World of the Shilha

World of the Shilha

 

 

Couscous
www.onceuponachef.com

The world of the Shilha revolve solely around the successes of their individual villages. They are very segregated, due to the landscape and often only have up to about 500 people within each village. Most villagers make a living as shepherds or farmers. They typically herd smaller livestock such as goats and sheep. The most common crop they grow is couscous. Couscous is a staple of their diet and is often incorporated into every meal. They also harvest many spice crops such as cinnamon and cardamom. Crops and livestock may be taken to larger market areas to be sold.

Quran
www.islamicbookpoint.com

In recent years many Shilhan people have left their villages for large cities in search of jobs and prosperity. Most of their core values align with traditional Islam. Education is not considered very valuable with only young boys attending school to learn the Quran. Women are subservient to the men and are not formally educated. They are a very poor people that make something out of nothing. They are a very proud, hardworking people.

They speak the native language of Tashelhit, which is a Berber language. This language has been around for centuries and is only spoken by the Shilhan people and a few other small Berber groups. With the reading of the Quran North Africa dialects of Arabic have almost been commonly spoken in recent years. 

References

 

http://www.gateway-africa.com/tribe/Shilha_Berbers_tribe.html

 

 

Blauer, Ettagale and Jason Laure. Morocco. New York : Children's Press, c1999.