Jebala

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jbala

A Jebala woman at a marketplace
Total population
1,104,000 (year 2000 census)^{[citation needed]}
Regions with significant populations
Northern Morocco mostly concentrated in the Rif Mountains a small number in urban areas.
Languages
Arabic
Religions
Muslim (98,8%) Bahá'í (0.1%) Christian (<1%)^[1]
Related ethnic groups
Arabs, Berbers

Jebala (also Moroccan Arabic:Jbala and Spanish:Yebala) refers to the north-western region of Morocco, also known as the Western Rif. Jbala people are mountainous people who live mainly in the mountains around the cities of Tetouan, Tangier, Chefchaouen and Ouezzane.

1 Etymology
2 Origins
3 Culture
- 3.1 Music
- 3.2 Clothing
4 External links
5 References and notes

[edit] Etymology

The word Jbala comes from Moroccan Arabic Jbel which means mountain. Thus Jbala means mountain people. A man or boy is called a Jebli while a woman or a girl is called a Jebliya.

[edit] Origins

The Jbala are arabized berbers and andalusi but they call themselves arabs and berbers call them arabs.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Music

[edit] Clothing

The traditional clothing for women includes shawls called "mendils" made from cotton or wool. These rectangular shawls are often woven in stripes of white and red in the region. They are wrapped around the waist to form skirts. They are also used as shawls and securing holding babies or goods on the back or front of the body.

The traditional man's outer garment is the djellaba, a one piece cotton or woollen cloak with a pointed hood. In the Jebela region the wool is usually un-dyed so dark brown and off-white colours are common. White djelabas are worn for religious festivals.

The Jelaba favour pointed toed leather slippers. Natural light brown, yellow and white are the most common colours.

Reed hats are another traditional feature of Jebala dress for both men and women. Women's hats are often adorned with woven woollen tassels and roping of black, white and red in variations.