Agadir Itourhaine

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Agadir Itourhaine (also Aït Ourhain ) in the province of Taroudannt in the Souss-Massa region is one of the most impressive and best preserved agadirs (storage castles ) of the Berbers in the Anti-Atlas and in all of Morocco .

The Agadir Itourhaine sits enthroned like a fortress on the top of a steep hill that is partly surrounded by opuntia .

location

From Tafraoute it is about 36 km on paved roads to the northeastern town of Aït Abdallah and another 12 km to Tiguermine ; from there it is another approx. 16 km over slopes - also passable with normal cars - to Agadir Itourhaine, which sits enthroned on the top of a 1500 m high hill away from the place of the same name.

history

Statements about the exact age of the structure are ultimately in the range of speculation, because all Agadirs in the Anti-Atlas were built over centuries, which can also be seen in the Agadir Itourhaine. However, the same techniques - which have been handed down for centuries - were always used for all extensions and repair work, so that individual construction phases cannot be distinguished. Dendrochronological methods for the woods used in construction ( argan and almond branches ) have not yet been developed, but even these would only lead to vague results, given the numerous repairs carried out in the past. Some parts of the wall were plastered in the 20th century.

architecture

Agadir Itourhaine, entrance portal
Agadir Itourhaine, central aisle

As with most of the Agadirs in the Anti-Atlas area, the entire structure of larger and smaller stones is perfectly handcrafted and put together without the use of mortar - just a little clay; the (intermediate) blankets consist of crooked argan branches with a layer of reeds and earth. The most striking component is the architectural but otherwise almost free-standing and - as usual - windowless tower, which is integrated into the perimeter wall, and whose upper parts, which also contain loopholes-like openings, were plastered in the 20th century; the stepped battlements are interesting but probably not original . Three other corner towers are partially dilapidated or only slightly tower above the actual Agadir.

A differently designed entrance portal with an arched opening - which is rather unusual for Berber architecture - and an almost square Alfiz frame leads to a forecourt with a small room for the guard (s). The actual entrance to the interior of the warehouse castle leads past the stone benches on the opposite side, which can be found in many Agadiren. The Agadir consists of three corridors, which are lined by storage chambers arranged on three floors one above the other; only the central aisle is likely to be original, whereas the two side aisles with their storage chambers only on one side are components that were added later. The total of around 100 storage chambers with their only 1.40 m high wooden doors can be reached via large stepping stones protruding from the masonry .

Agadir Itourhaine, storage doors
Basket with family documents

Doors

The Agadir Itourhaine still has some of the original, approximately 1.40 m high storage chamber doors; these are mostly made of hewn (later sawn) boards - which are rare in Morocco - and provided with geometric ornaments (triangles, diamonds, keyhole windows, etc.), which originally probably had an ominous ( apotropaic ) meaning. Most of these doors, however, were dismantled in the second half of the 20th century and ended up on antique markets or in museums (e.g. Dar Si Said Museum , Marrakech ). One of the originally numerous wooden door locks is still on display.

Documents

In the entrance area there is a basket woven from palm leaves with small, smoothly polished and labeled logs or narrow boards; These are family documents - written in Arabic script - (marriage contracts, title deeds, etc.) that were previously stored individually in the respective storage chambers. In the otherwise written and image-free culture of the Berbers, these documents were almost sacred and inviolable, even if the next generation or the next but one often no longer knew what was written on them.

meaning

Like all agadirs of southern Morocco, the Agadir Itourhaine comes from a time when the Berber population was not yet completely settled and - at least in part - had to move their cattle (sheep, goats) to higher mountain regions in the summer months. There was therefore a constant need to defend the food and other valuables produced on the barren soils and laboriously against wandering nomads and, in the event of feuds and famine, against neighboring tribes.

Surroundings

The Dou Tagadirt Agadir is only 1.5 km away; the Agadir Tasguent is about 10 km southwest.

See also

literature

  • D. Jacques-Meunié: Les greniers collectifs au Maroc. Paris 1944.
  • D. Jacques-Meunié: Greniers-citadelles au Maroc. Paris 1951.
  • Salima Naji: Greniers collectifs de l'Atlas. Paris 2006.
  • Herbert Popp, Mohamed Ait Hamza, Brahim El Fasskaoui: Les agadirs de l'Anti-Atlas occidental. Atlas illustré d'un patrimoine culturel du Sud marocain. Natural Science Society, Bayreuth 2011, ISBN 978-3-939146-07-0 .

Web links

Coordinates: 29 ° 59 ′ 22 "  N , 8 ° 43 ′ 18"  W.