Retrospective and experiential perceptions on education in Morocco by an engaged observer

Abstract

Born in the countryside my father, who was a small landowner, stems from a maraboutic family (shorfa). Eleven of my grandfathers and close paternal relatives have small or big shrines built on them. One of them constitutes a sanctuary where people come from all over the region of Abda for its veneration. This is one of the features of popular Islam. Popular and formal Islam were always intermixed in Moroccan traditional society. The status of being genealogically descendent from the prophet Mohammed’s family lineage bestowed on my father important symbolic power and prestige from his surroundings (Sabour, 1993, 2011). My father enjoyed great respect although, like my mother, he was illiterate. Some believed strongly that he was a bearer of Baraka (spiritual power, holy blessing) and brought their sick children or relatives to be treated by him. Many were convinced that his consultation provided them with comfort and his blessing cured their diseases and alleviated their pains. I am supposed to inherit some symbolic capital from him in this matter. But as I have a sceptically and rationally quenched mind, I believe that the Baraka, if it does exist, can only be achieved through an individual’s deeds and achievement and not through lineage or inheritance.