Glossary!

For some reason, my most recent blog post isn't showing up, but you can read it here: http://shwiyabshwiya.blogspot.com/2007/08/handy-woman.html

I've been meaning to do this for awhile, and finally bit the bullet and did it. People are telling me I’m using too many Berber or Arabic words in my blog and they don’t understand them. Here’s a small glossary of key terms. Additionally, if any of you know how to do footnotes in Blogger, let me know, and I’ll include the translations and descriptions as I go.


Abrid: Paved road, opposed to “piste,” unpaved road. There is now an abrid to Tamazitinu! (Tam, maybe Darija too?)

Adig rbi str: Literally “God protect you” or “God keep you to yourself;” used to mean goodbye in Tam.

Agho: Buttermilk. Sold in plastic bags, but in Tamazitinu, it’s usually fresh from the cow and un-pasteurized. People here often drink it plain, but it’s too sour for me to have more than a sip of plain. More often, it’s poured on top of couscous, which I enjoy in moderation. (Tam; in Darija it’s called “leben”).

Agrtil: A plastic carpeting used a lot in my region and probably most of Morocco. (Tam)

Aheyduss: I’m still not sure if this refers to the music, the dance, or the event, but it’s used to describe the time at a wedding when a line of men face a line of women and they dance (step in time, walking towards and away from each other), the men beat on hand-drums, and they sing a call and response song.

Ait: Tribe/group of people. See blog post entitled “My House” for more.

Ait Bahalu: A house in Tamazitinu that is a veritable compound. Bahalu (pseudonym; word means Grandfather in Tam) is the only person I know in town who has two wives, though someone told me he has three. I think it's just two though. He has around twenty children, most if not all are adults, and many of them work abroad. He’s highly respected in the community. Two of my closer friends here (aged 17 and 22) married two of his sons in 8/07, so they now live there too. Since I have friends that live there, I’ll probably be over there a lot. It’s a hopping place: always crowded. I have no idea how many people live there; at least 15 adults and a lot of kids.

Ait lxarijj: The word used to describe Moroccans who leave to work abroad and come back for the month of August and a holiday around January. Ait lxarijj makes a huge impact on Tamazitinu.

Amayn: Response to “adig rbbi str;” literally means “let it come to pass,” like “Amen” in English. (Tam; elsewhere?)

Asinsi: Head scarf (square).

Assif: Lake/river (Tam)

Association: Local Moroccan-led NGO (Non-governmental organization) with a specific goal. Tamazitinu has two active Associations: one that is in charge of tap water for the town, and one that works with development and built a public oven, women’s center, and other projects. (French)

Azizao: Also “azigzao.” A type of collard green usually eaten in my region on couscous, but also sometimes as a sort of bitter salad. Literally means “green.” (Tam).

Bit lma: Literally “room of water” (Darija), used in Tam and Darija as “bathroom.” Hashek.

Bled: The countryside/ rural areas. (Darija, also used in Tam; possibly from French?).

Bslama: Goodbye (Darija; used in Tam)

BssHa: “To your health.” Said to people when they have a new article of clothing, henna, come out of the shower, or come out of the Hammam. The response is “lla tik ssHa” (I think that means “God give you health also.”) (Darija, maybe Fusha; also used in Tam; the real Tam word is “stisnt.”)

Butagaz: Butane gas, used to power stoves and ovens here. There’s a certain element of caution needed because butagaz poisoning can be serious. Refers to the tank as well as the gas inside; sometimes just called Buta. (Darija; used in Tam, from French)

Car: A souk bus, CTM bus, or any other intercity large bus. Confused the mess out of me the first time I heard it used. “Car” is “tomobil.”

Carte de Sejour: Essentially a Moroccan green card; I need to get one and have it renewed every year. Until it is processed, I have a receipt I must have renewed at my gendarmes in my souk town every month. (French, used in Darija/Tam)

CBT: PC abbreviation for Community Based Training; the time during Pre-Service Training that we left in groups of 5 trainees to one LCF to live in a small town with host families and study language and cross-cultural information.

College: Middle school. Pronounced as in French, not like an American university. (Darija, from French, also used in Tam). My town has no college; the nearest is in my friend’s site 15 k away, and the girls who go there stay in a girl’s boarding house.

Commune: The equivalent of a Town Hall/Council; the place that the Rais, Khalifa, and other local officials work. Usually right next door to the sbitar.

Conscription Hospital: The regional hospital that oversees a handful of rural sbitars; my Conscription Hospital is in my souk town.

Cyber: Cybercafe/ Internet café. None yet in Tamazitinu. I’d put money on having one by the time my service is up.

Darija: Moroccan Arabic. Very different than Fusha, or Modern Standard Arabic. Sometimes in my blog, I refer to Darija as just “Arabic,” but Darija is essentially incomprehensible to people in, say, Lebanon, Jordan, or Egypt.

Dar Teliba: Girl’s boarding house (Darija; used in Tam).

Delegue: The title for the division of the Ministry of Health at the provincial level; all Health volunteers meet with the Delegue representatives from in the provincial capital every few months. (Darija, from French)

Dirham: Moroccan currency; there are about 8.5 Ds to the US dollar. As a frame of reference, a kaftan or jellaba is about 200-800+ D; yogurt is 2.5 D per cup, a kilo of figs are about 13 D, a small fridge is 2500D, a head scarf starts at about 20 D, Moroccan chocolate bars are 1 D, Snickers are 5 D, soft serve icecream on the street is 1 D, and a round of bread is 2 D at the public oven in Tamazitinu. Soda and bottled water is about 5 D depending on size and whether it’s a glass or plastic bottle. Bootleg DVDs are 10 D. Travelling 200K on a souk bus is 35 D; 50 in a taxi. My rent is 700 D a month. Getting to my souk town is 10 D each way. Internet is 5 D/hr.

Douar: Also spelled “Duwar,” a word (Darija; used in Tam) that refers to neighborhood or small village. Tamazitinu has between 8-10 douars, depending on whether you are talking about Douars that are served by the Commune or douars served by the sbitar. The nearest one served by my sbitar is essentially attached to Tamazitinu Center, the farthest is 65k away.

Enshallah: God willing; said when describing something in the near or far future. Eg: Ad dugh s Rabat shr xamsa, enshallah. I’ll go to Rabat in May, God willing. Also used as a way to say maybe or hopefully. (Fusha, used in Darija and Tam)

Environment: I talk about the Environment people sometimes, which refers to PCVs in that sector who work on different environmental related projects. The other sectors are Health, Youth Development and Small Business Development.

Equippe-Mobile: A 4x4 truck based out of my conscription hospital in my souk town that goes to all of Tamazitinu’s outer douars four times a year for vaccination drives.

ET: Early Termination. PC jargon for going home before the two years of service are up for any number of reasons. ETing is often used as a verb (or gerund, for that matter).

Flus: Money (Darija; “idrimen” in Tam, though “flus” is also used)

Fusha: Pronounced more like “Foos-ha;” Modern Standard Arabic.

Gendarmes: Rural police force. My gendarmes are located in my souk town, so there is essentially no police presence at site. They are also who I go to for Carte de Sejour business, and the head gendarme, who knows me by sight, wants me to tell him every time I leave the province so he can tell the police/gendarmes at my destination to expect me.

Hakek: “You’ve got it!” “That’s it!” (Tam…maybe Darija?)

Hamdullah: Also “lHamdullah;” literally “Praise God,” or “Hallelujah.” (Fusha; used in Darija and Tam)

Hammam: Public bathhouse. Amazing. Heavenly. My site doesn’t have one; maybe I’ll go in my souk town during winter. One of the associations in town wants to build one in Tamazitinu.

Hanut: Store; usually a small one-room store with one man working behind the counter. (Darija; taHanut in Tam)

Hashek: Literally means something like “Excuse me for talking about/doing something dirty.” In some places, said after words like “bathroom,” “excrement,” “dog,” “donkey,” “diarrhea,” etc. In some conservative communities, it’s used in a sentence such as, “Where is the bathroom, excuse me for saying something dirty?” “Mani bit lma, hashek?” In Tamazitinu, the only time I’ve heard it used is after a meal when a washing basin is passed around, after washing hands. (Darija, also used sparingly in my region in Tam; possibly from Fusha.)

Henna: A plant that is crushed, mixed with water and sometimes other substances, and put on the hands or feet (sometimes including fingernails and toenails). After a period of time ranging from a few hours to overnight, it’s washed off and the skin is stained yellow, orange, red, brown, or black for a few weeks. There are two types of designs used in Tamazitinu: plain henna, where it’s spread thickly and evenly, or zwaq, where it’s piped through a syringe in an elaborate design.

Hshuma: Shame! For shame! Shameful! There is a lot that is Hshuma in Morocco or Tamazitinu that’s not Hshuma in the US: tank tops, sneezing at the dinner table, shorts, pants without a long shirt for women, not wearing a headscarf in some places, doing certain things (dancing, etc) in mixed company, etc. It’s also a good thing to shout to someone who’s trying to take advantage of you because you’re a foreigner, or to a misbehaving kid. (Darija, also used in Tam; possibly Fusha)

iHndar: My host family’s neighborhood in Tamazitinu; my favorite neighborhood (but a good 10-15 min walk from my house).

Imiq s imiq: Little by little (Tam).

Jabador: Two-piece outfit with a shirt that usually goes somewhere mid-thigh to knees, with matching baggy pants. Probably my favorite type of Moroccan clothing. (Darija, also used in Tam)

Jellaba: Also “djellaba,” a long shirt-like garment with a hood. They don’t wear them at Tamazitinu, but women do wear them when they go to my souk town or other big towns, I guess as a way of dressing up. I see them all the time in bigger towns or cities. (Darija; called djellabit in Tam)

Kaftan: Fancy long shirt worn for weddings and special occasion. Expensive! (Darija; also used in Tam)

Khalifa: Local official. Reports to the Caid (my Caid is effectively an overnight trip: 45 minutes by tobis, 50 minutes by bus or taxi, then another two hours in tobis, but that last tobis only leaves once a day…but there is a different Caid 45 minutes away in my souk town. Don’t ask.). I believe he is also the liason with the gendarmes. My Khalifa wants me to tell him every time I leave my douar. I’m pretty good at telling him, but not 100%. I have to work on that.

LCF: PC abbreviation for “Language and Cultural Facilitator,” or our language teachers and basic cultural guides during training.

Lycee: High School. There is no lycee in my site; depending on what track students take, they go to lycee in my souk town or the provincial capital (Darija, from French, also used in Tam).

Madrasa: Primary school. (Darija, from Fusha (?), also used in Tam)

Microbat: Bacteria. Isn’t that a cool word? (Darija/Tam from French)

Monaish: A bagged liquid yogurt, available in strawberry, banana, and pineapple if you’re lucky. I hear you can also get mishmash (apricot), but have yet to see it. Delicious plain, frozen, or in shakes.

Moqaddam: Local official: the eyes and ears of the Khalifa. Each douar has a Moqaddam, but Tamazitinu only has one Khalifa for the center and the outer douars (even the ones 65 k away).

Neddi/Netti: Women’s center. My neddi has sewing, knitting, crosstitch, and crochet classes, teaches literacy classes (Fusha; Tam isn’t a written language… well… not for practical purposes, yet. See “Tifinagh” for more information), and holds a preschool.

Nk/Nkkin: I. (Tam; the word for “I” in Darija is “ana.”)

PC: Peace Corps. For more info see: www.peacecorps.gov

PCT: Peace Corps Trainee.

PCV: Peace Corps Volunteer.

Ponj: Large rectangular cushions used as cushions and beds here. They range in thickness from about an inch high to the height of a normal couch.

PST: Pre-service training; for me it was from March 07-May 07. At that time, I was a PCT and not yet a PCV.

Qabla: Traditional Birth Attendant (Darija; used in Tam)

Rais: The President of the Commune; similar to a mayor. (Darija; used in Tam)

Ramadan: One of the Five Pillars, Ramadan is the month of fasting in Islam. During Ramadan, from sunrise to sunset, believers fast from food, drink (including water), cigarettes, medicine (the very devout), swearing, and sexual behaviors. Fast is broken with lftor (breakfast) at sunset. This year (2007), I plan on trying to fast during Ramadan.

Rbbi: God (Tam)

Rizo: Cell phone reception. My site has rizo, lHamdullah.

Robini: Literally “faucet,” refers to tap water. “Is there robini?” means “is there piped tap water to homes?” or “is the water on?” As a joke, when ordering tap water at a restaurant, people at times ask for “Sidi Robini” (Mr. Robini) because a popular brand of bottled water is “Sidi Ali.” (Darija, used in Tam)

Ryal: Oh, here we go. Ryals don’t really exist as physical currency. There’s no Moroccan coins or bills that say “100 Ryals” on it anywhere; everything is officially Dirhams. However, in my region, and a lot of rural areas in the Atlas and south, prices are quoted in ryals and you have to do the conversion in your head. There are 20 ryals to the dirham, so all you need to do is drop the zero and divide by two, but it took some getting used to. The amazing thing is that even illiterate women and old men here know exactly how much something is in ryals, though if you ask to divide a number by 20 or multiply a number by 20, they would most likely struggle. However, they’re told something is “400 ryals” and hand over a 20 D bill without thinking. It still makes me smile when someone has a 100 dirham bill in their hand and asks if I have change for 2000.

Saffron: A yellow spice used in cooking that is very expensive; also used like makeup for special occasions when mixed with water and sugar. I’ve seen people paint a stripe on the forehead hairline, dots or short lines at the corner of eyes, circles beside the ears, a dot on the tip of the nose, a dot or line on the chin, and big circles around the eyes. I believe they use imitation saffron, opposed to the real thing, but I could be mistaken.

Salon: Also: Hanut n atay. Tea room/living room. In houses in Tamazitinu, as well as at my CBT family, the salon is a large rectangular room for entertaining guests, sleeping, eating meals, and watching television. If a family has ponjs, most likely they are in that room; if not, the ground is covered in agrtil and carpets or folded blankets. In my town, the bottom half of the room is usually painted one solid color or a solid color with a basic design, and the top half is left white or grey. (Darija; also used in Tam, from French).

SBD: Small Business Development; one of the four sectors of volunteers in PC Morocco. SBD Volunteers generally work on entrepreneurial skills with artisans (to oversimplify, that is). The other sectors are Health, Youth Development and Environment.

Sbitar: Clinic (Darija; used in Tam). My sbitar is a Centre de Sante, meaning it generally has at least a doctor and a nurse.

Seminar Site: During PST, a small city in the Atlas mountains that was our “home base” “for training in the large group of 35. A different part of training than CBT phases.

Sharia: A short-noodle pasta, eaten for dinner (plain, or with a bit of tomato) often at my site. (Darija, also used in Tam).

Shesh: Head scarf (rectangular).

Shr tminya: August: the month of weddings, heat, tourists, and ait lxarijj. Literally “Month eight,” and to take it more literally, “Moon eight.” The months are all named in that manner, though there are also Arabic words that sound a lot like in English (yanayr, fbrayr, mars, abril, etc.). In addition, some regions say “ayur tminya” (shr is moon or month in Darija; ayur is moon or month in Tam.) To make things even more confusing, a lot of people, especially farmers, use the Arabic calendar which is not like the Gregorian calendar, and that’s how many Islamic holidays are determined. This gets really mindboggling when you try to figure out how many months pregnant a woman is: the month can be shr tminya, ayur tminya, gusht, or a completely different calendar system.

(In case you’re dying to know, the months in order are: shr waHd, shr juj, shr tleta, shr rb3a, shr xmsa, shr sta, shr sb3a, shr tminya, shr ts3ud, shr 3shra, shr Hdash, shr tnash. The numbers are Darija, not Tam (in Tam, numbers 1,2, and 3 are different. Numbers in Morocco are a bit complex as well.)).

Shukran: Thank you (Darija, from Fusha, also used in Tam, but technically it’s “saaha” in Tam).

Shwiya b shwiya: Little by little (Darija)

Site: The word PC uses for the place that I live. Technically, my site includes anywhere my sbitar serves, including outer douars, so though my friend’s site, which is 15 k away is not in my site and I need permission to go, I can go 65k to my outer douars and still be “in site.”

Souk: Also “souq.” Weekly regional market. (Darija; used in Tam)

Souk bus: A bus that is sort of like a greyhound bus that’s maybe fifteen years old that goes from large city to large city, picking up and dropping people off at the side of the road. The cheapest way to travel.

Souk town: The largest town around that has souk on Mondays; I go once or twice a week. Peace Corps Morocco jargon.

Stage/Staj: Training group in Peace Corps. My Health Stage had 35 trainees; currently 34 volunteers, and was the same time as the Environment stage. Also used to refer to training period, ie “During stage, we learned about different ways to improve already existing wells.” Pronounced as in French: stah-j, not a theater stage.

Tagine: This word has two uses: one is a large cooking dish made out of clay that has a conical-shaped lid, the other use is the sort of stew that is cooked inside that usually has vegetables and meat. You eat tagine from a tagine. In Tam, the word used for the food is usually “Duas.”

taHanut: Store; see “Hanut.” (Tam).

Taharuyt: The traditional women’s wrap here, though not worn by everyone all the time. It’s black with some sort of colorful embroidery in a single stripe in the middle, and some sort of edging.

Tam: Short for “Tamazight”

Tamazight: The Berber language in the Atlas Mountain region.

Tamazitinu: Literally “My Town” in Tamazight; what I am calling my site on this blog. (Tam)

Taragua: Also “Taraguwa;” irrigation canals in the fields (since Tam isn’t written, there’s lots of spelling variation in transliteration). (Tam).

Taromit: Foreigner (woman; a foreign male is “aromi.”). I’m constantly referred to as “taromit.” (Tam).

Tashelheit: The word that is used most often by people in my region for the language; used by Peace Corps to describe Tassusite, the Berber language spoken further West. (See one of my previous blog entries for more in-depth discussion on this)

Tassusite: Sometimes called Tashelheit (but not the Tashelheit spoken by the people at my town; confusing!), the language of Berber people further west than my site.

TBA: Traditional Birth Attendant, or qabla. Usually a woman trained by her mother or sometimes more formal trainings, but without being a midwife or having an academic background in medicine.

Taqesha: Like a kaftan, but usually two layers: a gauzey layer over a solid layer. I thought I bought a taqesha but it was really a kaftan.

Tarzoulte: Traditional black powdered eyeliner, worn inside the eyelid, so it looks like you’re putting it in your eye when you put it on. No matter how hard you wash your face, it stays on for a few days. I love it, though I feel very “Goth.”

Teleboutique: Place that has one or more public pay phones. Good for places with no rizo or when rizo is out or if you don’t have a cell phone. Tamazitinu has three. (Darija, from French, also used in Tam)

Tifinagh: Written Tamazight/Tashelheit/Tassusite. Not widely used because it was outlawed a number of years ago and was not used for years. In 2003, it was revived in some schools, and it’s used by some people who are pursue their Berber heritage. It’s very common as graffiti in my region, but not used widely in publications. If you haven’t seen the Tifinagh alphabet, it’s worth googling, because it looks like something you’d create as a secret language as a child: really cool.

Tobis: From “Autobus” originally, a word used to describe a van used to transport people in rural areas. My tobis is a 15-passenger van that leaves at 5:30-6 am and 2 pm to go to my souk town and comes back at around 11 am and 5 pm.

Tomobil: Car.

Turkish toilet: A squat toilet: a plastic or ceramic plate with two raised footholds and a hole in the middle for excrement. Usually a pour-flush latrine. Hashek.

Water Chateau: Water tower, or place that has a storage tank, pump, and well for water distribution. Chateau means “castle” in French (and might also be used as water tower in French?)

Waxa: Okay. (Darija, also used in Tam). In my region, we also say “waxait”

YD: Youth Development sector of PC Morocco; they all learn Darija and teach English and other things in Dar Chebabs, or youth centers. The other sectors are SBD, Health, and Environment.

Zween: Good, pretty, nice, awesome, cool. (Darija; maybe Fusha?)