Tamegroute (also spelled Tamgrout; Berber: ⵜⴰⵎⴳⵔⵓⵜ , Arabic: تامكروت) is a village located in the
Draa River
:''Dra is also the abbreviation for the constellation Draco.''
The Draa ( ber, Asif en Dra, ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⴻⵏ ⴷⵔⴰ, ary, واد درعة, wad dərʿa; also spelled Dra or Drâa, in older sources mostly Darha or Dara) is Morocco's longes ...
valley in southern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. It historically served as a hub of learning and religion through its famous
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
zawiya. This was a historical center of the
Nasiriyya order, one of the most influential (and at one time one of the largest) Sufi orders in the Islamic world. Tamegroute's glazed ceramics are also very well known.
Climate
Zawiya Nasiriyya/Naciria
History
Tamegroute has been a religious center since the 11th century. The Nasiriyya
zawiya was founded in the 17th century as the seat of the religious (Sufi) brotherhood of the Nasiriyya. Tamegroute had a religious school made famous by Abu Hafs Umar b. Ahmed al Ansari in 1575–76. The Nasiriyya order took its name (and its reputation) from founder
Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir al-Drawi (1603–1674), who took over teaching at the Tamegroute zawiya in the 1640s. Since that time the leaders of the zawiya have been descendants of bin Nasir without interruption from father to son until the present day. Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir was a theologian, scholar and physician, especially interested in mental disorders. He wrote several works of fikh, some poetry, and hundreds of letters and treatises on
Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
. He followed and extended the teachings of
Shadhili
The Shadhili Order ( ar, الطريقة الشاذلية) is a tariqah or Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic '' murids'', "seeke ...
and under his leadership the Nasiriyya became the 'mother zawiya' of
Sufi Islam
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
with several branches in different parts of the country, including the zawiya of Irazan in the
Sous
The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert b ...
valley where 500 students were financed by the brotherhood.
He was succeeded by his son
Ahmad
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
(1647–1717) who made six
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
s to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
and made each of these pilgrimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmad bin Nasir traveled to
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
,
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmen ...
. During his travels he took the opportunity of establishing new branches of the Sufi brotherhood. He wrote a voluminous series of memoirs of his journeys called the
Rihla
''Riḥla'' ( ar, رحلة) refers to both a journey and the written account of that journey, or travelogue. It constitutes a genre of Arabic literature. Associated with the medieval Islamic notion of "travel in search of knowledge" (الرحلة ...
(partly translated by A. Berbrugger in 1846) and he brought back numerous works from all parts of the
Islamic world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
. The brotherhood decided, already in the 17th century to found a university of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
. That university received, right from the beginning, more than 1,500 students from countries in the
Middle-East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europe ...
and West Africa.
When Ahmad bin Nasir died, the library (in Arabic the 'khizana habsia') of Tamegroute, with its thousands of manuscripts was one of the richest of North Africa. Some fine examples of the collection of manuscripts (now 4,200) are still on display in the zawiya today and attract many tourists from Morocco and abroad. Among them are a 14th-century Quran with beautiful
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as " ...
in
Kufic
Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...
script, writings of
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic ...
(Ibn Sina),
Ibn Rushd
Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an
Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology ...
(Averroes),
El Khwarizmi, a translation of
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...
, treatises on
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing t ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, gala ...
,
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
and
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
.
Later
sheikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
s of the Sufi brotherhood of the Nasiriyya also played an important role as religious and cultural leaders and teachers of the
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
doctrine (
Tasawwuf). The 19th sheikh Abu Bekr is well-known, in the Draa valley (zawiya in Mhamid Ghuslan) and in the west through his encounters with the travelers
Gerhard Rohlfs
Gerhard Rohlfs (July 14, 1892 – September 12, 1986) was a German linguist. He taught Romance languages and literature at the universities of Tübingen and Munich. He was described as an "archeologist of words".
Biography
Rohlfs was born in ...
and
Charles de Foucauld
Charles Eugène de Foucauld de Pontbriand, Viscount of Foucauld (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916) was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara in A ...
. The graves of eight
marabouts
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...
attract the visit of patients from all parts of the country, some of which remain in Tamegroute for months and sometimes even for years, hoping for healing and redemption by the
baraka of the Nasiriyya. In order to view the books at the library, a permit must be obtained from the Moroccan government, which allows you to handle the books inside the library only. The books collected by Ali Ben include texts on medicine, Qu'ranic learning and astrology, as well as mathematics and the sciences.
The building of the zawiya, as it stands now with its green tiles, dates from 1869, when it was rebuilt after a fire.
Moussem
A month after the greatest Islam holy day of
Aid el-Kebir, Tamegroute hosts the yearly Moussem (festival) honoring Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir.
Pottery
The founders of the religious brotherhood Nasiriyya wanted to raise the status of the village of Tamegroute to that of a "
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
", that is to say to make it a city. They assembled the merchants and craftsmen that they had brought from
Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 m ...
, a city that enjoyed good relations with Tamegroute at the time. However, today Tamegroute is a little village again, but the pottery has become its main characteristic. Except for a few ochre shades, a green glaze is the dominant colour in pottery from Tamegroute. As with Fes Zelliges, and even more so, the ancient techniques give the glaze infinite variations.
Local institutions
The outdoor weekly market (souk) is held on Saturdays in the city center, where you can admire all kinds of pottery
Muhammad Awzal
In the 17th century the famous
Shilha (Berber) poet,
Muhammad Awzal (1670–1748), found sanctuary in Tamegroute. His first work in Berber ''al-Hawd'' was written here. His last work ''An-Nasiha'' ("The Advice"), is an ode in praise of Sidi Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir (1647–1717), Awzal's spiritual guide and grand master of the Nasiriyya Sufi order, probably inspired as a funeral eulogy by his death, around 1717. Another famous inhabitant of Tamegroute was Sidi
Ahmad al-Tijani who joined the order of the Nasiriyya before establishing his own brotherhood.
Abu-l-Hasan Ali Ibn Mohammed al-Tamgruti
Tamegroute was the place of birth of one of the most important officials of the
Saadian court, the author and ambassador
Abu-l-Hasan Ali Ibn Mohammed al-Tamgruti, best known because of the
rihla
''Riḥla'' ( ar, رحلة) refers to both a journey and the written account of that journey, or travelogue. It constitutes a genre of Arabic literature. Associated with the medieval Islamic notion of "travel in search of knowledge" (الرحلة ...
of his journey to Istanbul in 1590–91 for
Ahmad al-Mansur
Ahmad al-Mansur ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد المنصور, Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur, also al-Mansur al-Dahabbi (the Golden), ar, أحمد المنصور الذهبي; and Ahmed al-Mansour; 1549 in Fes – 25 August 1603, Fes) was the ...
[Tamegruti is the author of Al-Nafha al Miskiya fi al Sifara al Turkiya (Arabic title), (A 16th century travel account of Istanbul by a Moroccan ambassador), Keta-books, 2002 (French translation: Relation d'une ambassade marocaine en Turquie, 1589–1591, par Abou-l-Hasan Ali ben Mohammed et-Tamgrouti, traduite et annotée par Henry de Castries, Paris, 1929)]
Bibliography and external links
* Ph.D. Thesis
"Between God and men : the Nasiriyya and economic life in Morocco, 1640–1830"by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001.
* The Nasiriyya - Abstract from David Gutelius' dissertation, "Market Growth and Social Change in the Western Maghrib, 1640-1830
* Article: The path is easy and the benefits large: The Nasiriyya, social networks and economic change in Morocco, 1640–1830, from: The Journal of African History, Gutelius, David P.V., 01-Jan-0
* Book chapter
"Sufi networks and the Social Contexts for Scholarship in Morocco and the Northern Sahara, 1660-1830"by David Gutelius. I
ed. Scott Reese. Leiden: Brill Academic Press, 2004.
*Agriculture, Sufism and the State in Tenth/Sixteenth-Century Morocco, by Francisco Rodriguez-Manas, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 59, No. 3 (1996), pp. 450–47
*The Nasiri supplicatio
*Example of a manuscript (from
Timbouctou) in the library of the Nasiryy
* Dalil Makhtutat Dar al Kutub al Nasiriya, 1985 (Catalog of the Nasiri zawiya in Tamagrut), (ed. Keta books)
See also:
Darqawa and
Nasiriyya (Sufism)
"the 19th century was the
Darqawi century, just as the 18th century had been the Nasiri century"
Footnotes
{{commons category
Populated places in Zagora Province
Sufi shrines