Intorduction Maraboutism * Roots * History The culture of Visiting Saadat * Blessings * Cultural contradiction Examples Conclusion Introduction
Moroccan culture is full of legends
and myths, tales of magic and epic characters, stories of love and fear, whose origins are lost in time and in which fact and fiction are mixed. Tales, myths, legends and true stories intertwine creating a rich oral tradition. Today, we are going to talk about sarced places ( Zaouia) and Saadat.
In some contexts, we can refer to
Saadat as saints and servants.
Word of the day : Maraboutism.
Maraboutism
A typical Moroccan phenomenon.
- the cult of marabouts and zawiyas are found throughout the kingdom. But in reality a marabout is the living Sufi mystic who builds a Ribat (zawiya with many departments) for the purpose of gathering people around God Almighty and His invocation. For : A focus for combating illiteracy and inculcating knowledge. A place of worship. Defence of the safety of the homeland. Fighting injustice and social corruption. The best example is Oued al-Makhazin Battle in 1578 participated by marabout Sidi Mhammad ibn Ali Risouni. The sense of this term has undergone, like so many other terms, the erosion of history. Nowadays, a marabout or a saint or holly man point at a character whose qualities : wisdom, thorough knowledge of religious texts and especially the baraka (divine blessing) make of him an intermediate to God . The culture of visiting Saadat
- What do you think pushes people to
believe in siants? Poeple strive to participate in the sacredness of these saints. They believe in magical powers and divine blessigns . Illiteracy and ignorance Lack of hope. Examples Chamharouch- location.
Chamharouch, also know as "The king of
Jnoun", or "The Great Judge of Jnoun" is located at a mountain named "Toubkal" next to Marrakech , close to Imlil. The access to this mountain is almost impossible by car due to its rocky terrain , the average person would need to use a donkey to get there, and put on warm clothes as it is really windy and cold up there. Chamharouch-story.
The story says that a man went to the
mountain and dedicated his life to worship and medidate, in a solitary social state until he died. A memorial was built at the place of his death. As the story spread amongst people, many speculations started rising. The most well known of which is the one called "The Jnoun Court". The superstition basically states that in that memorial lives a Djinn name Chamharouch, people starting visiting the memorial in order to worship, offer tributes such as small goats, and it is believed that visiting it cures diseases. However, that place is full of manipulative imposters that take advantage of people that visit the Second example Saints of Marrakech-history.
been about 300 years since
Its
Sultan Moulay Ismal of Marrakech
came up with a way to deal with the growing influence of the seven saints of Regraga from the Essaouira region. Seven Saints were chosen, with only one thing in common: theyre all buried in the Red City. Because then in 2005, at Bab Doukkala, seven towers were built to honour these seven men, who are part of the history and culture of the City of Marrakech. Cadi Ayyad Ben Moussad
Also known as: Abou Al Fadl Ayyad ben
Amer Ben Moussa Ben Ayyad Ben Mohamed Ben Abdellah Ben Moussa Ben Ayyad Al Yahsob or Cadi de Grenade. Origins: Ymnite, originally from Sebta. Education: Student of Abou Abdellah ben Issa, from Imam Abou Abdellah ben Hamdine, Abou Al Hassan ben Siradj and Imam Abou Al walid Ibn Rochd. Distinguishing features: - Hes best known for learning Maleksime in the Muslim West. His love for the Prophet is evident in his work Al-Chifaa and his orthodox rigor earned him his saint title.
Death: 1149 (544 in Hegira)
Buried: Near Bab Alen. Third example JEWISHLEGENDS. The shrine of Rabbi Amram ben Diwane is one of Moroccos major Jewish shrines. It is located in Ouazane. Rabbi Amram ben Diwane-history.
Rabbi Amram ben Diwane (d. 1781)
arrived in Morocco in 1743 from Palestine. He was sent to Morocco by the rabbis of Hebron to collect funds for the Jews of Jerusalem. He toured Morocco for years, collecting funds, teaching Torah and disseminating wisdom, his reputation survived his death. Rabbi Amram Rabbi Amram ben Diwane- story. - Jewish legends say:
When Rabbi Amram came to Morocco, he fullfiled
peoples wishes (cured the ill, granted success)
It is said when he tried to collect funds. The Moroccan
authorities prevented him from doing so. Then both parties agreed on a solution , which is :he would stay in a cave filled with snakes for three days , on the third they would open the caves door if he was alive he would go on his mission to raise money for charity and it would be Gods will to do so . However if not, he would die inside. Rabbi Amram agreed and entered the cave. On the third they went inside and found him surrounded by snakes whom they were protecting him. The tomb of Rabbi Amram consists of a bed of stones at the base of a large olive tree Its said that the large tree never catches fire. Bouya Omar-location.
Bouya Omar is a marabout. His tomb is 30
kilometers from Kelaat Castle city, and 11 kilometers away from Laattaouia Center. Bouya Omar-histroy.
He was born during the last two decades
of the 16th century and remained illiterate until he reached the age of 40. He decided to travel for learning to Zaouiya Tamkrot Nasiriyah which is located on the banks of the Draa Valley in southern Morocco and studied at the hands of its founder, Sidi Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Ansari. Bouya Omar-story.
The "Bouya omar" is one of the most
famous shrines frequented by visitors to recover from mental illness and epilepsy. They believe that the spirit of the guardian, "Bouya Omar" has a close link with the "Divine Spirit" and capable of introduction to treatment. Conclusion
In spite of the development in Morocco, the
change of the ruling power, a part of Moroccan society "believes" in the phenomenon of shrines and blessings to find a solution for their emotional, financial , social and mental problems, which is wrong. Let us be aware of this form of regression, and invite people to think actively first instead of rushing to the useless unkown. Thank you. S2/G6
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