The Jebala people () are a tribal confederation inhabiting an area in northwest Morocco from the town of Bab Berred to the west. The Jebala region thus occupies the western part of the Rif mountains. The Jebala has a population of 1,284,000 and is divided into over 40 tribes,Hart, D. M. (1999), « Luchas hereditarias rifeñas o vendettas rifeñas y segmentación o anti-segmentación ? Datos adicionales sobre los Ait Uriagel y contestación parcial a Henry Munson », Hart y Rachid Raha (dir.), La sociedad bereber del Rif marroquí. Sobre la teoría de la segmentaridad en el Magreb, Grenade, Universidad de Granada, Diputación Provincial de Granada, Série Historia y Antropología del Magreb contemporáneo. today known as "rural communes" (), and adjacent to them are a small group of nine tribes called the Ghmara (), who inhabit the territory between the line of mountain peaks to the north of Chefchaouen and the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to tribal heterogeneity, this region is also geographically diverse. High mountains are interspersed with hills and flatlands, and local inhabitants settle in both the high mountains and valleys. In addition to the rainy climate, which influences the way the inhabitants build their houses as well as their special agricultural practices,Ater M. et al. (2018), « Agrosystèmes traditionnels et savoirs agronomiques des paysans du pays Jbala (Rif occidental) », Les Jbala. Peuplement, langue et ruralité, Actes des rencontres de Chefchaouen, Taounate et Larache, 2011, 2012, 2014, coordination M. Mezzine, J. Vignet-Zunz, F. Brigui, soutien de l’Ass. Targa-AIDE, Rabat.
Also see: Hmimsa Y. et al., (2012), “Vernacular taxonomy, classification and varietal diversity of fig (Ficuscarica L.) among Jbala cultivators in Northern Morocco”, Human Ecology. DOI:10.1007/s10745-012-9471-x. there are also numerous cultural characteristics that contribute to an emphasised sense of identity and make the Jbala people clearly distinguishable from their neighbours from the eastern part of the Rif Mountains (Riafa or Rwafa) where the climate is more arid, and from the former shepherds from the Atlantic coast (‘Arab). There are only a few cities in the country of the Jbala, and its population remains mostly rural. During the Middle Ages, chroniclers and historians knew the Jbala under their original name, Ghomara.Mezzine M. (2018), « Le peuplement du Maroc au-delà des cartes : le cas des populations du pays Jbala/Ghmara », Les Jbala. Peuplement, langue et ruralité, Actes des rencontres de Chefchaouen, Taounate et Larache, 2011, 2012, 2014, coordination M. Mezzine, J. Vignet-Zunz, F. Brigui, soutien de l’Ass. Targa-AIDE, Rabat.Martinez Enamorado V. (2018), « Les significations historiques du vocable « Rif » », Les Jbala. Peuplement, langue et ruralité, Actes des rencontres de Chefchaouen, Taounate et Larache, 2011, 2012, 2014, coordination M. Mezzine, J. Vignet-Zunz, F. Brigui, soutien de l’Ass. Targa-AIDE, Rabat.
Etymology The word Jbala comes from Arabic , Jbel, which means mountain. Thus, Jbala means "mountain people". The singular of Jbala is Jebli. A male is called a Jebli while a female is called a Jebliya. The word jebli literally means "from/of the mountain".
When the term Jebala first appeared is uncertain. The first time it is used in a written source is shortly after the rise of the Alawi dynasty. An author from the 18th century, 'Abd al-Karīm Al-Rīfī, reports the appointment in 1672 of ‘Umar B. Ḥaddū al-Temsamanī as qā’id nāḥiyat Jbāla wa al-Faḥṣ (). Prior to being called Jebala, the inhabitants of the Jebala region were referred to as Ghomara.
In northwest Morocco, the word jebli is used to refer to someone living in the countryside or a peasant whereas in the Atlantic plains which is inhabited by the ʿArubis, jebli is used to describe anybody from the Jebala whether they inhabit the city or the country.
Origins The Jebala are of mixed origin. A. Zouggari & J. Vignet-Zunz,Jbala: Histoire et société, dans Sciences Humaines, (1991). () The Jebala, themselves, trace their ethnic and cultural origin to Al-Andalus. They adopted the Arabic language between the 10th and 15th centuries, influenced by Arab townspeople of northern Morocco and Al-Andalus and the fact that their land lies on the route between these places. S. Levy, EDNA n°1 (1996), Reperes pour une histoire linguistique du Maroc, pp.127-137
Cities like Tétouan and Chefchaouen are inhabited by populations partially descending from Al-Andalus, either from Andalusian Arabs or Spanish Jews. In the case of Chefchaouen, these populations were the original inhabitants with nearby Berbers later migrating into the city.
History
Very little is known about the prehistory of the region, but the history of the Jebala people seems to be well documented since early Islamic times. The early Islamic history of the Rif, through the Emirate of Nekor established by Salih ibn Mansur of the Nefzaoua Berbers and which lasted from pre-Idrisid until Almoravid times with the fall of the Madinat al-Nakur (710–1108 CE). This part of the history seems to be well documented, but when the Berber dynasty of Almoravids started ruling, the history of the Rif was almost unknown. The usual tradition is that almost every existing social group in the Rif mountains originated from somewhere else, not too far away from the country.Tribe and Society in Rural Morocco Door David M. Hart
Culture
Language
The Jbala people primarily speak Moroccan Arabic with lesser or greater degrees of Berber. There is also a significant amount of influence from French and Spanish whilst incorporating foreign languages from radio stations.
The variety of Arabic spoken by the Jbala is known as Jebli Arabic which falls under the sub-dialect grouping of Shamali Arabic. Shamali Arabic including Jebli Arabic belongs to the Pre-Hilalian or Non-Hilali group of Maghrebi Arabic - a term that introduced by French Orientalists William Marçais and , who argued that the first arabicization of Northern Africa took place long before the migration of the Bani Hilal tribe in the 12th-13th centuries. The pre-Hilali group consists of the Jebli dialect together with the dialects spoken in other North African cities. The Jbala, together with several groups of population inhabiting the Algerian and Tunisian part of the Tell Atlas, were the first Imazighen (Berbers) who arabicised their language,Brigui F., 2019. « De la continuité linguistique du préhilalien de type jebli au-delà du territoire des Jbala », VII Congreso Internacional de Árabe Marroquí: dinámicas de cambios y nuevos horizontes, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, 25-26.04.2019; Al-Andalus-Magreb, Vol. 26, Num. 1, Universidad de Cádiz. probably due to their proximity to the old route that once connected Fes (as well as Tlemcen and Constantine) with Mediterranean ports, especially with those located in al-Andalus.Vignet-Zunz, J. (2017), « Jbala : Identités et frontières » La région du Nord-Ouest marocain : parlers et pratiques sociales et culturelles / Ángeles Vicente, Dominique Caubet, Amina Naciri-Azzouz (éds), Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, Colección Estudios de Dialectología Árabe, n.º 12, 18-28. As the most archaic group of Arabic dialects in the region, the Pre-Hilali dialects are characterised by a strong influence from Berber on all levels—phonetic, morphological, and lexical. There are differences between the Jebli dialect spoken by the northern Jbala and southern Jbala.
Clothing
Reed hats, known as sheshiyas, are a traditional feature of Jebala dress for both genders. They're often decorated with multi-coloured yarn pompoms. Women's hats are often adorned with woven woollen tassels and roping in black, white and red variations.
Jebala women wear shawls called mendils made from cotton or wool. These rectangular shawls are often woven in stripes of white and red in the region. They are wrapped around the waist to form skirts. They are also for holding babies or goods on the back or front of the body.
The traditional man's outer garment is the djellaba, a one-piece cotton or woolen cloak with a pointed hood. In the Jebala region, the wool is usually undyed so dark brown and off-white colours are common. White djellabas are worn for religious festivals. Historically, the djellaba of the Jebala had embroidery and multi-coloured pompoms but it has recently conformed to the style that has become common in Morocco losing those features and becoming longer. The qashshab, a long, straight blouse of thick white wool, without sleeves or a hood, is still worn.
The Jebala favour the babouches, pointed-toed leather slippers. Natural light brown, yellow and white are the most common colours.
Oral tradition Today, the oral poetic tradition of the Jbala is known among outsiders under the generic term ayta jabaliya. At the national level, it became famous across Morocco largely thanks to the efforts of a talented poet, musician and singer of Jebli origin (Bni Zerwal ), Mohamed Laroussi, () (1933–2014), who received from his countrywide audiences the honorary titles of the fannān Jbāla’ (), or ‘the artist of the Jbala’, or ‘maḥbūb Jbāla’ (), or ‘beloved by all Jbala people’. For decades his songs have been available for purchase not only in northern Morocco, where Laaroussi's name is widely known, but throughout the country, first on LPs, then tapes, and recently on CDs and in MP3 format. Laaroussi's concerts have been regularly shown on Moroccan television since the 1960s. Today both his audio and video records can be easily found on YouTube and other internet video hosting sites.
Although pretty much everything produced in the Jbala region is referred to as ayta jabaliya, there are in fact three different genres: ʿayta jebliya’ (), ʿayyuʿ () and ughniya’ (). Interestingly, and despite their heterogeneity, the Jbala trace their ethnic and cultural origin to the times of Moorish Andalusian Spain (711–1492).Gintsburg, S. (2014). Formulaicity in Jbala poetry. Tilburg: Tilburg University Press. Any Jbala musician and singer, who is often also a ‘poet’ and even an ‘artist’ (because Jebli poetry does not exist without music and performance and a local poet almost always sings his own songs, accompanying himself with a musical instrument) will usually tell an outsider the legend of Tariq ibn Ziyad, the famous conqueror of Spain, his trip through the Straits of Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq, the Mountain of Tariq, hence "Gibraltar"), and the sad end of Islamic rule in Spain. The sense of cultural continuity between the Jbala region and Andalusia is very strong even today.
Poetry
The traditional Jebli poetry has the following general characteristics: it is practically always oral and almost always unauthored: in the traditional Jebli culture it is very unusual to hear that someone claims authorship of a particular song/poem. Poetry is often improvised but sometimes can also be memorised and then performed. Remarkably, Jebli poetry is always linked to music and performance and, perhaps because of this, is never referred to as ‘poetry’ or shi’r (شعر) or zajal (زجل). Instead, it is routinely called klam (كلام), which can be roughly compared to the meaning of English ‘lyrics’. At the same time, music or lhan (لحن), is highly valued and it is always music that identifies the genre.Gintsburg, S. (2006). Some Observations on the poetical language of love songs in the dialect of the Jbala (northern Morocco). Al-Andalus-Magreb, 13, 139-161.