The High Atlas, North Africa’s largest mountain range, is one of the most fascinating and inhospitable regions of Morocco. With peaks over 4000 meters (13,000 feet), covered with snow until May, the area contains the highest summits of the Maghreb. The mountain chain with its deep valleys, barren highlands and wide river oases is the physical barrier between the Atlantic plains and the pre-Saharan areas.
Despite the rugged and inaccessible nature of these mountains, they are surprisingly densely populated. The steep valleys are dotted with villages clinging to the mountainsides. These Berber settlements are indeed very remote from daily life in the rest of Morocco. Until a few decades ago, a trio of feudal leaders dominated the High Atlas. Only after the French “pacification” was central government able to get a hold on these tribal areas. Today civil servants or caids represent state authority, but in most villages the role of the government in Rabat remains largely irrelevant.
The villages in the Agoundis Valley, in the western part of the High Atlas, sit at the foot of the Ouanoukrim Massif at altitudes between 1200 and 1800 meters (3900 and 5900 feet). Peaks between 3000 and 4000 meters (10000 and 13000 feet) surround the narrow valley. Especially during winter, the isolation is complete as heavy rain or snowfall makes the only road from Ijoukak impassable. Tagharghist lies deep in the valley at 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Ijoukak, which in turn is a hundred kilometers (62 miles) from Marrakech.
Life is hard in Tagharghist and it’s entirely determined by the rhythm of the seasons. Society and culture of these Berbers from the highlands are strongly defined by their geographical isolation and the harsh weather conditions (from -15°C (5°F) in winter to 40°C (104°F) in summer).
However, the area has a paradisiacal look. Along the river, strewn with huge boulders, grow large walnut trees. On the countless little terraces barley, corn and various vegetables are grown. In between stand poplars, blackberries, almonds and some olive trees. The terraces are irrigated by targas, a system of irrigation canals that distributes the abundant melt water collected by dams in the river.
In the valley one hears a to-and-fro of singing women carrying huge loads of barley, corn, firewood or animal fodder to their homes. The men plow the fields, sow them, build dams in the river and restore targas. Also at the winter pastures of Agouni n’Ait Anou, high above the village, there’s a bustling activity. Next to the azibs (shepherd shelters), where the flocks are kept during the winter months, there is a spring that allows an important barley crop to be grown. Barley is the basic ingredient for the daily staple food: tanoort (bread). A good barley crop ensures food security for the coming year and is essential to get the families through the harsh winter months.
The trade in goats and sheep and the selling of walnuts are basically the only local activities which provide cash income, which pays for transportation, cooking gas, medical costs, schoolbooks, clothes, etc. The families lucky enough to own a flock occasionally sell an animal at the weekly souk (market) in Ijoukak and lead a relatively easier life. Herding is a hard and lonely task, in particular during the summer months, when the shepherds lead their animals to the cold and windy plateaus in the shadow of the Jebel Ouanoukrim. Their azibs are located above 3500 meters (11500 feet). The shepherds usually stay there one week to ten days before being relieved by a colleague.
Tagharghist is built above the fertile valley along the steep mountainside. Most of the houses are built in a cluster. In the heart of the village lies the assarag, a small dusty village square where festivities take place and on ordinary days the children play. Of the three alleys that lead to the assarag two rise above the village and one down to the mosque, the madrasa (Quran’ic school) and the road to Ijoukak. The mosque is an unremarkable building with a dark entrance leading to a balcony overlooking the valley and into the prayer room. The balcony is the favorite gathering place for the village elders. In the madrasa young boys devote themselves to study the Holy Book.
All houses are built with local materials, partly raw earth, partly stone. Because of the harsh climate, they have small windows with wooden shutters. The interiors are usually dark and unfurnished. Most homes have a balcony with panoramic view used as storage room and where families gather at night during the warm months to have a glass of tea or eat meals.
Unfortunately most families are usually incomplete due to migration. To support the family budget children are often sent out to perform wage labor. The girls usually work as domestic help in the cities while the boys work on the large farms in the plains of the Souss Valley or in more distant cities. Migration as a rule is not permanent. This is especially true for boys, who often return to marry and add their own family to the larger patriarchal household. Boys remain in their father’s household until death. Girls, however, are lost to the household when they marry and go to live with their husbands.
The photographs of Tagharghist were realized in 2008 and 2009 in collaboration with the American anthropologist David Crawford. Dr. Crawford dedicated his PhD research to the village and has generously shared his knowledge and contacts with me.