Lästext
Foreword
It would never have occurred to me to write this book had my publisher not urged me to do so. My journeys to Morocco have been sociological research expeditions. Their scientific results have already, to a significant extent, been made public – in the book Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco, in the treatises Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in Morocco, The Moorish Conception of Holiness (Ba̱raka), and Nomina im Status absolutus und Status annexus in der südmarokkanischen Berbersprache in Öfversigt av Finska Vetenskapssocietetens Förhandlingar , as well as in essays in Anthropological Essays presented to E. B. Tylor, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Folk-Lore and other journals. And a comprehensive work on folk religion and magic in Morocco is currently being prepared. The book herewith surrendered to the public consists only of an account of my personal experiences alongside a few words on the people’s lives, customs and beliefs. It has likely been for me a greater pleasure to revisit, in my mind, my sixteen journeys to Morocco than it will be for the reader to follow me on my travels.
In the transcription of Arabic and Berber words, I have followed the same system that I have used in my scientific works, and I hope that the reader shall not permit themselves to be distracted by the many markings above and below the letters. In names, gh (= ġ) is pronounced like r grasseyé in French, kh (= ḫ) as in the German ch in auch, th as in the English word thank. J is pronounced as in French and y as in yolk. Š is pronounced sh. The symbol ¯ over a vowel indicates that it is long, ^ that it is long and stressed, ˘ that it is very short, ͗ that it is stressed.
The images are for the most part based on photographs that I took myself. For some I have my friend Dr Alan Gardiner, who accompanied me on a trip to Alcazar, and my friend Mr Martin White. Some of the other images I have taken the liberty to borrow from books or journals, and some are made based on purchased photographs.
Ipsoinen, Turku, November 1918.
E.W.