Tazota
Tazotas are stone huts in the historic Doukkala region in what is now the Casablanca-Settat region in western Morocco .
etymology
The term probably comes from the Berber word for "cup" ( Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⵣⵓⴺⴰ tazoḍa , tazudea or tazoda ); The Spanish word for “small cup” ( tazota ) could also play a role .
History and function
Despite their ancient appearance, the buildings were probably not built until the French Protectorate of Morocco (1912–1956) - no traveler in the past mentions them. They were mostly used to store hay and straw for the cattle, but grain stocks ( barley , wheat , corn on the cob ) or potatoes were also sometimes stored here. Some of these buildings are now integrated into rural pensions or hotels.
architecture
The approximately 10 to 12 m² large buildings, which are similar to the storage castles of the Berbers of the Anti-Atlas Mountains in terms of their method of manufacture and function , have a round or square floor plan and are - without mortar - built from field stones wedged into one another . They are usually two-story with slightly sloping side walls and have an inner post ring that carries the always round, indented middle section, which resembles a tambour . In contrast to many other buildings of this type, there are no self- supporting cantilever vaults , instead all parts of the roofs, which can be reached via external stairs, are supported by wooden trunks. For the roofs they used reeds , sometimes palm fronds with a layer of clay and individual stones or stone slabs.
See also
literature
- Sergio Gnesda: Témoins d'Architecture en pierre sèche au Maroc. Les tazotas et les toufris de l'arrière-pays d'El Jadida. In: Études et recherches d'architecture vernaculaire. No. 16, 1996.
Web links
- Tazotas - Photos and brief information (English)