A Man on a Bus

October 17, 1995 Tata house

I met a guy on the bus today coming back to Tata from Tissint. The guy said he was in a Berber culture organization. The Berber coming out of my mouth fascinated him. He pulled out a book from his organization, filled with articles on Berber culture and the history of Morocco. There was even an article on the Jews in Morocco, about the importance of documenting their history before it vanishes. He talked about the Berber alphabet and the symbols as I flipped through the pages of Tashlheit poems and proverbs.

As he explained this to me the men in all directions became interested. They began asking him more questions about the book and organization. They seemed like little children on their first day of school, so eager to learn more.

Almost every time I travel a similar situation occurs. A Berber intellectual comes into reach to bounce their thoughts off me. When they hear I live in a remote Berber village in the south, they immediately consider me a “daughter” of the country, and open up. The deep south of Morocco is the heart of the Berbers.

On one of my travels, a Tashlheit man told me that southern Moroccans control most of the income of the country. Most of them work outside of the south, further north or abroad. Another man told me once that the Berbers wanted to open their own bank but the king wouldn’t allow it. He feared the money would all drain from his banks. In the past two months I have been told by four different men at different times that Berber being taught in the schools, as mandatory, is just around the corner.

It’s strange sometimes to know some of the things I know. I’m not sure why I’ve been given the information. I’m sure there are those that want it. As there are fundamentalist anything, there are fundamentalist Berbers. I’ve asked the other volunteers down here whether they’ve noticed or heard any distinct opinions regarding the evolution of Berber culture and the revitalization of the Berber language. They said they’d never even thought of it.