Identifier: tafiletnarrative00harr (find matches)
Title: Tafilet; the narrative of a journey of exploration in the Atlas mountains and the oases of the north-west Sahara
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: Harris, Walter, 1866-1933
Subjects:
Publisher: London, W. Blackwood and sons
Contributing Library: Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston University

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bly fed out of mangers, built of tahia,and raised about 12 to 18 inches from the ground.The women attend to the cattle as to everything else,it being their duty to fetch and carry water and fire-wood, in fact to do almost all the work with theexception of tilling the soil, and in a few cases Isaw them even so occupied. As a rule, the cul-tivation is done by paid workmen, who take piece-work, the digging of an acre of soil preparatory toits being sown with turnips bringing the labourerabout two shillings English money. These labourersare not of the Dads tribe, for they think it belowtheir station to dig, but usually come from the banksof the Wad Draa, and are known, both amongst them-selves and all over Morocco, as Haratin—that isto say, freemen, and not slaves. In type theyform much in common with the negro, and seemtoo not unlike him in good humour and docility. THE HARATIN. 165 Their language is a variety of Slielha, called Drauia,but is only partially comprehensible to the tribes
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A IVoinan of Dads. speaking the pure dialect. Numbers of these Har-atin are to be found all over Morocco, where theyusually pursue the calling of water-carriers, and thus 166 DADS. become members of the fraternity of Mulai Yakub, towhose tomb, at the hot springs near Fez, they haveto make a pilgrimage before taking to the guerhaor water-skin, from which they peddle the liquidto the crowd. They are usually an honest and trust-worthy people and excellent labourers, talking andlaughing while they dig or ply whatever trade theyhave taken to, but they seem incapable of skilledlabour of any sort. Having now briefly sketched the character andmanner of life of the people of Dads, a few wordsmust be written as to the country their tribeinhabits. The division of the Berbers which takes its namefrom the river Dads possesses the entire banks ofthat river from the spot where it leaves the valleyof the main chain of the Atlas to where it changes itscourse from north and south to east and west, a fe

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