Jebala people

Jebala
جبالة
jbala
Map of territories inhabited by Jebala in Northern Morocco
Total population
1,284,000[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Northern Morocco, mostly concentrated in north-west Morocco and Rif
Languages
Jebli Arabic
Religion
Sunni Islam

The Jebala (Moroccan Arabic: جبالة, romanized: Jbāla) are a tribal confederation inhabiting an area in northwest Morocco from the town of Targuist to the west. The Jbala region (from Moroccan Arabic: جبال, romanized: jbāl, lit.'mountains') thus occupies the western part of the Rif mountains. The Jbala has a population of 1,284,000[citation needed] and is divided into over 42 Arab tribes,[1] today known as "rural communes" (جماعات قروية), and adjacent to them are a small group of 9 Arabized tribes called the Ghomaras (غمارة), who inhabit the territory between the line of mountain peaks to the north of Chefchaouen and the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to tribal heterogeneity, this region is also geographically diverse. High mountains are interspersed with hills and flatlands, and local inhabitants settle in both the high mountains and valleys. In addition to the rainy climate, which influences the way the inhabitants build their houses as well as their special agricultural practices,[2] there are also numerous cultural characteristics that contribute to an emphasised sense of identity[3] and make the Arab Jbala people clearly distinguishable from their Berber neighbours from the eastern part of the Rif Mountains (Riafa or Rwafa) who live between Targuist and Zaio where the climate is more arid. Nowadays, most Jebala no longer identify with a tribe and are also called Chamalis, just like the Arabs of the cities in northwest Morocco, (Chamalis simply means Northerners in Arabic). Most Jebala mainly live in cities such as Tangier, Tetouan, Ksar Kebir, Ksar es Sghir, Larache, Ouazzane, Asilah, Chefchaouen, Taounate.[4]

  1. ^ Hart, D. M. (1999), « Luchas hereditarias rifeñas o vendettas rifeñas y segmentación o anti-segmentación ? Datos adicionales sobre los Ait Uriagel y contestación parcial a Henry Munson », Hart y Rachid Raha (dir.), La sociedad bereber del Rif marroquí. Sobre la teoría de la segmentaridad en el Magreb, Grenade, Universidad de Granada, Diputación Provincial de Granada, Série Historia y Antropología del Magreb contemporáneo.
  2. ^ Ater M. et al. (2018), « Agrosystèmes traditionnels et savoirs agronomiques des paysans du pays Jbala (Rif occidental) », Les Jbala. Peuplement, langue et ruralité, Actes des rencontres de Chefchaouen, Taounate et Larache, 2011, 2012, 2014, coordination M. Mezzine, J. Vignet-Zunz, F. Brigui, soutien de l’Ass. Targa-AIDE, Rabat. Also see: Hmimsa Y. et al., (2012), “Vernacular taxonomy, classification and varietal diversity of fig (Ficuscarica L.) among Jbala cultivators in Northern Morocco”, Human Ecology. DOI:10.1007/s10745-012-9471-x.
  3. ^ Vignet-Zunz, J. (2014), Les Jbala du Rif. Des lettrés en montagne, Casablanca: Éditions la Croisée des Chemins.: 23-40.
  4. ^ Coon, Carleton S. (1931). Tribes of the Rif. Cambridge, Mass. hdl:2027/mdp.39015020847656.

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