In Defense of Tradition: Mohammed Mrabet's Postcolonial Leanings and the Confrontation of “Kif Wisdom” with Modernity

Abstract

This article details the inclusion of postcolonial themes and modern/traditional confrontations and conflicts in the translated tales of Mohammed Mrabet. I indicate the importance of preliterate tradition in producing meaning for poor Moroccans. A large part of the essay is devoted to refuting claims that Mrabet represents a colonialist byline of the expatriate lives of American writers such as Paul Bowles. The theme of learning Moroccan culture is also important, as it tends to demonstrate appreciation and preservation in a modern context, traditional narrative and theosophical practices, arts, and modes of ideation—hence, my reference to many of Paul Bowles's interviews where he discussed the phenomenon of Moroccan epistemology. I also include stories that express the traditional/modern divide in Moroccan cultural life and how traditional, practical, and inventive reasoning derived from smoking kif—the kif wisdom that I refer to can produce meaning and resolution for Moroccans. Finally, the article situ...