Some Women of Marrakech

Raymond Hames Author

09/30/2017 Added

65 Plays

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ANTH 212 video on the lives of Muslim women in Marrakech

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[00:00:33.951](speaking in foreign language)
[00:00:59.691]In Marrekech as in all parts
[00:01:01.377]of the Islamic world,
[00:01:02.893]religious doctrine and the teachings of the Qur'an
[00:01:05.877]influence daily life.
[00:01:11.651]The larger family group is the foundation
[00:01:13.901]of Moroccan society.
[00:01:15.904]Every man and woman is concerned with family honor.
[00:01:20.427](background city noises)
[00:01:26.184]The public world of the city is very different
[00:01:28.504]from the private world of the family.
[00:01:33.504]This old woman, Fikraat, was allowed
[00:01:36.025]behind the high walls of the houses
[00:01:38.007]to meet Some Women of Marrakech.
[00:01:43.244]Morocco, a Muslim state lies on the western edge
[00:01:46.447]of the Islamic world.
[00:01:49.188]For centuries the city of Marrakech has been
[00:01:51.643]an important stop along the ancient trade routes
[00:01:54.440]across the Sahara.
[00:01:56.466]Today, Marrakech continues to be a center of trade.
[00:02:00.580]The Seven Saints still guard the seven gates
[00:02:03.368]of the walled city.
[00:02:08.094]In Islamic countries, the honor of the family group
[00:02:11.629]depends on the chaste reputation of its women.
[00:02:15.362]Women should not be seen by men outside the family.
[00:02:19.038]Plus when Moroccan women leave their homes,
[00:02:21.772]most wear a veil and a cloak called djellaba.
[00:02:25.679](background city noises)
[00:02:36.395]Men spend most of their time in the public places.
[00:02:39.622]The streets, the shops, the mosques and the cafes,
[00:02:43.843]places where they work as well
[00:02:45.454]as mingle with strangers and friends.
[00:02:49.066](background city noises)
[00:02:54.021](culturally lively music)
[00:02:54.957]Women are at home in private court yards
[00:02:57.451]behind the high walls of the houses.
[00:03:02.542]Here, where no men are invited,
[00:03:04.898]women give parties for each other.
[00:03:07.390](culturally lively music)
[00:03:11.155]Women musicians plays and everyone dances.
[00:03:14.387](culturally lively music)
[00:03:30.763]This family is holding an ear piercing ceremony
[00:03:34.010]to introduce their daughters to society.
[00:03:40.401]The little girls wear special dresses for the occasion.
[00:03:43.734]Like brides, their hands and feet are decorated with henna.
[00:03:47.772](culturally lively music)
[00:04:18.027]It is during gatherings like this
[00:04:19.762]that news and information is exchanged.
[00:04:22.869]Who is finishing school.
[00:04:24.778]Whose son is working abroad.
[00:04:27.234]Who is to be married next.
[00:04:29.482](culturally lively music)
[00:04:42.116](people chanting)
[00:04:53.781]When the ear piercing is completed,
[00:04:55.896]the little girls are presented to the guests
[00:04:58.280]and made joyous cries of ululation.
[00:05:01.111](women talking, chanting)
[00:05:06.580](culturally lively music)
[00:05:11.613](women clapping)
[00:05:26.325](culturally lively music)
[00:05:30.392]The girls now look forward to the fulfillment
[00:05:32.520]of their destiny,
[00:05:34.110]marriage and creating a new family.
[00:05:37.397](culturally lively music)
[00:05:46.989]The narrow streets of the old city give a passerby
[00:05:49.925]no hint of what lies behind the doors of the houses.
[00:05:56.308]Iesha came to Marrekech as a child and still lives
[00:05:59.544]in the house where she grew up.
[00:06:02.504](speaking foreign language)
[00:06:27.608]Iesha is married to a day laborer
[00:06:29.674]and they have four children.
[00:06:31.871]With a small income she earns as a house keeper,
[00:06:34.674]she helps support her family
[00:06:36.360]and is sending her children to school.
[00:06:45.834]But Iesha's ties to her family and the country
[00:06:48.261]remains strong.
[00:06:52.455]Each year, she receives grain
[00:06:53.965]from her own land in the village from she makes bread.
[00:06:58.463](light pounding)
[00:07:03.190]Most women make bread daily and take the loaves
[00:07:05.920]to the neighborhood oven for baking.
[00:07:11.354](light pounding, patting)
[00:07:23.425]Once a year, Iesha visits her family in the village
[00:07:26.100]where her father owns several acres of land.
[00:07:31.176]Islamic law states that all children
[00:07:33.195]share in an inheritance.
[00:07:35.793]A daughter receives half as much as a son.
[00:07:51.462]Iesha has managed to hang on to her land
[00:07:54.275]and comes regularly to see her sisters
[00:07:56.548]and check on her own property.
[00:07:58.550](speaking foreign language)
[00:09:07.615]Inheritance divides the land into pieces
[00:09:10.056]often too small to support many people.
[00:09:13.583]In each generation, some family members
[00:09:15.986]must move to the city in search of work.
[00:09:20.056](speaking foreign language)
[00:09:37.590]Iesha doesn't wear the veil in her village
[00:09:39.761]because it is thought of as one large extended family
[00:09:43.056]with everyone related to everyone else.
[00:09:47.326](speaking foreign language)
[00:09:52.697]Relationships with kin imply a trust and affection
[00:09:55.821]not felt toward others.
[00:09:59.658]The inheritance of land reinforces a woman's ties
[00:10:03.037]with her kin and Iesha is particular close
[00:10:06.362]to her nephew and his wife.
[00:10:08.952](speaking foreign language)
[00:10:29.950]The tie between brother and sister is assumed
[00:10:32.587]to be permanent while that between husband
[00:10:35.312]and wife is more fragile.
[00:10:38.739]30% of marriages end in divorce
[00:10:41.475]though men and women usually remarry.
[00:10:44.894]Throughout her life, a woman relies
[00:10:46.705]on her father's family for support.
[00:10:51.109]According to Islam, all behavior is either
[00:10:53.921]Al-Halal, good and permitted
[00:10:55.873]or Al-Haram, bad and forbidden.
[00:11:00.240](speaking foreign language)
[00:12:21.127]For Moroccans, the outside world is divided
[00:12:23.422]between family and strangers.
[00:12:27.755]The people you should trust and rely upon
[00:12:29.978]are members of your own extended family
[00:12:32.685]numbering up to 300 people.
[00:12:35.191](background city noise)
[00:12:41.247]The market area is divided in quarters specializing
[00:12:44.533]in particular commodities.
[00:12:50.112]Within the quarters, shops are virtually identical
[00:12:53.531]so customers choose among them on the basis
[00:12:55.819]of personal links between themselves and the shop keeper.
[00:13:00.157]The aim is to create a personal relationship
[00:13:03.113]and turn a stranger into a friend.
[00:13:06.090](overlapping dialogues)
[00:13:13.764]Shopping is a challenge and a game
[00:13:15.839]as well as a necessity of every day life.
[00:13:18.786]And Moroccans enjoy going to the market.
[00:13:21.810]This is one occasion when respectable women
[00:13:24.616]talk to men outside the family.
[00:13:28.380]There are no fixed prices in the shops
[00:13:30.512]and bargaining is part of the game.
[00:13:33.495](background city noise)
[00:13:39.235]Iesha buys material for a special Kaftan
[00:13:42.002]from a shopkeeper related to her good friend, Fatima.
[00:13:46.641](overlapping dialogues)
[00:13:57.743](speaking foreign language)
[00:15:55.544]Women are the main customers
[00:15:56.979]of the material shops
[00:15:58.645]but they are rarely found selling behind the counter.
[00:16:04.397]A woman might own a shop but she will hire a man
[00:16:07.423]to run it for her.
[00:16:09.386](speaking foreign language)
[00:16:15.908]Only very poor women without family support
[00:16:18.687]must sell goods in public on the streets.
[00:16:26.606]When people go shopping, they often pause to pray
[00:16:29.586]at shrines and mosques in the market area.
[00:16:32.981]The most sacred is seedy Sidi Bel Abbes,
[00:16:36.073]the patron saint of Marrekech.
[00:16:38.761]Near the entrance sit Sufis
[00:16:40.873]who are in touch with spirits.
[00:16:43.153]They foretell the future with cards or by interpreting
[00:16:46.221]the patterns of molten lead, shells and bones.
[00:16:50.567](background city noise)
[00:17:04.451]Fatima and Iesha regularly consult
[00:17:06.436]a well known Sufi named Sidi.
[00:17:11.426]Sidi has a close relationship
[00:17:13.621]with a benevolent spirit who gives her messages
[00:17:16.289]for her clients.
[00:17:21.690]Iesha is coming to Sidi for advice
[00:17:24.355]because she is worried about the hostility of a neighbor.
[00:17:29.747](speaking foreign language)
[00:18:55.620]Relationships with spirits
[00:18:57.167]are a source of strength
[00:18:58.668]but like relationships with family and friends,
[00:19:01.855]they need to be cultivated if they are to survive.
[00:19:08.412]Once a year, Sidi holds a party for clients,
[00:19:11.667]relatives and neighbors.
[00:19:14.671]She celebrates her relationship with her spirit
[00:19:17.116]in a ritual reminiscence of the marriage ceremony.
[00:19:20.351](culturally lively music)
[00:19:31.273](people chanting)
[00:19:34.507]Sidi's family group belongs to a religious organization
[00:19:38.240]whose members say they are descended from
[00:19:40.657]Bilal, the black slave freed by the prophet Muhammad.
[00:19:46.409]The ritual begins like a wedding with an animal sacrifice.
[00:19:50.190](culturally lively music)
[00:19:55.628](man singing in foreign language)
[00:20:04.287]Just as the bride's veil will be stained
[00:20:06.278]with the blood of the marriage consummation,
[00:20:08.803]so as Sidi's white veil is stained
[00:20:11.108]with the blood of the sacrifice.
[00:20:13.609](culturally lively music)
[00:20:17.189]The musical beat is thought to encourage trance
[00:20:19.873]and spirit possession.
[00:20:22.130]If a man or a women hears the beat of a particular spirit,
[00:20:25.689]they may join Sidi in trance.
[00:20:28.259](culturally lively music)
[00:20:41.616]This young woman is an apprentice to Sidi
[00:20:43.778]who hopes to become a Sufi herself.
[00:20:46.626](culturally lively music)
[00:20:58.067](people chanting)
[00:21:01.527]A person in trance is thought to be revitalized
[00:21:04.405]by the scent of rosewater.
[00:21:06.704](culturally lively music)
[00:21:20.986]Persons in trance are thought to reach a level
[00:21:23.391]of consciousness when they can defy physical pain.
[00:21:27.033]In this way, they demonstrate they have detached themselves
[00:21:30.405]from the physical world
[00:21:32.053]and are in a state of grace or Baraka.
[00:21:42.853](culturally lively music)
[00:21:49.353](men chanting in foreign language)
[00:21:56.000]Sidi earns a good living as a Sufis and she gains
[00:21:59.234]Baraka from her religious dancing.
[00:22:02.354]Not so lucky are the dancers or shahid
[00:22:05.555]who perform in front of strangers.
[00:22:09.111](speaking foreign language)
[00:22:38.922]Hijabi companion dancers are shahid.
[00:22:42.242]They perform around Marrekech and in the nearby villages.
[00:22:46.865]The women sing and dance
[00:22:48.658]and the men play musical instruments.
[00:22:54.428]In the busy season for weddings,
[00:22:56.157]they may be working six or seven nights a week.
[00:23:01.172]Professional musicians are a necessary part
[00:23:03.594]of most important social events.
[00:23:06.441]But shahid, the women of the troupe, inevitably
[00:23:09.842]compromise their reputations because they perform
[00:23:12.842]in front of strange men.
[00:23:15.080]And they are looked upon as women of easy virtue.
[00:23:18.451](violin music)
[00:23:29.108]Their freedom from the usual restrictions
[00:23:31.183]is regarded with some awe.
[00:23:33.605]For shahid have the power to cast a spell
[00:23:36.080]upon those who offend them.
[00:23:39.365]But this power does not protect the dancers from dishonor.
[00:23:43.903]What's more, by dishonoring themselves,
[00:23:46.844]they bring shame upon their families.
[00:23:49.874](speaking foreign language)
[00:26:57.696](culturally lively music)
[00:27:57.989](speaking foreign language)
[00:28:02.889]Among well to do families in Marrekech,
[00:28:05.423]life for women is different.
[00:28:09.007]In the past, they observed the idea of strict seclusion
[00:28:12.236]and prayed at home.
[00:28:24.727]Today, seclusion is becoming less acceptable.
[00:28:29.270](speaking foreign language)
[00:31:52.104]Afternoon visiting is a daily activity
[00:31:54.325]for women in Marrekech.
[00:31:57.069](culturally lively music)
[00:31:59.231]The wife of a wealthy Djellaba merchant
[00:32:01.248]holds weekly Hadra parties.
[00:32:04.786]Hadras are religious as well as social occasions.
[00:32:14.555]The Hadra today is an honor
[00:32:16.095]of a daughter's return from medical school.
[00:32:19.837]Relatives, friends and neighbors have gathered
[00:32:21.896]to welcome her home.
[00:32:23.647](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:33:07.396](culturally lively music)
[00:33:29.103]The musicians play phrases
[00:33:30.715]and rhythms associated
[00:33:32.006]with different spirits.
[00:33:34.505]Sometimes a woman has a special relationship
[00:33:36.994]with a particular spirit.
[00:33:39.322]When she hears its music,
[00:33:41.193]the spirit takes possession of her body.
[00:33:44.435](culturally lively music)
[00:34:22.086]Self-abandonment in trance to a spirit's influence
[00:34:25.326]is a way of getting closer to God.
[00:34:27.951]And thus receiving grace.
[00:34:31.418]Many people believe that trance has a healing effect
[00:34:34.369]on those who take part in this ceremony.
[00:34:37.528]An unfulfilled or interrupted trance may result
[00:34:40.358]in headaches or depression.
[00:34:42.520](speaking foreign language)
[00:34:59.197]Guests not caught up on trance may still dance for pleasure.
[00:35:05.712]But all gain grace by their presence of the ritual.
[00:35:09.263](culturally lively music)
[00:35:14.317](woman singing in foreign language)
[00:35:18.662]When younger, these musicians will shahid themselves
[00:35:22.091]but now they play only for women's rituals.
[00:35:25.213](culturally lively music)
[00:35:34.582](woman singing in foreign language)
[00:36:12.177](women clapping)
[00:36:23.174](culturally lively music)
[00:36:35.105](speaking foreign language)
[00:37:08.231]But in Marrekech, as everywhere else,
[00:37:10.165]the reality of people's lives is often at odds
[00:37:12.951]with the ideal.
[00:37:15.243]Family honor demands the separation of women from men.
[00:37:19.457]But for the poor, separation is impossible to maintain.
[00:37:23.485]Iesha's family must share this small courtyard
[00:37:26.188]with other families.
[00:37:28.093](clanking and pounding)
[00:37:31.260](speaking foreign language)
[00:38:44.300]Iesha visits the public bath
[00:38:45.877]with her daughter once a week.
[00:38:48.266](overlapping background noises)
[00:38:56.644]For women the bath is an important social event.
[00:39:00.676]Since sexuality is hedged around with rules and rituals
[00:39:04.525]a woman's sense of self comes mainly
[00:39:06.755]from her relationship with other women.
[00:39:09.746]Before a wedding, a bride goes to the bath
[00:39:12.098]with her closest friends.
[00:39:15.503]Marriage is the key to the survival of a family group.
[00:39:19.493]Women try to arrange marriages within the group
[00:39:22.280]for their sons and brothers.
[00:39:24.857](speaking foreign language)
[00:40:33.280]Iesha's niece has come from the country
[00:40:35.316]to attend a neighborhood wedding.
[00:40:37.560]They wear their best Kaftans to honor the bride.
[00:41:02.173](speaking foreign language)
[00:41:42.655]Mina is painted with henna
[00:41:44.279]in preparation for her marriage.
[00:41:46.711](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:41:51.635](women singing in foreign language)
[00:42:01.116](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:42:16.395]Her mother, her aunts, her grandmother,
[00:42:20.305]great grandmother and some of Mina's friends
[00:42:23.344]have all gathered for the henna party.
[00:42:27.429]The family is pleased she is marrying young
[00:42:30.194]before she becomes a serious risk to the family's honor.
[00:42:34.369](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:42:40.873]Everyone is happy especially Mina
[00:42:44.118]because she will live close to her mother.
[00:42:48.729](speaking foreign language)
[00:43:28.524]Upstairs throughout the evening
[00:43:30.100]the bride is dressed in a variety
[00:43:31.989]of outfits of her trousseau.
[00:43:34.489]She is on show only to her female friends and kin.
[00:43:38.902](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:43:44.429](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:43:52.230](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:43:59.067]Downstairs in the courtyard,
[00:44:00.576]the friends and relatives of the groom
[00:44:02.881]arrive to celebrate the occasion with a party.
[00:44:05.930](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:44:11.313]Early in the evening, men and women guests are separated.
[00:44:14.579](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:44:20.112]The men are entertained by a Hijabi group of shahids.
[00:44:24.487](women singing, chanting together)
[00:44:32.459](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:44:40.681](women chanting)
[00:44:53.482](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:45:21.949]Upstairs the women dance for each other.
[00:45:25.076](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:45:48.147](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:45:53.242]The ceremony celebrates the brides change of status,
[00:45:56.532]the loss of her virginity
[00:45:58.108]as much as the marriage bond itself.
[00:46:01.308](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:46:13.089]After many hours of celebrating, a meal is served.
[00:46:21.052](speaking foreign language)
[00:46:40.516]Before the consummation of his marriage,
[00:46:42.723]the groom's friends take him to the mosque to pray,
[00:46:45.794]with enough noise to declare to the neighborhood
[00:46:48.341]that he's ready to take his bride.
[00:46:51.042](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:47:03.927](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:47:11.774]Meanwhile, downstairs, the bride's friends
[00:47:14.497]lead her into the bridal chamber.
[00:47:17.783](singing in foreign language)
[00:47:44.437](men singing in foreign language)
[00:47:49.395]The groom returns to his waiting bride.
[00:47:52.135](men singing in foreign language)
[00:48:15.222]When the groom has joined his bride
[00:48:17.170]in the bridal chamber
[00:48:18.527]the best man and his friends wait outside the door
[00:48:22.069]and the guest congregate in the courtyard.
[00:48:25.146](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:48:34.736]At this time, men and women are together.
[00:48:39.430]Young people use this opportunity to look around
[00:48:42.386]and dream about their own marriages.
[00:48:44.933](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:48:47.747](singing in foreign language)
[00:48:59.113](group praising and singing)
[00:49:07.231](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:49:19.931]The groom comes out to be congratulated.
[00:49:22.936](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:49:35.035](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:49:49.463]The virginity of the bride is celebrated
[00:49:51.516]by the exhibition of her blood stained bloomers.
[00:49:54.963]They are carried though the streets to her mother's home.
[00:50:02.660]When she marries, a woman's position is ambiguous
[00:50:06.228]and potentially powerful for she crosses the boundaries
[00:50:09.856]between two families, her father's and her husbands.
[00:50:17.100]Every wedding is a public statement of the brides chastity
[00:50:20.827]and the grooms' virility,
[00:50:23.129]the crucial demonstration of family honor.
[00:50:27.147]Mina is now married to her cousin,
[00:50:29.591]the son of her mother's brother.
[00:50:32.259](speaking foreign language)
[00:51:36.059](woman speaking in foreign language)
[00:52:05.613](culturally lively music)
[00:52:18.550]Mina's most elaborate costume is reserved
[00:52:21.077]for this occasion and she is welcomed into maturity
[00:52:24.539]by her fellow women.
[00:52:26.765](culturally rhythmic music)
[00:52:30.236]The rite ends as it begins, among her own sex.
[00:52:34.327](culturally lively music)
[00:52:47.315]She is unveiled by her attendance to dramatize
[00:52:50.012]her new status as a married woman.
[00:52:52.810](women chanting, cheering)
[00:53:08.053]After the unveiling, she receives gifts
[00:53:10.383]just as she did years before with her ear piercing ceremony.
[00:53:14.923](women chanting, singing)
[00:53:27.567](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:53:37.554]Mina's husband is an electrician,
[00:53:39.505]a man far from rich.
[00:53:42.138]Like Iesha and many other women, she may get a job
[00:53:45.411]to supplement the family income.
[00:53:48.144](overlapping dialogues in foreign language)
[00:54:00.550]The separation of men in the public world
[00:54:02.924]and women in the private is beginning to break down.
[00:54:07.569]The traditional system gives women a sense of solidarity
[00:54:10.760]with each other and a psychological independence
[00:54:13.809]from men which may serve them well in the future.
[00:54:19.092](speaking foreign language)
[00:55:52.739](girl singing in foreign language)
[00:56:31.498](children singing in foreign language)
[00:57:46.400]Major funding for Odyssey
[00:57:48.236]was provided by the National Endowment
[00:57:50.435]for the Humanities.
[00:57:53.092]Additional funding was provided
[00:57:54.897]by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
[00:57:59.124]and the Polaroid Corporation.

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Some Women of Marrakech

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