The village Timkatti in the Southwestern High-atlas
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| Targa Ingaaf (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Timkatti lies in the Southwestern foothills of the High Atlas. It was the first Berber community I visited and photographed over the course of five weeks in 2003 and 2004. Timkatti is situated at an altitude of 600 meters (1960 feet) about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the local centre Immouzer des Ida ou Tanane. Despite the short distance the trip, on foot, to Immouzer takes easily 2 hours. By car, the 60 kilometers (37 miles) to Agadir take up the same amount of time. The population of Timkatti and the other villages in the region are part of the Ida ou Tanane tribe. They are Ichelhiyn-Berbers and speak Tachelhit.
I portrayed Timkatti and the neighboring villages in 2003-2004 at an ongoing transitional phase between tradition and modernity. The advent of progress in the form of passable roads, and more importantly electricity, changed their lifestyle rapidly. Less visible, but all the more fundamental, is the rural exodus that leads to a slow social dislocation of the community and the traditional way of life.
Self-sufficiency based on agriculture used to be the primary pursuit of these Berbers. The lush valleys are intensively exploited. Terraces and ingenious irrigation systems fed by several wells turn the arid valley slopes into fertile fields where mostly barley, corn and a variety of vegetables are cultivated. Among the fields grow palms, figs, almonds, olives, oranges and pomegranates. The Ida ou Tanane are not pastoralists, but most families own a cow for milk and a couple of goats or sheep to sell.
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| Timkatti, targa, irrigation canal (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Since the valley floor is reserved for agriculture, villages are situated above the fields along the mountainside. Traditionally safety was also an important factor in the choice of building sites. Located in higher and less accessible places, villages were easier to defend against aggressors or rival clans. Depending on the available land, houses are built in clusters or a few meters from each other. Although diverse in their outer appearance, all houses have a similar internal structure. The traditional house has three levels cascading against the mountainside. The lower part holds the shed and has a separate entrance for the animals. The roof has a large square hole through which the animals can be fed from the higher level. This higher level contains the living quarters. A hallway leads to the assarag, the heart of the house. Around this patio, there is a reception room, a kitchen, and sometimes another multifunctional room. The highest level holds a storage room for supplies and tools. All houses are built of natural stone. Mud is used as mortar. The interiors are plastered with white clay and are usually very sparsely furnished. The roofs consist of a supporting structure of palm beams and sticks covered with a layer of mud.
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| Timkatti, men gathered at the spring (photo: Bart Deseyn) |
Social life is strongly determined by gender differences. Men and women each have very rigidly defined roles and territories. This is very clear in the organization of family life. The house is traditionally female territory. Women tend to their family, take care of the animals, and process the harvests of the orchards and fields. The dark and cool corridor giving access to the assarag often is the meeting place for their friends. The exterior village is male territory. Men work the fields, maintain the targas (irrigation canals) and communal buildings such as the mosque and the marabout shrine, and chat with friends. This patriarchal society is increasingly under pressure by contemporary economic reality. Too small harvests and the resulting food shortage are forcing men and boys to migrate. Most work a few months each year as construction workers in Agadir. Some are more adventurous and sign on with a fishing boat during the fishing season in Dakhla. Others move permanently to make their fortune in cities on the Atlantic coast such as Casablanca. A few are taking a chance in Europe. Girls, too, are often sent to the major cities to work as domestic servants to contribute cash to the household. Teenage boys might do seasonal work on the large farms in the Souss Valley.
This trend has a far-reaching social impact. Obviously it has a negative effect on family life. But also time-consuming and important customs such as the domestic production of argan oil are lost because they do not meet a primary need. It also means that a large part of the architectural and cultural heritage is likely to be lost. Already new buildings are constructed with concrete and steel, according to the urban riad model, where all rooms are built around a courtyard. This not only means the loss of an ancient architectural tradition, but also drastically changes the concept of living. Unlike the traditional dwellings, a riad is closed to the outside and incompatible with the sense of belonging and the relationship with the land of the Berbers.
Still, the heartbeat of Berber culture can be felt in thousands of small, unspectacular villages in the Moroccan countryside such as Timkatti. It’s encouraging that despite the legitimate aspiration to progress, the inhabitants of these communities take great pride in their cultural heritage and their language. Their commitment to and pride in their native land is legendary and the home village is always the best douar in the world. The photographs shown here are a tribute to that pride and to the inhabitants of Timkatti.