From the Heights of the Atlas: A Panorama of Traditional Poetry in Tamazight

Abstract

Traditional oral poetry in Takbaylit, Tachelhit, Central Moroccan Tamazight, and Tarafit dialects has been the subject of numerous studies ranging from ethnographic to linguistic. Rather than duplicate what is already widely available, the following brings together comments on a number of representative poems from across the Maghreb to give the reader an idea of the variety of types, styles, and themes of Tamazight poetic tradition. The selections, which are translated into English here for the first time, range from the moving devotional poem in Tachelhit “Like the Beads of a Rosary” to the beautiful love poem in Takbaylit “To Whom Should I Complain.” Among the poets whose works are included are Mririda n'Ait Attik (Tachelhit), Al Hadj Ammar ou al Hadj (Takbaylit), and Taougrat Oult Aissa (Central Moroccan Tamazigt).