Some Women of Marrakech 212
Raymond Hames
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10/04/2017
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Video of Some Women of Marrakech
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- [00:00:00.000](slow gentle music)
- [00:00:08.716](singing in foreign language)
- [00:01:13.837]In Marrakech,
- [00:01:14.742]as in all parts of the Islamic world,
- [00:01:17.181]religious doctrine and the teachings
- [00:01:18.980]of the Quran influence daily life.
- [00:01:26.004]The larger family group
- [00:01:27.455]is the foundation of Moroccan society.
- [00:01:30.297]Every man and woman is concerned with family honor.
- [00:01:40.580]The public world of the city is very different
- [00:01:43.093]from the private world of the family.
- [00:01:47.796]This all woman film crew was allowed behind the high walls
- [00:01:51.838]of the houses to meet some women of Marrakech.
- [00:01:57.722]Morocco, a Muslim state,
- [00:01:59.835]lies on the western edge of the Islamic world.
- [00:02:03.639]For centuries, the city of Marrakech
- [00:02:05.572]has been an important stop
- [00:02:06.841]along the ancient trade routes across the Sahara.
- [00:02:10.932]Today, Marrakech continues to be a center of trade.
- [00:02:15.028]The Seven Saints still guard the seven gates
- [00:02:17.888]of the walled city.
- [00:02:22.683]In Islamic countries, the honor of the family group
- [00:02:26.048]depends upon the chaste reputation of its women.
- [00:02:29.722]Women should not be seen by men outside the family.
- [00:02:33.410]Thus, when Moroccan women leave their homes,
- [00:02:35.887]most wear a veil and a cloak called a djellaba.
- [00:02:50.897]Men spend most of their time in the public places,
- [00:02:54.036]the streets, the shops, the mosques, and the cafes,
- [00:02:58.051]places where they work, as well as mingle
- [00:03:00.556]with strangers and friends.
- [00:03:09.461]Women are at home in private courtyards
- [00:03:11.846]behind the high walls of the houses.
- [00:03:14.895](traditional Moroccan music)
- [00:03:17.226]Here, where no men are invited,
- [00:03:19.332]women give parties for each other.
- [00:03:25.535]Women musicians play and everyone dances.
- [00:03:36.920](singing in foreign language)
- [00:03:45.107]This family is holding an ear-piercing ceremony
- [00:03:48.383]to introduce their daughters to society.
- [00:03:54.843]The little girls wear special dresses for the occasion.
- [00:03:58.325]Like brides, their hands and feet are decorated with henna.
- [00:04:32.447]It is during gatherings like this
- [00:04:34.170]that news and information is exchanged,
- [00:04:37.177]who is finishing school,
- [00:04:39.144]whose son is working abroad,
- [00:04:41.160]who is to be married next.
- [00:04:56.141](chanting in foreign language)
- [00:05:08.413]When the ear piercing is completed,
- [00:05:10.466]the little girls are presented to the guests
- [00:05:12.644]and make joyous cries ululation.
- [00:05:15.597](women ululate)
- [00:05:44.730]The girls now look forward
- [00:05:46.063]to the fulfillment of their destiny,
- [00:05:48.517]marriage and creating a new family.
- [00:06:01.342]The narrow streets of the old city
- [00:06:03.483]give a passerby no hint
- [00:06:04.967]of what lies behind the doors of the houses.
- [00:06:10.770]Aisha came to Marrakech as a child
- [00:06:12.936]and still lives in the house where she grew up.
- [00:06:16.356](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:06:42.134]Aisha is married to a day laborer,
- [00:06:43.991]and they have four children.
- [00:06:46.250]With the small income she earns as a housekeeper,
- [00:06:48.932]she helps support her family
- [00:06:50.590]and is sending her children to school.
- [00:07:00.067]But Aisha's ties to her family
- [00:07:01.708]in the country remains strong.
- [00:07:06.807]Each year she receives grain from her own land
- [00:07:09.424]in the village from which she makes bread.
- [00:07:17.480]Most women make bread daily and take the loaves
- [00:07:20.514]to the neighborhood oven for baking.
- [00:07:37.776]Once a year, Aisha visits her family
- [00:07:39.873]in the village where her father owns several acres of land.
- [00:07:45.529]Islamic law states that all children
- [00:07:47.561]share in an inheritance.
- [00:07:50.145]A daughter receives 1/2 as much as a son.
- [00:08:05.771]Aisha has managed to hang on to her land,
- [00:08:08.593]and comes regularly to see her sisters
- [00:08:10.852]and check on her own property.
- [00:08:20.568](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:09:22.189]Inheritance divides the land
- [00:09:23.666]into pieces often too small to support many people.
- [00:09:27.963]In each generation, some family members
- [00:09:30.271]must move to the city in search of work.
- [00:09:34.541](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:09:52.035]Aisha doesn't wear the veil in her village
- [00:09:54.148]because it is thought of as one large extended family
- [00:09:57.404]with everyone related to everyone else.
- [00:10:07.086]Relationships with kin imply a trust and affection
- [00:10:10.386]not felt toward others.
- [00:10:14.027]The inheritance of land reinforces
- [00:10:16.156]a woman's ties with her kin,
- [00:10:18.773]and Aisha is particularly close to her nephew and his wife.
- [00:10:25.779](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:10:44.324]The tie between brother and sister
- [00:10:46.454]is assumed to be permanent,
- [00:10:48.485]while that between husband and wife is more fragile.
- [00:10:53.085]30% of marriages end in divorce,
- [00:10:55.849]though men and women usually remarry.
- [00:10:59.327]Throughout her life, a woman relies
- [00:11:01.082]on her father's family for support.
- [00:11:05.536]According to Islam,
- [00:11:06.690]all behavior is either halal, good and permitted,
- [00:11:10.299]or haram, bad and forbidden.
- [00:11:14.866](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:12:35.215]For a Moroccans, the outside world
- [00:12:37.409]is divided between family and strangers.
- [00:12:42.155]The people you should trust and rely upon
- [00:12:44.382]are members of your own extended family,
- [00:12:47.145]numbering up to 300 people.
- [00:12:55.695]The market area is divided into quarters specializing
- [00:12:58.913]in particularly commodities.
- [00:13:04.635]Within the quarters, shops are virtually identical,
- [00:13:07.923]so customers choose among them
- [00:13:09.804]on the basis of personal links
- [00:13:11.657]between themselves and the shopkeeper.
- [00:13:14.506]The aim is to create a personal relationship,
- [00:13:17.232]and turn a stranger into a friend.
- [00:13:27.949]Shopping is a challenge and a game,
- [00:13:30.257]as well as a necessity of everyday life,
- [00:13:33.182]and Moroccans enjoy going to the market.
- [00:13:35.988]This is one occasion when respectable women
- [00:13:38.783]talk to men outside the family.
- [00:13:42.657]There are no fixed prices in the shops,
- [00:13:45.046]and bargaining is part of the game.
- [00:13:53.596]Aisha buys material for a special kaftan
- [00:13:56.440]from a shopkeeper related to her good friend, Faadilah.
- [00:14:12.670](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:16:09.904]Women are the main customers
- [00:16:11.373]of the material shops,
- [00:16:13.096]but they are rarely found selling behind the counter.
- [00:16:18.741]A woman might own a shop,
- [00:16:20.508]but she will hire a man to run it for her.
- [00:16:30.135]Only very poor women without family support
- [00:16:32.931]must sell goods in public on the streets.
- [00:16:40.977]When people go shopping,
- [00:16:42.147]they often stop to pray at shrines
- [00:16:44.804]and mosques in the market area.
- [00:16:47.472]The most sacred is Sidi Bel Abbas,
- [00:16:50.609]the Patron Saint of Marrakech.
- [00:16:53.242]Near the entrance sit shuwafas
- [00:16:55.323]who are in touch with spirits.
- [00:16:57.273]They foretell the future with cards
- [00:16:59.452]or by interpreting the patterns
- [00:17:01.305]of molten lead, shells, and bones.
- [00:17:18.653]Faadilah and Aisha regularly consult
- [00:17:20.760]a well-known shuwafa named Saadiya.
- [00:17:25.832]Saadiya has a close relationship with a benevolent spirit
- [00:17:29.473]who gives her messages for her clients.
- [00:17:36.093]Aisha is coming to Saadiya for advice
- [00:17:38.434]because she is worried about the hostility of a neighbor.
- [00:17:44.280](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:19:09.599]Relationships with spirits
- [00:19:11.187]are a source of strength,
- [00:19:13.007]but like relationships with family and friends,
- [00:19:16.047]they need to be cultivated if they are to survive.
- [00:19:22.841]Once a year, Saadiya holds a party
- [00:19:25.051]for clients, relatives, and neighbors.
- [00:19:29.050]She celebrates her relationship with her spirit
- [00:19:31.520]in a ritual reminiscent of the marriage ceremony.
- [00:19:35.194](traditional Moroccan music)
- [00:19:48.913]Saadiya's family group belongs to a religious organization
- [00:19:52.505]whose members say they are descended from Bilal,
- [00:19:55.739]the black slave freed by the prophet Mohammad.
- [00:20:00.762]The ritual begins like a wedding
- [00:20:02.717]with an animal sacrifice.
- [00:20:05.004](singing in foreign language)
- [00:20:18.473]Just as the bride's veil would be stained
- [00:20:20.634]with the blood of the marriage consummation,
- [00:20:23.207]so Saadiya's white veil is stained
- [00:20:25.369]with the blood of the sacrifice.
- [00:20:31.595]The musical beat is thought to encourage trance
- [00:20:34.277]and spirit possession.
- [00:20:36.471]If a man or a woman hears the beat of a particular spirit,
- [00:20:39.933]they may join Saadiya in trance.
- [00:20:55.585]This young woman is an apprentice to Saadiya
- [00:20:58.163]who hopes to become a shuwafa herself.
- [00:21:15.891]A person in trance is thought to be revitalized
- [00:21:18.443]by the scent of rosewood.
- [00:21:35.141]Persons in trance are thought to reach a level
- [00:21:37.812]of consciousness where they can defy physical pain.
- [00:21:41.311]In this way, they demonstrate
- [00:21:42.969]they have detached themselves from the physical world
- [00:21:46.058]and are in a state of grace or Barakah.
- [00:22:03.460](singing in foreign language)
- [00:22:10.547]Saadiya earns a good living as a shuwafa
- [00:22:12.871]and she gains Barakah from her religious dancing.
- [00:22:16.918]Not so lucky are the dancers,
- [00:22:18.560]or shaykha, who perform in front of strangers.
- [00:22:23.267](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:22:53.522]Hajiba and her companion dancers are shaykha,
- [00:22:56.739]they perform around Marrakech and in the nearby villages.
- [00:23:01.372]The women sing and dance,
- [00:23:02.851]and the men play musical instruments.
- [00:23:08.691]In the busy season for weddings,
- [00:23:10.658]they may be working six or seven nights a week.
- [00:23:15.502]Professional musicians are a necessary part
- [00:23:17.778]of most important social events,
- [00:23:20.768]but shaykha, the women of the troop,
- [00:23:23.304]inevitably compromise their reputations
- [00:23:25.856]because they perform in front of strange men.
- [00:23:29.286]And they are looked upon as women of easy virtue.
- [00:23:36.414](up-tempo violin music)
- [00:23:43.144]Their freedom from the usual restrictions is regarded
- [00:23:46.395]with some awe, for shaykha have the power
- [00:23:49.516]to cast a spell upon those who offend them.
- [00:23:53.601]But this power does not protect the dancers from dishonor.
- [00:23:58.342]What's more, by dishonoring themselves,
- [00:24:01.203]they bring shame upon their families.
- [00:24:04.090](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:27:11.564](traditional Moroccan music)
- [00:27:45.891](singing in foreign language)
- [00:28:17.067]Among well-to-do families in Marrakech,
- [00:28:19.858]life for women is different.
- [00:28:23.466]In the past, they observed the ideal
- [00:28:25.400]of strict seclusion and prayed at home.
- [00:28:38.950]Today, seclusion is becoming less acceptable.
- [00:28:42.958](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:32:06.268]Afternoon visiting is a daily activity
- [00:32:08.614]for women in Marrakech.
- [00:32:10.655](traditional Moroccan music)
- [00:32:13.490]The wife of a wealthy djellaba merchant
- [00:32:15.369]holds weekly hadra parties.
- [00:32:19.022]Hadras are religious as well as social occasions.
- [00:32:28.720]The hadra today is in honor
- [00:32:30.389]of a daughter's return from medical school.
- [00:32:34.193]Relatives, friends, and neighbors
- [00:32:35.628]have gathered to welcome her home.
- [00:32:37.889](women chatter)
- [00:32:59.254](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:33:21.826](traditional Moroccan music)
- [00:33:43.534]The musicians play phrases and rhythms
- [00:33:45.810]associated with different spirits.
- [00:33:48.930]Sometimes a woman has a special relationship
- [00:33:51.434]with a particular spirit.
- [00:33:53.758]When she hears its music
- [00:33:55.237]the spirit takes possession of her body.
- [00:34:36.463]Self abandonment in trance to a spirit influence
- [00:34:39.507]is a way of getting closer to god,
- [00:34:42.222]and fast receiving grace.
- [00:34:45.912]Many people believe that trance has a healing effect
- [00:34:48.724]on those who take part in the ceremony.
- [00:34:51.991]An unfulfilled or interrupted trance
- [00:34:54.104]may result in headaches or depression.
- [00:34:59.061](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:35:13.040]Guests, if not caught up in trance,
- [00:35:15.576]may simply dance for pleasure.
- [00:35:19.844]But all gain grace by the presence of the ritual.
- [00:35:23.491](rhythmic Moroccan music)
- [00:35:32.831]When younger, these musicians will shaykha themselves,
- [00:35:36.746]but now they play only for women's rituals.
- [00:35:40.222](singing in foreign language)
- [00:36:48.370](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:37:22.155]But in Marrakech, as everywhere else,
- [00:37:24.365]the reality of people's lives
- [00:37:26.332]is often at odds with the ideal.
- [00:37:29.490]Family honor demands the separation of women from men.
- [00:37:33.825]But for the poor, separation is impossible to maintain.
- [00:37:37.715]Aisha's family must share this small courtyard
- [00:37:40.587]with other families.
- [00:37:45.137](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:38:58.286]Aisha visits the public bath
- [00:39:00.349]with her daughter once a week.
- [00:39:10.882]For women, the bath is an important social event.
- [00:39:15.124]Since sexuality is hedged around with rules and rituals,
- [00:39:18.846]a woman's sense of self comes mainly
- [00:39:21.057]from her relationship with other women.
- [00:39:23.987]Before a wedding, a bride goes to the bath
- [00:39:26.502]with her closest friends.
- [00:39:29.996]Marriage is the key to the survival of the family group.
- [00:39:33.962]Women try to arrange marriages within the group
- [00:39:36.677]for their sons and brothers.
- [00:39:38.968](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:40:47.583]Aisha's niece has come from the country
- [00:40:49.826]to attend a neighborhood wedding.
- [00:40:51.923]They wear their best kaftans to honor the bride.
- [00:41:15.999](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:41:57.128]Mina is painted with henna
- [00:41:58.688]in preperation for her marriage.
- [00:42:01.011](singing in foreign language)
- [00:42:30.186]Her mother, her aunt, her grandmother,
- [00:42:34.315]great-grandmother, and some of Mina's friends
- [00:42:37.712]have all gathered for the henna party.
- [00:42:41.715]The family is pleased she is marrying young
- [00:42:44.300]before she becomes a serious risk to the family's honor.
- [00:42:55.076]Everyone is happy, especially Mina
- [00:42:58.165]because she will live close to her mother.
- [00:43:03.300](speaking in foreign language)
- [00:43:42.462]Upstairs, throughout the the evening,
- [00:43:44.623]the bride is dressed in a variety
- [00:43:46.493]of outfits of her trousseau.
- [00:43:48.898]She is on show only to her female.
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