July 31, 2008 TaHaruyit & aHrandir (n Ait YaHta)

I thought that aHrandir meant cape, but I was only partially right. It means the black and white striped capes, whose specific design tells you what tribe its owner belongs to. Ama is Ait Brahimi (the Tribe of Brahim, aka Benjamin), even though she lives in an area known as Ait Hadidu (the Tribe of Hadida – don’t know if it has a Judeo-Christian equivalent). Ait Hadidu is actually a collective term for several tribes in the area, including Ait Brahimi and Ait YaHta (the Tribe of YaHta, aka John).

Last night she showed me the gorgeous cape that MaHallu had worn. I called it an aHrandir, and that’s when Ama explained the difference, and showed me her Ait YaHta aHrandir. It must belong to Baba’s side of the family, who are Ait YaHta. MaHallu’s cape, which is snowy white with stripes of fringe and gorgeous embroidery (known as zuaq, which can also be translated as “multi-colored”), is a taHaruyit.

Ama is going to sell MaHallu’s taHaruyit to a Dutch friend. We measured it last night, so that Ama could tell her the dimensions: 2.06m x 1.23m. That doesn’t sound so big, but it’s about 30 square feet, which sounds more impressive. Up close, it’s enormous, bigger than a beach towel, and breathtakingly beautiful. I took pictures since I won’t get to see the original any more....but of course, I forgot to bring the pix with me to SouqTown, so y'all will have to wait a bit to see it. :)