Ishelhin1 women transmitters of Islamic knowledge and culture in Southwestern Morocco

Abstract

The Qur'an and Prophetic Traditions (hadith) portray the pursuit of knowledge as a pious endeavour incumbent upon all Muslims, men and women. In various parts of the non-Arabic speaking Muslim world, didactic poetry composed in local vernaculars facilitated the proliferation of knowledge of Islamic dogma, rules of practice, history and lore among local illiterate inhabitants. Especially among women, educational chanting sessions for the internalisation of this didactic poetry were frequently transformed into communal gatherings for ritual worship, in which education constituted a significant component. Among Ishelhin (Berber) women afternoon ritual gatherings, in which centuries-old Tashelhit didactic poetry is still chanted, are held throughout the Souss region of southwestern Morocco today. Tracing the roots of these educational ritual events back to an Ishelhin religious literary tradition and educational campaign that lasted from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, this article contributes to the resurrection of the significance of women's often neglected participation in the transmission of Islamic knowledge and culture.