‘There is no way of knowing, once one has left Tangier behind, where the long trail over the Rif is going to land one, in the sense understood by anyone accustomed to European uncertainties. The air of the unforeseen blows on one from the roadless passes of the Atlas.’
—Edith Wharton, In Morocco
In the last chapter, we tried to look at Moroccans from the inside out, explaining how different values and traditions have shaped Moroccans’ belief and behaviour. In this chapter, we’ll start from the outside, taking a look at details of everyday life you may notice but initially not understand, and try to discern explanations. In some cases, we will touch on the same topics that we looked at in the last chapter, but we will try to see them now more from the perspective of ‘where you’re coming from’, rather than from the Moroccan standpoint. Taken together, the two chapters will hopefully demystify much of what linkages between the apparent and hidden realities in Morocco, between daily life and the Moroccan world view.
Until the advent of French administration, there wasn’t a fixed method of recording a person’s official name, but like the French, Moroccans carry national identity cards (indeed, they are obliged to) and the system of names they have adopted is also similar to the French. For official purposes, Moroccans take the family name of their father, followed by their personal given name. Women retain their family name when they marry and do not take their husband’s family name. Moroccans have adopted the French practice of writing their family name first, often in capital letters, followed by their personal name, for example, GHARBAOUI Driss.
Moroccans, men especially, may go by either of their names. It is more familiar and personal to call someone by his or her personal name, but it is by no means impersonal or formal to use the family name alone. Particularly since some given names are so common—Mohammed, Ali and Hassan for men, Fatima, Aisha and Khadija for women— using a family name in conversation is often the only way to distinguish among individuals. Teachers usually address students with the family name alone.
If you develop any knowledge of Arabic, you wil very soon get a feel for the differences between Arab and Berber names, and thus gain a clue to an individual’s identity, or at least his or her paternity. The typical Moroccan Arabic family name is a derivation of a three consonant root, ending in ‘i’, as transliterated the French way, or in ‘y’ as transliterated the English way (in Morocco, only the French way is used). Thus you will find Wahami (Ouahami to the French), Ghazzouli, Sabri. Even without the terminal ‘i’, many Arabic surnames are related to three consonant roots. A few of them begin with Ben-, Bint- or Bou-, meaning son of, daughter of and father of respectively.
Berber names are less easily classifiable, but many begin or end in –ou (Barrou, Khallou, Oundir) or end with –an (Ittoban, Amezyan) and will sound different from Arabic names: fewer have a terminal ‘i’, and many have two or four rather than the three consonant sounds that are typical of Arabic names. A family name beginning with Aït (land of) is a Berber name.
For women, the only general title of respect is Lalla, which can be prefixed to a personal or family name for a woman older than yourself, or when referring to a woman of royalty. Lalla can be used alone to get the attention of a woman whose name you don’t know, the way Ma’am or lady is sometimes used in English. A woman who has completed the pilgrimage to Mecca may have Hajja prefixed to her name.
The general title of respect for men is Sidi, sometimes shortened in speech to Si. It is roughly comparable to the English Sir or Mr, and can be used in all of the same ways as Lalla: prefixed to any name, or alone. It is acceptable usage to call any man Sidi if you don’t know his name and want to get his attention. Less respectful, but often used for waiters, shop keepers and servicemen, is to call any man Mohammed (or Si Mohammed) if you don’t know his name.
More elevated than Sidi is Moulay. Most departed saints and sultans have Moulay prefixed to their names, and some living holy men may be addressed this way, though the combination ‘Moulay Mohammed’ could only refer to the prophet. Finally, men who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca may take Hajj as a title.
Men’s titles are used somewhat loosely and for certain individuals, they take on the status of nicknames. Thus it can’t always be assumed that a Hajj So-and-So is a returned pilgrim—he may only be a respected or rich member of the community. Similarly, Sidi Mohammed seems to be a given name in its own right apart from Mohammed alone, and one meets the occasional Moulay who has no apparent claims to veneration.
Despite centuries of mixed marriages and the likelihood that a completely ‘pure’ Arab or Berber cannot be found in Morocco today, a majority of Moroccans do not identify themselves as one or the other. Berbers are further subdivided into the Rifi (origins in northern Morocco, in the Rif mountains), the Soussi (origins in southern Morocco, in the Anti-Atlas and the edge of the desert) and Amazigh (primarily Berbers of the Middle Atlas). In Arabic, the term Shluh usually means Berber in general and can designate any of them.
Berbers maintain a nominal tribal identification that is subordinate to the divisions given above; in the countryside this may still have some active influence in their lives, but for those living elsewhere, it usually doesn’t. Arabs are also historically a tribal people, but their links with tribal identity in Morocco are quite tenuous, except in small Arab villages where they may still carry some importance.
In Moroccan society, the sociologists can find more divisions than they can shake a paradigm at. We will look here only at a handful of differences that present themselves to the foreign observer. In making these distinctions, it is not the intention to present facile stereotypes of different elements in Moroccan society, but rather to give you some cues similar to the ones that Moroccans use for distinguishable people. While there is a compulsion to conform in values and behaviour in Moroccan society, there is no corresponding uniformity in appearance, and indeed many groups that make up the mosaic of Moroccan culture are proud to distinguish themselves by their appearance.
Speech, occupation (or lack thereof) and dress all provide clues by which Moroccans discern the relative social status of their fellow countrymen, and you can use largely the same measure if the need arises. Moroccans’ behaviour towards one another usually reflects their awareness of a difference in social status (see ‘Cross-Class Traffic’ later in this chapter). Your interactions with Moroccans will probably be more successful if you behave towards them in a way that they think reflects your social distance, if any, from them.
The politics and sociology of speech will be dealt with in more detail in Chapter Eight, but suffice to say here that French is the language of refinement in Morocco, followed by classical Arabic—which, however, is hardly used for ordinary conversation, and when it is, it observes the grammar and syntax of Modern Standard Arabic. Moroccan Arabic is the most common language on the street. The better a Moroccan speaks French, the better he or she can successfully create an aura of sophistication, which can serve as a springboard into higher circles under some circumstances. By the same token, an inability to speak French well indicates a lack of education, and education is generally valued and respected in Morocco.
Great fluency in classical Arabic is highly respectable, but wins no prizes in the social climbing contest. Speaking Berber is a worthy skill only among Berbers, and Arabs look down their noses at all the dialects of that language.
A person’s occupation is another clue to social status. The distinctions noted here are not statistically verified, but rather are based on popular observations of the Moroccan pecking order.
At the top are the idle rich, who don’t work but also don’t consort much with others in public, so you will probably have little contact with them. This group includes the ‘jetset’ Moroccans who seem to spend as much time flitting around Europe as they spend at home. Also among the elite are members of what could be called the wealthy merchant class. These are not the corner shop owners, but more likely the wholesalers who supply them, and such people as factory owners, car dealership owners, magnates of expensive shops in the larger cities, importers and exporters.
Coming in behind the wealthy merchants is a group of Moroccans educated abroad, most of whom come from respectable families and work in professional positions for Moroccan and multinational concerns. Also at this level is a very large segment of educated Moroccans who are university teachers, higher civil servants, lawyers, doctors and other professionals; these two educated groups may be called a middle class. Primary and secondary school teachers, though not as highly regarded or as highly paid, figure in this group as well. Education in Morocco is one of the only avenues to upward social mobility, and many take advantage of it.
For most social purposes, working foreigners in Morocco fit in with the middle class and are treated as such, but with the acknowledged difference that they are outside the system, and are assumed to have much more money than any ordinary middle-class Moroccan.
From here on down, everyone is poor by the standard of any developed nation. This segment includes, in more or less descending order:
Those who have skills acquired outside of formal schooling, such as those who work in traditional crafts, or as production workers in factories
Those who have lowly jobs, such as unskilled farm workers, or servants
The unemployed poor, who take casual work wherever they can find it, usually of the demeaning kind that no one else will do
At the bottom of the Moroccan social pile, the beggars
Work in skilled but not necessarily literate trades, such as leather tanning, provides a meagre living.
Outside the occupational system but nevertheless worthy of mention are the Sherfa, those who claim descent from the prophet Mohammed. As this group includes the king and royal family, the Sherfa figure quite prominently in Moroccan society. It is thought unfitting for such people to work, so those who have no inherited wealth live humbly, but with great dignity, off the alms of others—contributions to the well-being of the Sherfa are thought to bring benefits to the donor as well. There are also, however, quite wealthy Sherfa in the rich merchant class, and they are not averse to working in order to maintain and increase their wealth.
Traditional as opposed to modern (i.e. European-style) clothing is not a class marker in itself, because all Moroccans may have occasion to wear clothes of either kind. However, the quality of clothing is a good clue to an individual’s status. What one wears in public reflects on oneself and on one’s family; looking less than one’s best would invite hshuma.
Casual clothes that are obviously imported from Europe or North America carry great status with younger people, because they indicate either that one has been abroad or that one knows someone who has been. Such clothing is the overwhelming favourite among the young, especially young men.
Perhaps ironically, those less well connected tend to be somewhat more formal and flashy in European dress, with dress shirts, sport coats and tailored slacks for everyday street wear. These are not expensive in Morocco, but again there is a wide range of quality. Among urban Moroccan men who can afford the accessories, flashy clothes are popularly worn with bits of gold jewellery here and there, the net effect being what some would call a ‘lounge lizard look’.
At the other end of the clothes closet from the glitz, the quitessence of traditional Moroccan dress is the jellaba, the one-piece, unisex, hooded coverall garment that qualifies as the Moroccan national costume. Jellaba come in a wide range of fabrics and qualities; those that are the best fitting, of the richest fabrics and (most importantly) with the most ornate needlework lining the seams are of the highest quality, and of course the most expensive. The well-to-do would never buy an ‘off-the-rack’ jellaba, but would have one tailor-made, and you will see that tailors thrive everywhere in Morocco. In addition to the jellaba, there are many other coverall garments for both men and women. A sign of preference for tradition over modern influences, they are more indicative of conservative politics and values than of wealth or social standing.
Shoes are also a very good indication of status, for everything is available in Morocco, from throwaway plastic sandals to expensive Italian imports. Like Arabs generally, Moroccans tend not to wear shoes indoors and never wear them inside mosques, thus they prefer open-backed shoes that can be removed easily. Moroccan slippers, called bilgha, are very common and a trip through any medina will reveal that they are an industry to themselves. The classic for men is a bright yellow, pointy-toed model. Women’s bilgha come in a rainbow of colours, some with gold brocade designs on them. As with clothing, quality tells all. The ‘well-heeled’ would never wear faded or worn shoes of any kind in public. Footwear that tourists find comfortable (sandals, for instance, or comfortable walking shoes) are regarded as rather déclassé by Moroccans. Sandals in particular are more or less shepherd-wear to the natives.
Cosmetics and jewellery are worn by Moroccans who can afford them. In jewellery, gold is the standard and is worn conspicuously by both men and women as a token of wealth. More exotic jewellery fashioned from silver filigree, amber beads and precious stones is popular with Berbers and tourists. Many women enhance their appearance by circling their eyes with a thin black line of kohl (antimony). Some women also use lipstick and fingernail polish. Those who do so openly are usually ‘modern’ Westernised women. Those who do so excessively may be advertising their (available) charms to men.
Henna, in the raw form of crushed leaves, is sold everywhere in Morocco and is used by most Moroccan women. It is applied to the hair on a regular basis, mixed with water and egg or any number of other substances thought to enhance the beauty of the hair. Women may also sport intricate patterns drawn on their hands with henna; this is de rigeur for brides and may be done on other special occasions. Henna is thought to have beneficial properties for both skin and hair.
Moroccans often like to wear head coverings, and what they wear may give some clues as to who they are.
Among those who wear turbans (mostly rural men), Berbers’ are often white, and Arabs’ orange or gold.
Knit stocking caps are worn more in the countryside or by the urban poor. Such caps would never be worn by middle-class or upper-class men. Slightly more dressy or respectable is the crocheted skullcap, which may be white or have some coloured design. Sometimes, the design is associated with a particular religious brotherhood. These are often worn by men at the mosque.
Further upscale is the fez. It marks a man who is sure to have a few more dirhams in his pocket than the one in the skullcap. Fezzes carry an air of respectability, perhaps even a slightly religious connotation. You will note that many public portraits of the king and his late father show them wearing fezzes. Young men never wear them, thinking them old and stuffy, and the fez may by on his way out in Morocco, except as a ceremonial hat (worn, for example, by government officials to events on religious holidays).
Popular wisdom has it that Muslims only wear brimless hats since a brim would keep a man from touching his head to the ground when praying. A cursory glance at street life will reveal that the international craze for baseball caps has not bypassed Morocco, and many young men sport them. Others who work in the sun, notably water sellers and parking attendants, often wear wide-brimmed straw hats.
Most women (not girls, and we have already learned what the difference is) cover their heads in public, either with a scarf or with the hood of the jellaba. A girl who wears a scarf completely covering the hairline may come from a fundamentalist family, or she may dress conservatively in order not to attract the attention of men in public.
This covers just about everyone except those with towels wrapped around their heads. They have probably just come from the public baths (discussed in Chapter 7). The poular notion is that you should conserve all the heat you soaked up there, so as not to catch a cold upon leaving.
Soldiers are a regular feature of the street everywhere in Morocco, and they can be identified by hat colour to some degree. Soldiers of the ordinary army wear bright green berets, the royal guard (those who guard the king and his many palaces) wear red berets, the tan- or olive-coloured berets are worn by the makhzan, a kind of national guard force. All of these wear olive drab in winter (until 1st May), khaki in summer. Traffic-cop hats (round, flat top with a brim) mark policemen and gendarmes (rural police).
Men in uniform. Here, a policeman and a makhazni (member of the makhzan) talk to a young mul l-garro (seller of individual cigarettes).
The rank-and-file of all military forces—and they are the ones seen most often in the street—are regarded as low-class by most people, and they have a reputation (perhaps undeserved) of being easily provoked. They tend to associate mostly with each other.
Dress and personal appearance can be a marker for religious affiliation. As noted above, a scarf covering the hairline, typically folded so that it has a little ‘lip’ projecting upwards from the forehead, is the preferred covering of the fundamentalist girl or woman. A jellaba in public for such women is obligatory, and if they have Western clothes underneath, you’ll never know it.
Fundamentalist Muslim men, ‘Muslim brothers’ as they are popularly called, are more inclined to wear traditional Moroccan coverall clothes than a shirt and trousers, but this is not a fast rule. Muslim brothers also very often have beards. This is a common enough marker that a man who does not want to be identified as a ‘brother’ may refrain from growing a beard. Note that this does not apply to moustaches, sported by any fashionable man.
We have seen already that Moroccans may identify themselves along ethnic lines, i.e. primarily as Arab or some variety of Berber. Moroccans also make distinctions among themselves based on skin colour and their language has many words to distinguish the shades between northern European white and sub-Saharan black. To some extent, colour differences correspond to class differences as well as ethnic ones. To understand this, we must return briefly to history to learn how ‘black’ blood entered the Moroccan gene pool.
Sub-Saharan Africans have been finding their way to Morocco since the earliest times when they travelled the trade routes across the desert, but a significant number came to Morocco unwillingly—as slaves, soldiers or concubines. Long before slave trading was finally halted officially with the establishment of the protectorate, there were large numbers of blacks living in Morocco as slaves, free men, harem wives and concubines. Sultans in the past had entire armies composed of blacks, some said to number more than 100,000. Today, the descendants of these blacks live everywhere in Morocco, and depending on their ancestry, blacks in Morocco may identify themselves as Arabs or Berbers.
This woman of sub-Saharan origins lives in the Middle Atlas and considers herself a Berber.
There is a degree of discrimination towards blacks among some fairer-skinned Arabs and Berbers, but it is not of the intensity (or even violence) that exists in some Western countries. Some fairer-skinned Moroccans might view marriage into a black family as unacceptable.
At the other end of the colour spectrum, there are a number of very fair-skinned Berbers living in mountain areas who still manifest their Caucasian origins, having fair or reddish hair, and blue or green eyes. A popular myth exists in Morocco that the people of Fez are traditionally fair-skinned, but observation doesn’t bear this out. Fair skin is regarded appreciatively by most Moroccans.
Moroccans are likely to use the same ‘colour guide’ on foreigners that they use among themselves. African-Americans in Morocco sometimes express frustration at the fact that many Moroccans refuse to believe that they are American at all. Foreigners who can ‘pass’ for Moroccan may find it advantageous in some situations (e.g. tourist areas, where they may be left undisturbed). It is unlikely that non-white foreigners will experience any professional or economic discrimination in Morocco; Moroccans are aware of the advantages that foreigners generally bring to Morocco, and are inclined to treat them with consideration and respect, whatever their skin colour.
Jews once comprised a significant bloc of the Moroccan population, and their presence in Morocco is well documented in historical and first-hand accounts. Beginning with the creation of Israel in 1948, an exodus began that has gradually reduced the Jewish population of Morocco to the tiny minority that it is today.
Jews of Moroccan descent constitute a considerable proportion of the Israeli population and a few of them are now beginning to return to Morocco to re-establish their roots. They continue to maintain synagogues, schools and cemeteries in Moroccan cities.
Down from the more than 500,000 who once lived there, about 10,000 Jews live in Morocco today, mostly in cities, and especially Casablanca. Mostly prosperous, they suffer no obvious discrimination from the Muslim majority, and in terms of physical features, are indistinguishable from the wide range of other Moroccan types. They generally dress in Western clothes, and may be conspicuous only during Ramadan, when they may eat and drink (discreetly) in public with impunity.
Moroccan proverbs are peppered with derogatory references to Jews. The Arabic word for Jew, yahudi, is used as a general slur. Despite this, Moroccan Jews seem to fare very well. The king has referred to them as ‘dynamic elements’ in Moroccan society, and one cabinet minister is Jewish.
In a traditionally hierarchical and fatalistic society such as Morocco, class divisions create little tension; individuals largely accept their own station, and those of others above and below them. Behaviour in situations in which different classes interact is geared towards keeping everyone happily in their place. Thus not too much friendliness or familiarity is shown to persons of other classes; for example, a handshake would be acceptable, but a kiss would not.
Two Moroccan sayings offer insight into the relationship. ‘Play with the dog and he’ll lick your face’ is one of them. The other is, ‘We played with dogs, and woke up being their cousins.’ The respective ideas of the two are, roughly, ‘indulge someone beneath you and he’ll surely take advantage,’ and, ‘get familiar with someone beneath you and you become like him.’ Thus, when persons of elevated rank show a condescending or imperious attitude towards those below, this is generally neither resented nor objected to. However, it is also common for those of higher status to maintain a cordial, if distant, manner with those below. Where the gap is quite wide, those at the low end may show signs of servility, for instance by attempting to kiss the ring or hand of the higher person.
An important fact to note is that persons of the middle class or higher—basically, all those with an education or in the process of getting one—don’t do physical labour. They have someone else do it for them, usually for a pittance. This includes even simple things, like working around the house. The do-it-yourself craze that prevails in the English-speaking world finds no purchase in Morocco, and you as a foreigner risk looking like you’re slumming if you do physical work in the presence of Moroccans.
Context plays a large role in how Moroccan interact—and how you will interact with Moroccans—so it is useful to examine some of these contexts, and how you fit in. Here, it is important to keep in mind the central distinction between public and private life, as discussed in the previous chapter.
As we have seen, this private sphere is the most relaxed of all contexts. Everyone talks at once, and talking louder gets more attention. Moroccans love to talk and love to laugh. Within the family circle, joking and teasing are very common. What may appear as an argument to a foreigner is in fact quite normal banter among family members, even when voices are raised and gestures vehement.
Initially, your relationship to a Moroccan family, or even to an individual Moroccan when you are in his or her home, is that of guest to host: a mostly passive role in which your needs are attended to in every possible way. However, it is not unusual for foreigners to become adjunct members of Moroccan families and for role expectations to loosen up considerably. In time, and if you have the inclination, you may enjoy virtually the same freedom within the family that individual members enjoy. Moroccans are not people to place limits on familial intimacy, and there are probably more foreigners who find themselves resisting this kind of unofficial adoption than cultivating it.
Families differ in the degree to which segregation of the sexes is practised at home in the presence of guests. The determining factors are, first, how traditional the family is, and secondly, how familiar the guest is. In a modern home hosting well-known visitors, men and women mix freely. At the other extreme, a traditional family entertaining foreign guests for the first time, women might not appear at all except to bring in food and take away dishes.
Your connection to a Moroccan family, at the outset anyway, will probably be through an individual: friend, employer, employee or colleague. If this is a person of the same sex as you, the situation is uncomplicated and you will be accommodated with others of the same sex within the home.
If your Moroccan contact is of the opposite sex, the situation may be slightly tense in a traditional home, but conventions will usually dictate how you are to be treated so that propriety—or more importantly, the appearance of it—is maintained. Foreign men are unlikely to have the opportunity to develop terms of friendship with Moroccan women. A male relative of a Moroccan woman, such as a brother or cousin, is a necessary intermediary in any hospitality that would involve this kind of pairing.
Foreign women, on the other hand, have a bit more freedom to negotiate friendships with male colleagues, since they are regarded to some extent as being outside the system that applies to Moroccan women. A foreign woman may freely accept hospitality in the family homes of male colleagues, where it will be assumed that she is developing relationships with the women there. But a lone foreign woman who visits the home of a single man, without the presence of his family, would set tongues wagging in overdrive and cause many a withering glance. What, after all, could she be up to?
Outside the family circle, socialising is generally segregated: men in one place, women in another. Men have the whole outdoors, the public world, in which to cultivate their relationships; women have only a few select spaces. Foreigners in the contexts participate more or less on equal terms with Moroccans.
Cafés are the traditional hangout of the Moroccan male. Many hours can be spent nursing single cups of coffee, while conversation flows and the passing parade of the street is monitored. A table in a café is a kind of intersection between the public and private world. Host/guest dynamics prevail to some extent, in that person nearly always picks up the tab, but it is understood that everyone is there on his own, and all may come and go at will. Card-playing is a fairly standard activity, and smoking is nearly epidemic. A packet of cigarettes on the table is assumed to be common property, and all take from it freely.
Bars, which are often joined to cafés, are also the province of men, and any native women seen in bars are assumed to be prostitutes. Except for the lounges of the best tourist hotels, all Moroccan bars have at least a slightly, and sometimes an overwhelmingly, seedy atmosphere. Islam officially prohibits drinking, thus drinking has a connotation of unwholesomeness about it, even among those who regularly imbibe, for there is an awareness of hshuma. Moroccans generally will not drink alcohol at outdoor café tables where it is available, even though foreigners often do so.
Some other points of etiquette about the café and bar scene, as well as information about the other main male gathering places in Morocco, the cinema and the public baths, are discussed in Chapter Seven: Culture and Travel on page 200.
In the countryside, women’s use of public places such as busy main thoroughfares is strictly limited to transit; in the city, they enjoy much greater freedom of behaviour. A few places have the status of ‘women’s space’ where no man would dare tread. These are the women’s public baths (discussed in Chapter Seven), rooftops and cemeteries on Friday afternoons.
Most Moroccan homes are built with flat roofs that are used for any number of activities: washing and hanging out clothes, drying grain and other foods, airing rugs and linens, etc. It is also an outdoor space where women can enjoy the freedom that men enjoy on the street, and men respect this separate space.
When weather permits, there is also a tradition of women having graveyard klatsches on Friday afternoons, when men are (ostensibly) at the mosque. At the cemetery too, men would not intrude. This is one of the few places that women seem to be truly at leisure, for there is plenty of work to do on the rooftops and in the baths.
In the countryside, and especially in Berber villages, women’s appearance in public may be slightly more relaxed. It is common to see groups of women sitting in the sun outside their houses on spring and autumn days, usually engaged in some sit-down domestic activity. In this case, the women’s space that exists inside the home is merely moved outdoors for a short time to take advantage of the weather.
Up on the roof—in addition to doing the laundry, women also gather here to socialise.
Foreign women can easily integrate themselves into the women’s network of the public baths and the rooftops. The cemetery setting would be more difficult one for a non-Muslim to gain acceptance.
As fond as Moroccans are of company and group conversation, they also very much like spending time with a single friend. The Arabic word anawiak is a conglomeration of particles that means ‘just me and you’ and is used to convey the kind of intimacy that is only possible between two people of the same sex.
Same-sex friendships are very important for Moroccans all through their lives, and marriage does not necessarily disrupt such friendships, as it is sometimes felt to do in Western countries. Since Moroccans are more likely to marry out of a sense of duty and with the object of raising a family (rather than for love, as Westerners purport to do), they do not often look to their spouses to provide the kind of support that friendship gives. Both Moroccan men and women spend a good deal of ‘quality time’ with friends, away from their spouses, and they would find it strange not to do so—though women’s time together is not necessarily leisure time, and is more likely to be a slight variation on the constant theme of domestic toil.
Behaviour between same-sex friends is more intimate than in Western countries. Man and women both hold hands while walking together. Kissing both cheeks on greeting is standard, and sometimes extends to multiple passes from one side to the other. Touching is frequent and natural, and sitting side by side, maintaining bodily contact, is also usual where seats permit it. In short, intimacy between friends is very close indeed and much more physical than many foreigners are used to, or comfortable with. The best course for the foreigner to follow in this regard is to simply get used to it and join in. Not doing so will maintain a permanent distance between you and your Moroccan friends.
There are few limits to intimacy in same-sex friendships among Moroccans, or between Moroccans and foreigners. This is one of the great dilemmas for foreigners, because the terms of friendship and its implications are rather different here than they are in other countries, and the relationship between a Moroccan and a foreigner is too often an unequal one.
Friendship in Morocco has a much more pronounced element of practical utility and interdependency than it has in many Western countries. Outside the family circle, Moroccans look next to their friends for their psychological, social and even material sustenance. It is considered desirable, and a sign of deepening intimacy, to increase the level of interdependence in a friendship: the more you can do for your friends and they for you, the greater friends you are. Favours are the very currency of friendship in Morocco, and it is here that foreigners often find the greatest difficulty in striking a balance between feeling appreciated and feeling put upon. Stated simply, the foreigner is usually in a much better position to get for his Moroccan friends what they want and need than the other way around, since a Moroccan’s needs are much more likely to be material, and easily obtainable by foreigners.
The situation is further complicated by the norms of what it is acceptable to do for one’s friends in Morocco, norms that are often at odds with prevailing ideas in other countries. In Morocco, as across the Arab world, handing out jobs and other benefits that fall within one’s demesne is standard practice. Actions that would provoke accusations of nepotism and favouritism elsewhere are simply the way things are done for Moroccans.
It is common for objects and money to be lent and borrowed among friends for indefinite periods. Indeed, doing so is seen as a desirable means of deepening one’s connection with one’s friends. Foreigners may be very uncomfortable with this seeming disappearance of their property and hard-earned cash.
How to find a way through these complications that will leave all parties feeling satisfied and supported? There is probably no easy way to find the right balance of commitment and independence in your friendships with Moroccans because you are each approaching the matter from very different directions, but it can be done, with time, patience and attention to detail.
Generous, frequent and friendly hospitality is a hallmark of the Arab world and Morocco exemplifies the best of this tradition. Until you have been the guest of a family at home, you have experienced only a shadow of the real Morocco.
If you are in Morocco for any length of time at all, you will no doubt receive invitations to homes, and this is particularly true if you are there without your own family. Since the idea of living alone is so abhorrent to most Moroccans, it is likely that someone will feel frankly obligated to take you in. But before you start filling in your social calendar, be sure that the invitation you have received should be taken at face value.
Moroccans’ obligation and love of hospitality may lead them to invite you to their home before they even learn your name. This doesn’t oblige you to accept, and probably no offence will be taken if you decline or evade an invitation, even if it is extended repeatedly, from a casual acquaintance or even from a stranger. But when someone you know socially or professionally is trying to tie you down to a particular date and time, and if they have tried before without success, they probably really mean it. Accept graciously. Work out details of whether you are to merely show up or be picked up; the latter is more usual. Count on the invitation including a meal, even if nothing is said about one.
Befriending a Morrocan
Be very careful in the beginning of your stay about whom you try to befriend, and who tries to befriend you. Remember that you are especially vulnerable at this point, being a stranger in a strange land, and perhaps a little lonely. If any individual very early on seems too demanding of your time or favours, don’t be afraid to step back and create a distance. It is easier to do this in the beginning than later on when your association may have deepened and ‘shaking off’ someone may seem like a major project.
At the same time, you should be aware that in the beginning of your stay, when you are relatively helpless and must call upon Moroccans to assist you in any number of ways, you are creating the context in which they will naturally ask you to reciprocate at some point. You mustn’t be surprised when this happens, and if you refuse, you will cause misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
If you are asked a favour that for whatever reason you feel you cannot grant, it is better to indicate your answer indirectly, by procrastination or inaction rather than by directly refusing. Saying no to friends may devalue your friendship in their eyes, and cause a breach far greater than you may think the circumstances warrant. Try especially not to directly refuse your friends anything in the presence of others, as this would be very embarrassing for them. If you feel put on the spot, you can simply delay your answer, be noncommittal or appear to go along as much as you are able. ‘Let them down easy’ is the approach that works best if you have to refuse.
If you are used to spending some time alone and you enjoy doing so, you will have to make this point repeatedly to your Moroccan friends. It is a foreign concept that they won’t understand, but they will respect it if you make yourself clear.
Remember that you are not trying to bend over backwards and become a completely different person. Just as you have a job to do in finding a balance with your Moroccan friends, they have a job to do as well in figuring out who you are.
If you can cultivate an attitude of generosity and detachment concerning your possessions, you will be in the greatest harmony with Moroccans who are, in the end, not very materialistic. Foreigners often get the idea that there is a mercenary streak in the Moroccan nature. This results from a failure to understand that the exchange of possessions is a token of the strength of the connection with another person, and this is what Moroccans value most, not the objects exchanged.
Having accepted an invitation to someone’s home, only the most elaborate of excuses will save you from loss of face if you don’t show up. Do your best to get there, and be reasonably on time (not more than half an hour after the time given). It isn’t expected that you bring anything, or do anything in the way of helping once you’re there: as a guest, you should never have to fend for yourself.
You may arrive at a Moroccan’s home to find you are not the only guest; it is quite usual for Moroccans to entertain informally, especially on Fridays. Furthermore, members of the extended family, whether they live in the house or not, may be regulars at the dinner table. It is also possible that your hosts will be showing you, the foreigner, off to their other friends.
As in all other social situations, the first thing to do if you’re brought into a roomful of people is to shake everyone’s hand; names will come later for those you don’t know. You may also take off your shoes, if there is a carpet and others have done so, even though you may be told not to bother. This isn’t a strict obligation, but it is appreciated if you do. Having exchanged handshakes and greetings all around, sit where your host indicates and get comfortable. You’re not leaving anytime soon.
Where you come from, it may be customary for the host to give a short tour of the house; this isn’t done in Morocco. The only room you will likely see at the outset is the bit diyaf, or guests’ room. It is the most expensively furnished room in the house, and reserved for entertaining guests or for the man of the house. This is probably where you will stay for the whole visit, including the meal. If you are inclined to express admiration for some small object you see in the room, perhaps it is better to suppress it for now. Your host, in his desire to please, may well present you with the object as a gift.
In a very traditional or conservative household, there may not be any women present except for servants, or women of the household may only make cameo appearances. In any case, for purposes of entertaining, foreign women are usually awarded honorary status and seated with the men, even if the other women are out of sight.
Rooms facing the courtyard in a Moroccan house. Though they invite your curiosity, as a guest you are likely to see only one, the bit diyaf.
Whatever the time of day, a good interval is likely to pass before food appears. This may be filled with conversation over tea or coffee. It is not impolite, after a respectable period, to make some (oblique) reference to food, the passing of time or your hunger. If you don’t, chances are the host or a Moroccan guest will, and this will be the signal for the food service to begin. This custom serves the idea that guests get what they want when they want it, and need only ask for anything that is not forthcoming. For the same reason, you may note that during the meal, requests for anything not present are issued in short, peremptory grunts from host and Moroccan guests alike rather than polite inquiries; it is the host’s duty to meet every possible need.
You’ll know things are getting under way when someone appears with a basin and kettle for guests to wash their hands. Don’t get up, it will come to you. When it does, hold your hands over the basin and they will be wetted. You can then use the soap provided, and hold out you hand again to be rinsed. A towel will appear for you to dry them on. This kind service may be offered by any member of the household or possibly a servant. If you wish, you may thank them, or say hashak.
Napkins or napkin-like cloths may be distributed before you start eating, but mind you, these are not for wiping your hands on! They are to protect your lap from whatever crumbs may fall between the dish and your mouth. It is normal to get through the meal with sticky hands—you’ll get to wash them again when it’s over.
Except for cous-cous, covered in the following pages, Moroccan guest meals tend to follow a pattern, familiarity with which may help you to avoid completely stuffing yourself. It is a point of pride among Moroccans to serve their guests as fully and richly as they can; to them, it would be unthinkable for you to leave their house unsatisfied. Your job is to eat as much as you can, or at least give the appearance of doing so.
Moroccans usually eat at a knee-high, round table, out of a large common dish and without utensils. Food is taken with the fingers or scooped up with bread. The meal may begin with various salads and relishes (olives, pickles, etc.) set around the periphery of the table. Take from the ones nearest you, even if those at a distance look more enticing. Freshly baked bread also usually appears at this time; it is broken or cut into diner-friendly pieces, often by the host, and set in front of each guest.
After the salads, a main course will appear. This is typically a tajin, or stew, served in a round earthenware dish, consisting of meat and vegetables in a rich broth. Eat from the portion of the dish nearest you; do not reach over to claim an attractive morsel from the other side. Your host will probably select choice bites and place them in your section of the dish.
It is worth noting here that the concept of vegetarianism is foreign to Moroccans. Though they may occasionally have meatless meals themselves, they would never serve one when entertaining. So you’ll have some explaining to do if you don’t eat meat. Note also that no meat is wasted; poultry and fish are often cooked with the head still on, and marrow is sucked out of large bones. These are considered special treats and may be placed in front of you for your consumption. You will not cause deep or lasting offence by failing to eat something put before you; if you really can’t eat it, make profuse apologies and never express revulsion.
A couple of pointers to keep host and guest happy:
Pace yourself. The rule in Moroccan hospitality is ‘More is Better.’ Don’t assume that what appears to be the main course is the only one. Two or even more main courses may appear. Though you will be gently prodded throughout the meal with cries of “Kul! Kul!” (Eat! Eat!) by your hosts, let good judgment be your guide. Stop as soon as someone else does, and make profuse apologies about your inability to take in more. You may be able to get an idea of how many courses will be served by discreetly counting the number of tablecloths on the table. Typically, one of these is whisked away—with all accumulated debris—at the end of every course, to reveal a fresh, clean one underneath.
Don’t put your left hand in a common dish. If you’re left-handed, retrain yourself. Food is taken with the right hand. Once you touch it, it’s yours and you can do with it as you wish, but it may be viewed as polluting to touch common food with your left hand. (See Chapter Three for a fuller explanation.)
Food waste (bones, pits, peels, etc.) can be placed on the (usually plastic) table covering in front of you, and will be cleared away with the remains of the meal.
A course of fresh fruit usually marks the end of the meal. Sugary Western desserts are not often served.
At any time, and especially at the end of the meal, it is appropriate to praise the quality and quantity of the food, and to express one’s satisfaction. Shebâat, ‘I’m full,’ is the usual phrase. Belching is also appropriate. The natives may say besahatik, ‘to your health,’ to which you may reply Allah iyâtik s-sehah, ‘God give you health.’
Also at the end of the meal, the hand-washing apparatus may circulate again. Moroccans may clean their mouths at this point, taking water into the mouth in a cupped right hand, and even reaching inside to dislodge food particles, then spitting into the basin.
With a few exceptions, the etiquette and customs described above apply to cous-cous, what might be called the Moroccan national dish. This delicious granulated pasta dish is most typically served on Fridays, and if you’re invited to dine on that day, you can be sure what’s on the menu. In the countryside, cous-cous (called ks-ksu or tâam) is sometimes eaten with the fingers, but generally spoons are provided. It is also served in a common dish, and eaten with meat and vegetables. As with tajin, eat from the section of the dish in front of you. Merqa, or broth, may be added to the cous-cous from time to time to dampen it. It has a tendency to expand in the stomach, so if you eat your fill, you will feel like exploding an hour or so later. Bread is not served with cous-cous.
Cous-cous, the national dish: meat and vegetables nestling on a mound of steamed semolina.
Nothing is more pleasant to Moroccans than spending time with their friends. The concept of ‘eat and run’ will find no sympathy, so if you approach your visit to a Moroccan home as something likely to take a good chunk out of the day, you will enjoy it more. Often, people take a siesta after a big meal; guests may join in if they wish. After this, tea or coffee may be served, and conversation may continue at great length. Anytime you announce your imminent departure, you will be met with protests, but these will become perfunctory after a time and you can then depart with grace. The more often you repeat your intention to leave, the more likely your host will be to believe you.
Reciprocation is viewed as a reasonable, perhaps an obligatory response to generosity in Morocco, so you shouldn’t be surprised if, after enjoying a lavish meal, the talk turns to some (enormous) favour asked of you, especially one that you are uniquely placed to grant. This is a cultural norm, not an attempt to take advantage of the foreigner. But don’t hesitate to defer discussion to a later time if there would be some awkwardness in refusing or if you foresee complications. It is likely that any requests coming from your friends will be entirely reasonable and a pleasure for you to fulfil, and that any unreasonable requests will come from persons who were perhaps overly eager to entertain you in the first place.
For whatever reason, you may be a guest in a Moroccan home for an extended period. In this case, it is appropriate to contribute to your keep, particularly if you know that you are stretching the resources of your host. But this must be done very delicately, to prevent hshuma from taking a swipe at your host family: they would not want to be seen as offering you substandard hospitality, or as expecting you to pay your way.
The chances are that there is a member of the family better known to you than the others. Approach him or her privately, express your deep conviction that you need to contribute and ask what you might do. You can insist on their taking money from you (to buy food), but only if you are quite sure that it is needed. If it is not—that is, if your hosts are well-to-do—this would be quite insulting. If you are really unsure about whether you’re doing the right thing in this regard, consult a Moroccan friend outside the family for his advice.
You may find yourself a guest at short notice when one of your Moroccan friends takes you along to somewhere he or she has already been invited. Never doubt that you will be welcome. If arrangements need to be made to accommodate you, you can be assured that your intermediate host will make them seamlessly.
It would not be viewed as complimentary for you to invite your Moroccan friends to a restaurant meal, unless they are Europeanised, urban natives whom you know to frequent restaurants. There are some excellent restaurants in the large cities, but eating out is not viewed as an entertainment in Morocco. Rather, it is something to be endured by travellers who have no friends or relatives to dine with in the town where they find themselves. This is reflected in the paucity or complete lack of good restaurants in smaller towns and villages; those in cities often cater mostly to foreigners.
If you are entertaining Moroccans in your home, feel free to treat them to the food and customs of your country, but don’t be offended if they eat little. So strong is their attachment to bread and tajin that they may not be able to make sense of a meal that doesn’t include them. If you have native domestic help, you should find it no trouble to feed Moroccans in the way they’re accustomed to. You needn’t be concerned with providing separate facilities for men and women, unless this is something customary for you; Moroccans would not expect to find sexual segregation in the home of a foreigner.
There are a few ‘don’ts’ to keep in mind when entertaining Moroccans in your home:
Whatever your menu, do not serve any pork or alcoholic drinks.
Try not to mix guests of different social strata, and definitely don’t seat them together (e.g., your maid with your landlord).
Don’t serve food or appetizers ‘buffet style,’ as the idea of having to serve yourself is contrary to the spirit of Moroccan hospitality.
Parties in Morocco centre around family rituals and are not given just for fun or for any personal, congratulatory reason. Four kinds of gatherings you may be invited to are discussed below, roughly in descending order of the likelihood that a foreigner might be included. All of these are occasions for feasting. If you are invited to any of these, you should dress well. A jacket and tie, though not essential, would not be out of place. Women should dress fashionably but conservatively (no short skirts or plunging necklines, long sleeves preferred).
These are large, noisy and lengthy affairs, often conducted in the summer months and lasting two or three days. The families of the bride and groom may hold separate parties. Food, drink, dancing and music are regular features. Reception rooms are usually sexually segregated, but among more modern Moroccans, there is considerable crossover, and co-ed dancing may even be permitted. There are two main rituals of the party: the presentation of the bride, who is carried on a table and is bedecked in fine clothes and no end of personal ornamentation, and the presentation of the bloodied sheets of the marriage bed, to indicate that the bride was indeed a virgin and therefore worth the bride price. Customs vary in different parts of the country and among people of different social and economic backgrounds, so if you have the chance, you might ask some other invited guest what an appropriate gift might be—but you can’t go wrong by giving some useful household item.
Held on the seventh day after a child is born, this is the occasion on which the child is formally named. There will be plenty of food and a great number of relatives, particularly women. If the family can afford it, a sheep is slaughtered and consumed for the occasion. A gift for the baby, such as clothing, and a small gift for the mother may be offered. A sbouaâ for a boy is a much bigger deal than one for a girl.
Islam dictates that males be circumcised and that no Muslim woman can have sexual relations with one who isn’t. Moroccan boys usually undergo this ritual some time before the age of six, and most often at the age of three or four. A barber performs the deed at the boy’s home. A large festive meal accompanies the proceedings. It is appropriate to give some small gift to the boy.
Forty days after the death of an immediate family member, or on some anniversary thereafter, a meal may be offered at which special food is prepared. This may be followed or preceded by chanting from the Koran. Charity is the guiding principle of these occasions, and they may be used to feed those less fortunate than the bereaved. A sadaqa being primarily a religious affair, it is unlikely a non-Muslim foreigner would be specifically invited, other than one very close to the family. But the overriding spirit of the sadaqa is open, unqualified charity, and anyone appearing, whether invited or not, will be fed.
Many of the national religious holidays are also occasions for feasting, and it is quite likely that you will be invited to partake in these. They are discussed in Chapter Seven.
Except for picnics which families may enjoy together, any other activities that you are likely to enjoy at the invitation of your Moroccan friends will probably be with friends of the same sex. It is not a custom—yet—for Moroccan couples, married or otherwise, to ‘go out’ together. More normally, men spend time away from home with their men friends, and women spend time either at home or away with their women friends. Some activities that you might enjoy with your same sex Moroccan friends are also discussed in Chapter Seven.
At the extreme of Moroccan hospitality, the guest may find that he doesn’t really want to be king. The host may show so much deference and respect to the invited guest that the two hardly see each other. This sort of treatment is uncommon, and will only take place when relations between host and guest are professional (perhaps even strained) rather than personal, or when the host does not presume to be the equal of the guest. Such treatment may seem neither cordial nor friendly, but it is probably not intended to offend; indeed, it is offered as the highest honour. (On the other hand, it may indicate that the host is showing hospitality out of a sense of duty, rather than personal desire.) Under this form of hospitality, guests are shown into the bit diyaf and may be left there unattended, except when exquisitely prepared food is brought in and out, and when the guests’ needs are surveyed. Guests are expected to make their needs known if they are not anticipated by the imagination of the host.
If this sort of hospitality doesn’t sit well with you, don’t worry: chances are you won’t be subjected to it more than once from the same host, who may consider it the honourable manner for a first visit. If it persists, it is a sign that your host doesn’t feel that a friendlier relationship is developing. You may prefer the distance, but if you don’t, it wouldn’t go amiss to say that you would rather enjoy a meal with the family.
An Arab and Islamic custom dictates that corpses be buried within 24 hours of death. This makes death and burial very much a no-nonsense affair in Morocco. With mortality rates considerably higher than those found in developed countries from infancy on up, Moroccans are no strangers to death, and it is a rare person who has not suffered the death of a near relative, even a sibling.
Bodies are prepared for burial at home, sometimes with the help of one who is skilled in caring for the dead. The washed corpse is carried to the cemetery on a simple bier, wrapped in a simple shroud, in which it is buried. Only men carry the corpse, and they chant the profession of faith as they march to the graveyard. In Morocco, Muslims are buried on their right side with the head to the south; thus they face Mecca and are well situated for their anticipated resurrection on Judgment Day.
It is the custom where a death has occurred for neighbours, friends and relatives to bring food to the home of the bereaved to feed them and those who come to offer condolences. On the day or the day after a death, a dinner, called simply l-âsha, is served in the home of the bereaved, and passages from the Koran are read aloud. This is a strictly Muslim affair at which a non-Muslim foreigner would be out of place, but it is appropriate to make a short visit in the days following a death to offer condolences.
Orderly arrangement of graves facilitates good viewing on Judgement Day, as at this cemetery in Salé.
A gift may be given at any time in Morocco. Birthday gifts are not usual, since people are not generally aware of their birthdays, and so do not celebrate them. A typical response to a gift is a simple thank you. The gift is usually not opened in the presence of the giver, and it may indeed be put away out of sight as soon as it is given. It is possible that the gift won’t be referred to or acknowledged again, at least not in a group of people where anyone but the family is present. All of these practices reflect the idea that showing great appreciation or enthusiasm for a gift received would imply one actually needed the thing, and thus hshuma would descend in its winged glory on the one whose needs were greater than self or family could provide.
Moroccans very much like to give gifts and you will probably receive casual gifts from your Moroccan friends from time to time. Gift-giving is part of the system of personal inter-dependency that is so valued by Moroccans, and by giving you a gift, they are deepening their connection with you—in a sense, bringing you into the family. The deeper their connection with you, the more comfortable they will feel in calling upon you to help them when they perceive that you are able to. This is just the way the system works, among Moroccans themselves, and between Moroccans and foreigners. So you mustn’t be surprised if a request for a favour follows in the wake of a gift, nor are you far off the mark in associating the one with the other. But the intention is to strengthen the relationship with you, and thus the gift should be perceived as an honour, an expression of a person’s wish to be closer to you.
It is not suitable to offer the remainder of something that you have used or eaten as a ‘gift’ to someone else. This would be seen as an insult, not as a gift. If you wish to share what you have with others, you must offer from it while, or even better, before you partake of it, not after you have finished with it.
In common with other Arab cultures, Moroccans do not regard punctuality as a virtue—indeed, they are hardly aware of it as a concept. Some things do run on a schedule out of practical necessity—schools, for instance, that have regular classroom periods punctuated by bells. For other things supposedly run on a schedule, the schedule is regarded as a contingent things, and no one is very surprised by anything that is running late: people, trains, buses, starting times for films in cinemas, sporting events, public ceremonies and the like. This general looseness about observing agreed upon times extends to engagements and appointments as well. Westerners may regard something late that has missed its appointed time by five minutes; Moroccans would not be very concerned until an hour has passed.
There is everything to be gained for your mental health by adopting as much as possible the Moroccan attitude towards time. Everything happens in its time, the saying goes. So if something isn’t happening, it mustn’t be time for it, and there’s nothing to be gained by getting anxious about it.
The practice of lining up in an orderly way so that each person can be served in turn doesn’t always hold in Morocco. Writers on cultural differences attribute this to a number of things; for example, some distinguish between monochronic and polychronic cultures. In the former, typical of many Western cultures, there is an emphasis on doing only one thing at a time; in polychronic cultures, of which Morocco is one, many activities are carried on simultaneously. At the bank, this means that the teller is dealing with five people at once, not just you because you think you’re at the top of the line.
Another contributing factor to the pandemonium that often prevails in Morocco where otherwise you might expect queuing is the general aggressiveness that characterises public behaviour—every man for himself. Still another element that may contribute to this behaviour in Morocco is the scarcity of some goods or services and the feeling that if you don’t go for it assertively, you won’t get it. Whatever the reasons, they will all be academic to you when you are in the midst of a swarming crowd that you think should be a queue. Here, your only saving grace is to remember that this is normal, and not something to get angry or excited about.
Moroccans are quite modest about revealing their skin in public, although this is changing. Men either bare-chested or wearing short pants are seldom seen in public places, the beach being the one exception. The general rule for women in public is, the more covered up, the better. Women at the beach in swimwear are either foreigners, or offspring of the Europeanised urban bourgeoisie. Even in same-sex public baths, one never exposes one’s genitals. Foreigners from countries where such modesty does not exist should be aware of the affront they may cause by not respecting Moroccans’ customs in this regard. Dressing in comfortable clothing that covers all but the head and hands is most appreciated by Moroccans. Skin-tight leggings for women will attract as much (unwanted) attention as if the legs weren’t covered at all.
Moroccan women breastfeed their babies wherever they wish, with little or no shielding from public view. Moroccan Arabic has a separate word for a ‘lactating’ breast, as if to de-eroticise it. Public breastfeeding is quite normal and unremarkable, and you should never stare at a woman breastfeeding her child.
For anyone coming from a Western country, Morocco will seem quite peaceful and safe. Guns in private ownership are nearly unheard of, and weapons of any kind used in fighting are quite rare. Conflicts occasionally erupt into physical violence, but it is far more common for dire words and horrifying threats to take the place of actual fighting.
Theft and robbery are rather common in Morocco. The haves are very often the victims of the have-nots. Unfortunately, tourists and other obvious foreigners are singled out in disproportionate numbers; therefore, you should always guard your valuables carefully when in public places, especially in crowds, and don’t leave things of obvious value lying around at home if anyone has access to your house when you are not there, including domestic help.
Burglaries by forced entry are also becoming more common in Morocco, as more unemployed rural people migrate to cities. If you live in a city, you should survey security risks at your house and minimise them in any way possible. Low-tech means are the most reliable way of doing this, and often the only means available. One Moroccan professional says that his 24-hour security system is his live-in maid. If your house is empty during the day or at other times, lock it up tight, and cultivate good relations with neighbours who can keep an eye out for you.
Hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin, and abusable pharmaceuticals such as amphetamines and barbiturates are practically unheard of in Morocco. However, hashish and kif (marijuana) are both quite common, despite being illegal.
Until recently, a more lenient attitude existed towards those who used this drugs in Morocco. It was fairly ordinary for males, from their mid-teens upward, to be in possession of a small piece of hash which they softened over a flame, crumbled, rolled into a cigarette with tobacco and smoked. This concoction is called a jwan. Smoking these in public or semi-public places (cafés, for example) still goes on without drawing much attention, but those who indulge must be ever vigilant, for if they are caught by the police, they will be arrested. Possession of hashish is illegal.
Kif is more often associated with those who are addicted to it, and who smoke it throughout the day. It is cut up very fine, sometimes with a small admixture of tobacco, and smoked in a long stemmed, small-bowled pipe called a sabsi. These are sold everywhere in Morocco. Kif addicts are a sizeable minority of the older adult population in Morocco, more in the countryside than in cities. Kif addiction is by no means respectable; it is viewed rather in the same way that alcoholism is viewed in the West.
Foreigners should avoid using and buying these drugs. The same rules do not apply to you as to Moroccans, and the seeming impunity that Moroccans enjoy using kif and hashish will not be extended to you, whether you are in their company or not. Chemical dependency of any kind—whether on alcohol, prescription or illicit drugs—is a dicey business in Morocco, because supplies may be very undependable. Avoiding all of these to the extent possible will enhance your well-being.
Moroccan men are avid smokers generally, and the Western sentiment against smoking in public places has penetrated very little in Morocco. This means that smoking is quite usual in taxis, buses, cinemas, cafés, restaurants and the like. Strong smelling ‘black tobacco’, as it is called, is more popular in Morocco than ‘blond tobacco’, and its pungent odour is never very far away. It is difficult for those who wish to avoid cigarette smoke to find a way of doing so in Morocco. You can ban smoking in your home, but be aware that this may be thought inhospitable by Moroccan guests.
It is an irritating habit of some Moroccan males to smoke anywhere in a train carriage, whether in the designated smoking area or not. Don’t hesitate to remind someone politely that he is smoking in a non-smoking area. He will usually oblige you, perhaps by standing up and stomping away indignantly, but at least the smoke will go away.
In general, Morocco’s natural resources are under- rather than over-exploited, and it does not suffer from some of the industrial and environmental problems found in other parts of the world, both developed and underdeveloped. One notable exception is overgrazing, trying to support too many ruminants on land that cannot, as a result, renew itself properly. Awareness of environmental issues in Morocco is rather faint, but it is growing.
If you are quite well versed in problems of the environment, you may well experience alarm or concern about many things that Moroccans take for granted. Air quality in the big cities, for example, is often quite poor owing to the lack of regulations concerning automobile emissions. Litter is a problem everywhere in the country, but in most places, it is more unsightly than actually harmful: very little is wasted and the average family probably produces about a bucketful of rubbish a week. Only what can’t be burned as fuel, composted, recycled, reused or fed to animals will end up on a rubbish heap, which often seems to consist of no more than plastic bags.
The kind of affection that people in many cultures lavish on domestic animals isn’t much found in Morocco; rather pets are viewed for their utilitarian aspect. This reflects the very strict division in the Moroccan mind between humans and animals, a division that tends to get blurred in cultures where children are raised with cartoon animals that speak and act like people. Dogs are kept outside and are expected to ward off strangers and would-be intruders. Many Moroccans have a real fear of dogs and shrink from approaching them, perhaps because the dogs themselves are conditioned to bark and growl at, or even attack strangers. Cats also usually live outside, and there are many feral cats everywhere in Morocco, especially in medinas in the vicinity of butchers’ shops.
Prepared pet foods are available at French-style supermarchés in cities, but nowhere else. Moroccans who keep dogs and cats feed them table scraps.
Birds such as canaries and parakeets are the only animals kept as pets merely for the owners’ enjoyment.
