along. Abdelkrim Bamouh who accompanied me on all my field trips and without whom this whole project would have been impossible. And finally Sven Versmissen and his wife Dominique Barberis who created this website. It goes without saying that I am deeply greatful to my wife Nanja and my kids, Ada, Anna and Emiel for putting up with my frequent absences.