Figuig or Figig is an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

near the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

, on the border with

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. The town is built around an oasis of

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

s, surrounded by rugged, mountainous wilderness. Modernization has somewhat raised the

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

, and drawn much of the town's population away, so that it is now struggling to reach stability. Its population in 2014 was 10,872, down from a peak of 14,571 in 1982. The Ksour Range is a mountainous area extending between Figuig and El Bayadh.

Population

In addition to Berber-speaking sedentary people, the population of the oases includes many marabouts who call themselves

sharif Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the fami ...

s and have played an important role in social cohesion over the past centuries, softening feuds and quarrels between villages or within villages. A third element of the population is the Harratins gathered in Zenaga where they live in a particular neighborhood: Al-Hahda. They are workers of inferior status, responsible for the maintenance of the foggaras and, in general, the main agricultural works in the palm plantation. The descendants of slaves are often confused with the Harratins. The small Jewish Berber population, formerly gathered in the two mellahs of Zenaga and Udaghir, has practically disappeared. There were 5,000 subjects at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Culture

Aghrams are often centered on a plaza once used for communal gatherings and shopping. Arab

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

s would exhibit merchandise like cooked butter (''Udi''), dried milk (''Ibrassa''), and sheep wool (''Douft''). However, due to lack of demand and western-influenced tastes, the plaza-markets have waned in both their variety and importance. The ''akharbish'' education, often held near a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, had already been replaced by modern French schools since the establishment of the French

colonisation 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

. This trend has only been strengthened by the advantages a Western French education is perceived to confer, and as a result, knowledge of the Berber language has suffered. The original mainly spoken language is Amazigh (a Berber language). Figuig's population are referred to as ''At-Ufyyey'' in that language. Amazigh is spoken but not written in Figuig.

Agriculture

The town was established next to an oasis of date palms, and dates, or ''tiyni'', are by far its most important resource. Some hundreds of thousands of date palms are cultivated in the area, and their fruit has become Figuig's primary crop. In the 1960s and 1970s however, Figuig had lost countless date palms because of the ''Bayud'' disease. Wheat, or ''tasharza'', is also an important product of the town. Its cultivation near the town assured a steady supply of the crucial grain which allowed for a higher

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

. In order to increase arable land, many private farmers have constructed soil-filled stone terraces along the ''Jorf'', a salt mountain nearby. The Jorf is a sort of salt mountain about 1 kilometre long and 50 metres high. It is a nesting site of wild pigeons and bees, as well as scorpions and snakes, and is divided between several private landowners . The Jorf also serves to divide between the upper and lower portions of the town, and several thoroughfares connecting them run across it. The town's water-supply (''aman'') is drawn from its northern end, near the pass which serves as the main entrance to Figuig, and water can generally be found there at the shallow depth of 10 metres. The water is conducted from its source via underground channels (''lakbawat'') to lime and stone or cement

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

s (''sharij''), from which farmers can utilise it at their convenience. The cisterns sometimes double as swimming holes to provide recreation for the local children. Palm trees and the moon in Figuig

Modernization

New technologies such as cement and steel construction, as well as electricity, gas, telegraphs,

cellular network A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless network, wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called ''cells'', each served by at least one fixed-locatio ...

s, digital satellite programming, and even

Broadband Internet access In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide- bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission m ...

, have made their way to Figuig. These developments have begun to bring the residents remaining in the town into close-contact with local culture, and the town has even seen the opening of several cafes. A central bureaucracy, held-over from the French control, has supplanted the tribal structure as a center of Figuig's administration.

Notable People

* Jamal Harkass - Professional footballer * Mohammed Abed al-Jabri - Philosopher * Cheikh Bouamama - Resistance leader

Notes

References

External links

Beyond FigigFiguig in English languageofficial site of Figuig
{{Authority control Populated places in Figuig Province Municipalities of Morocco Oases of Morocco Algeria–Morocco border crossings