Couscous or the history of Morocco in a different way... 8566

Aziz Daouda, 5 mon.

- History - Science - Society -

3.3 min read.

The text below is not mine. It's a press release issued by researcher Nabil Mouline. For those who don't already know him, Si Nabil has a doctorate in history from the Université Paris-Sorbonne and Sciences Po Paris, which makes him both a historian and a political scientist. He is currently a researcher at the CNRS in Paris and the author of numerous articles and books, making him one of the leading specialists in the history of Morocco. He tells this unique, varied and rich history in his own way, with a narrative stripped of the frills and imprecision that can be found elsewhere. Nabil Mouline has made it his mission to bring Moroccans closer to their history and to make it easier for everyone to understand the characters, facts, situations and historical contexts, so as to help us, especially the younger generations, to grasp it, be inspired by it and make it our own; to live it to the full and be proud of it. In an exceptional recent educational effort, Si Mouline has teamed up with one of Morocco's best-loved faces, Mustapha ElFakkak, known as Swinga, to tell us this story in the form of an animated series. Si Mustapha's majestic and perfectly adapted voice gives the series a special appeal. It didn't take long for it to become a hit, as Moroccans are so thirsty to have their history told in a way other than what is imposed on them at school. The series is called Basmat Al-Tourath. The first issue is devoted to the history of couscous, while the second looks at the origins of the Almohad dynasty and the treasures hidden in Tinmel. Both have now amassed almost 400,000 views on YouTube. Below is the link to the first episode. Here is the text by Si Nabil Mouline. ‘Basmat al-Tourath: History as an issue of narrative sovereignty History is never neutral. It is a disputed territory, a battlefield on which the way in which people perceive themselves and the way in which they want to be perceived is decided. Far from being a simple archive of the past, heritage is a political and identity issue that determines the future. It is with this acute awareness that historian and CNRS researcher Nabil Mouline has conceived Basmat al-Tourath (The imprint of heritage), the very first animated series devoted to Morocco's tangible and intangible heritage. It's a project that doesn't just tell the story: it embodies it, reclaims it and brings it into the present. The stakes are twofold. On the one hand, it is about making history a living narrative, accessible to all, far removed from closed academic circles and fixed textbooks. On the other hand, it is a question of conquering ‘narrative sovereignty’, a fundamental concept which underlines the extent to which the way in which a people tells its past conditions the way in which it projects itself into the future. Basmat al-Tourath is therefore not simply a popularisation exercise, but an act of historical reconstruction, a strategic tool in the face of the contemporary challenges of cultural appropriation and memory battles. To give this project its full scope, Pr. Mouline has teamed up with Mustapha El Fekkak, alias ‘Swinga’, one of the most important popularisers in the Moroccan digital world. Together, they have decided to offer a format that combines scientific rigour and powerful storytelling, so that each episode is a truly immersive experience. A weekly programme during Ramadan Every Friday evening during the month of Ramadan, a new episode will explore a fundamental aspect of Moroccan heritage. The first episode, devoted to Tinmel, revealed to the general public the essential role played by this village in the High Atlas in the formation of the Almohad Empire, a veritable medieval superpower that ruled over a vast part of the Islamic world. This immersive approach has helped to anchor Tinmel in the collective imagination not simply as an archaeological site, but as a religious, intellectual and military centre that changed the history of the region. The next three episodes will tackle equally fascinating subjects, but their themes are deliberately being kept secret in order to maintain the suspense and impatience of the audience. The aim of this strategy is to transform Basmat al-Tourath into a truly unmissable cultural event, a time for discovery and reflection shared by Moroccans everywhere. History as a power issue Basmat al-Tourath has attracted so much attention because it responds to a pressing need: to give Moroccans back control over their own history, in the face of recurring attempts at cultural appropriation. The quarrels over the origins of the caftan, couscous or certain traditions are not simply folkloric disputes, but reflect deeper clashes over legitimacy and regional hegemony. Behind these debates, what is at stake is the crystallisation of ipsity, that awareness of oneself as a unique and distinct entity. Basmat al-Tourath not only recounts the past, she also highlights it as a precious heritage, an essential element of collective identity to be preserved and passed on. Morocco, with its remarkable historical continuity, has a responsibility to make its heritage known and recognised, ensuring that it is faithfully represented and fully appreciated. A project for transmission and outreach As well as showcasing our heritage, this series is also intended to be a tool for passing on our heritage. History that is not shared risks being erased over time. Basmat al-Tourath aims to anchor the Moroccan memory in new generations, offering them modern, accessible formats to help them better understand and appropriate their cultural heritage. By highlighting the richness and diversity of Morocco's heritage, this project also contributes to its influence beyond its borders. Heritage is an essential vector of cultural influence, and by promoting its historical and civilisational identity, Morocco is strengthening both its national cohesion and its attractiveness on the international stage. Basmat al-Tourath is much more than a simple series; it's a way of transmitting and raising awareness, a commitment to a living, shared history. It invites us to consider the past not as a fixed memory, but as a source of inspiration for building the future.

youtu.be/gqAur5NCQxk?si=K5E38l2U...

Aziz Daouda

Directeur Technique et du Développement de la Confédération Africaine d'Athlétisme. Passionné du Maroc, passionné d'Afrique. Concerné par ce qui se passe, formulant mon point de vue quand j'en ai un. Humaniste, j'essaye de l'être, humain je veux l'être. Mon histoire est intimement liée à l'athlétisme marocain et mondial. J'ai eu le privilège de participer à la gloire de mon pays .

6800

33.0

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER - PREFACE 2276

Bluwr X Commons: Mark Twain, 2 y.

- Short Stories -

0.6 min read.

Most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own, the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also, but not from an individual—he is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom I knew, and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture. The odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at the period of this story—that is to say, thirty or forty years ago. Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in. THE AUTHOR. HARTFORD, 1876.

THE MEDITATIONS - Book I.[1/3] 2335

Bluwr X Commons: Marcus Aurelius, 2 y.

3.7 min read.

1. I learned from my grandfather, Verus, to use good manners, and to put restraint on anger. 2. In the famous memory of my father I had a pattern of modesty and manliness. 3. Of my mother I learned to be pious and generous; to keep myself not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and to live with a simplicity which is far from customary among the rich. 4. I owe it to my great-grandfather that I did not attend public lectures and discussions, but had good and able teachers at home; and I owe him also the knowledge that for things of this nature a man should count no expense too great. 5. My tutor taught me not to favour either green or blue at the chariot races, nor, in the contests of gladiators, to be a supporter either of light or heavy armed. He taught me also to endure labour; not to need many things; to serve myself without troubling others; not to intermeddle in the affairs of others, and not easily to listen to slanders against them. 6. Of Diognetus I had the lesson not to busy myself about vain things; not to credit the great professions of such as pretend to work wonders, or of sorcerers about their charms, and their expelling of Demons and the like; not to keep quails (for fighting or divination), nor to run after such things; to suffer freedom of speech in others, and to apply myself heartily to philosophy. Him also I must thank for my hearing first Bacchius, then Tandasis and Marcianus; that I wrote dialogues in my youth, and took a liking to the philosopher’s pallet and skins, and to the other things which, by the Grecian discipline, belong to that profession. 7. To Rusticus I owe my first apprehensions that my nature needed reform and cure; and that I did not fall into the ambition of the common Sophists, either by composing speculative writings or by declaiming harangues of exhortation in public; further, that I never strove to be admired by ostentation of great patience in an ascetic life, or by display of activity and application; that I gave over the study of rhetoric, poetry, and the graces of language; and that I did not pace my house in my senatorial robes, or practise any similar affectation. I observed also the simplicity of style in his letters, particularly in that which he wrote to my mother from Sinuessa. I learned from him to be easily appeased, and to be readily reconciled with those who had displeased me or given cause of offence, so soon as they inclined to make their peace; to read with care; not to rest satisfied with a slight and superficial knowledge; nor quickly to assent to great talkers. I have him to thank that I met with the discourses of Epictetus, which he furnished me from his own library. 8. From Apollonius I learned true liberty, and tenacity of purpose; to regard nothing else, even in the smallest degree, but reason always; and always to remain unaltered in the agonies of pain, in the losses of children, or in long diseases. He afforded me a living example of how the same man can, upon occasion, be most yielding and most inflexible. He was patient in exposition; and, as might well be seen, esteemed his fine skill and ability in teaching others the principles of philosophy as the least of his endowments. It was from him that I learned how to receive from friends what are thought favours without seeming humbled by the giver or insensible to the gift. 9. Sextus was my pattern of a benign temper, and his family the model of a household governed by true paternal affection, and a steadfast purpose of living according to nature. Here I could learn to be grave without affectation, to observe sagaciously the several dispositions and inclinations of my friends, to tolerate the ignorant and those who follow current opinions without examination. His conversation showed how a man may accommodate himself to all men and to all companies; for though companionship with him was sweeter and more pleasing than any sort of flattery, yet he was at the same time highly respected and reverenced. No man was ever more happy than he in comprehending, finding out, and arranging in exact order the great maxims necessary for the conduct of life. His example taught me to suppress even the least appearance of anger or any other passion; but still, with all this perfect tranquillity, to possess the tenderest and most affectionate heart; to be apt to approve others yet without noise; to have much learning and little ostentation. 10. I learned from Alexander the Grammarian to avoid censuring others, to refrain from flouting them for a barbarism, solecism, or any false pronunciation. Rather was I dexterously to pronounce the words rightly in my answer, confining approval or objection to the matter itself, and avoiding discussion of the expression, or to use some other form of courteous suggestion. 11. Fronto made me sensible how much of envy, deceit and hypocrisy surrounds princes; and that generally those whom we account nobly born have somehow less natural affection. 12. I learned from Alexander the Platonist not often nor without great necessity to say, or write to any man in a letter, that I am not at leisure; nor thus, under pretext of urgent affairs, to make a practice of excusing myself from the duties which, according to our various ties, we owe to those with whom we live. 13. Of Catulus I learned not to condemn any friend’s expostulation even though it were unjust, but to try to recall him to his former disposition; to stint no praise in speaking of my masters, as is recounted of Domitius and Athenodorus; and to love my children with true affection. 14. Of Severus, my brother, I learned to love my kinsmen, to love truth, to love justice. Through him I came to know Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, and Brutus. He gave me my first conception of a Commonwealth founded upon equitable laws and administered with equality of right; and of a Monarchy whose chief concern is the freedom of its subjects. Of him I learned likewise a constant and harmonious devotion to Philosophy; to be ready to do good, to be generous with all my heart. He taught me to be of good hope and trustful of the affection of my friends. I observed in him candour in declaring what he condemned in the conduct of others; and so frank and open was his behaviour, that his friends might easily see without the trouble of conjecture what he liked or disliked.