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The power of the dagger, the seeds of the Koran, and the sweat of the ploughman: Ethnic stratification and agricultural intensification in the Ziz Valley, southeast Morocco Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Ilahiane, Hsain, 1963- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 05/10/2021 15:40:19 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288865 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly fi'om the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. 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Kgher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Aibcr MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 NOTE TO USERS The original manuscript received by UMI contains pages with slanted print. Pages were microfilmed as received. This reproduction is the best copy available UMI THE POWER OF THE DAGGER, THE SEEDS OF THE KORAN, AND THE SWEAT OF THE PLOUGHMAN; ETHNIC STRATIHCATION AND AGRICULTURAL INTENSIHCATION IN THE ZIZ VALLEY, SOUTHEAST MOROCCO by Hsain Ilahiane Copyright ® Hsain Ilahiane 1998 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Anthropology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate College The University of Arizona 19 9 8 UMI Number: 9901680 Copyright 1998 by Ilahlane, Hsaln All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9901680 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Hsain Ilahiane entitled The Pnwpr nf nao-ooT- the Seeds of the Koran, and the Sweat of the Ploughman: Ethnic Stratification and Agricultural Intensification in the Ziz Vallev. Southeast Morocco and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy O ^ ' - j /-• Date Thomas Park C' ''l\ Date Jane Hill \0, Date Thomas McGuire Date -7 '/ Michael E. Bonine Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director _ , Date Tnomas Park J STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial ftilfilhnent of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in pan may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Anthropological fieldwork involves considerable team work. The research project was made possible by a National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant and a Wenner-Gren Foundation Grant for archival research in France. My major debt of gratimde is to my dissertation committee. I would like to thank Thomas Park, who served as chair, Thomas McGuire, Jane Hill, and Michael Bonine. The School of American Research provided the ideal scholarly environment to write up my project under the Weatherhead Fellowship. At SAR, I would like to thank Douglas Schwartz, Ross Hassig, Beverly Stoeltje, ana Joan O'Dotmell for their encouragement. My friends, both smdents and faculty, at the University of Arizona have helped with ideas and guidance. I would like to thank Mamadou Baro, Tim Finan, Charles Hutchinson, Kathy McCaston, Emilio Moran, Barron Orr, Andrea Smith, and Drexel Woodson. Thanks also go to the Batchilys, the Chehbounis, the Van Leeuwens, the Youngs, the Rifis of Santa Fe, the Orrs. Gina Gemignani, and Laura Smckey. I also remember with affection and appreciation Robert Netting, who made substantial suggestions, and ' Ami Chad, who taught me about local history and French colonial encounters from a Haratine point of view. I miss them; they were my teachers. To the government of Morocco I owe gratimde for permission to work in Errachidia, and for much help and cooperation I foimd in the Office Regional de Mise en Valeur Agricole du Tafilalet and the Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II. In Rabat, I would like to thank Azugagh Mohammed, Bencherifa Abdellatif, Bouabdellaoui Yahya, Chbouki Nabil, El Moudden Abderrahmane, Hammoudi Abdellah, Lamriche Mustapha, and Rejdali Moh. In Errachidia, I offer heartfelt appreciation to Abro Hro, Chtioui Abdelhadi, Boumahdi Elhadi, Bouwdar Mohamed, Didi Mohamed, El Alami Fouzilla, Gharib Fatima, Jarir Fatima, Lamrabti Khalid and Aziz, Naaza Driss, Ouhemmi Hmad, Ourahou Mohamed, Madame Tahiri, and the Ait Brahim of Rich. In France, special thanks go to Jean-Pierre Guillot, Ghislaine Werbrouck, and Armelle Cabillik for their support and warm welcome. I would like also to express my gratimde to Stanley Brown and Khanboubi Nezha for their help along the scholarly path. But my greatest debt is to the Ziz Valley people, who made me welcome and allowed me to pry into their homes, fields, and relations. Finally, I thank my wife, Ann Becker, and my family in Morocco for their support and patience. DEDICATION In memory of my mother, Bedda Moha, the nomad, who saw the pursuit of education as a way out of poverty for her children. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES 9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 10 ABSTRACT II INTRODUCTION I. AGRICULTURAL INTENSIHCATION, ETHNICITY, AND SOCIAL CHANGE 13 I. THE CULTURAL ECOLOGY OF THE ZIZ VALLEY 1. A Geographical Narrative of the Ziz Valley: Following the River in Search of its People 36 2. Climate: Dry, Hot, Wet, and Windy 46 3. Soils: Sweet, Beautiful, Sandy, Coarse, Salty, and Unsalty 47 4. Hydrology and Irrigation Infrastructure: A Matter of Water Quality 49 5. Demography: A Rapid Trend of Urbanization 60 6. The Agriculmral Base: Dates, Olives, Cereals, Alfalfa, and Livestock .... 63 7. Conclusion: A Deteriorating Desert Ecosystem 66 II. THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF THE ZIZ VALLEY: RAIN, TRADE, POWER, AND THE SOCIAL MANAGEMENT OF SCARCITY 1. Introduction 69 2. Those Who Have Incurred the Wrath of God: Rain or No Rain is the Reakn of God 70 3. The Ziz Valley: Evolutionary Drama of Power and Ethnic Struggles 75 4. The Saharan Caravan Trade: The Rise of Sijilmassa and Power Struggles between the Eighth and the Fifteenth Centuries 77 5. Imperial Dynasties, Nomads, Saints, and Peasants: The Fate of Sijilmassa between the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Cenmries 82 6. "When the Dog Came from Boudnib": Finally, the French Arrive to Tafilalt 98 7. The Stratified Ethnic qSars of the Ziz Valley: A Deliberate Outcome of Ecology and History 105 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued IIL THE TRADITIONAL SOCL\L ORGANIZATION OF THE ZIZ VILLAGES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE QSAR OF ZAOUIT AMELKIS 1. Introduction Ill 2. The qSar and its Spatial Organization 112 3. The Traditional Organization of the qSar 121 4. The Socio-political Organization of the qSar 121 5. Containing Law and Order 127 6. The Economic Organization of the qSar 132 7. The Syndrome of Collectivity 132 8. The qSar's Land Tenure Organization 138 9. The qSar's Quest for Economic Equilibriimi and Egalitarianism 143 10. Conclusion 146 IV. THE ETHNOGRAPHIC PRESENT OF THE ZIZ VALLEY'S AGRARIAN SOCIETY 1. Introduction 148 2. The Social History of the Villages 150 3. Population and Emigration 159 4. Households and Household Composition 164 5. Rules of Inheritance: Land and Women 169 6. Housing and Food Habits 176 7. The Structure of the Ziz Work Force 181 8. Markets or s«<y5 185 9. The Agrarian Society of the Ziz Valley 191 V. THE FARMING SYSTEM OF THE ZIZ VALLEY 1. Introduction 193 2. The Seasons and the Agriculmral Calendar 194 3. The Irrigation System and its Social Organization 201 4. Land Use and the Farming System 210 5. Land Tenure and the System of Production 217 6. Agricultural Labor 219 7. Agricultural Technology 224 8. Livestock Raising 231 9. Tree Farming 239 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued VL ETHNIC STRATinCATION AND AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION IN THE ZIZ VALLEY 1. Introduction 254 2. Boserup and Agricultural Change 256 3.