Tafilet

by Walter Harris

If one asks a native where he is going, and he replies to Tafilet, one may generally make certain that he is on his way to one of the seven districts of the oasis which I am now about to enumerate, and not to either Ertib or Medaghra, which both lie farther north, though it seems that by Europeans they are included in the district of Tafilet.

These seven provinces are—

(i.)	On the north, Tizimi.
(ii.)	On the west, Es Sifa.
(iii.)	On the south-west, Wad el Melha.
(iv.)	In the centre, Wad Ifli.
(v.)	On the south, Es Sefalat.
(vi.)	On the east, El Ghorfa.
(vii.)	And to the north-east, Tanijiud.

To attempt to correctly estimate the extent of ground under cultivation would be too hazardous to be of any value, for the oasis varies so much in width from place to place, according as the irrigating canals are taken far afield or not, that nothing short of a careful survey could give a satisfactory result. Again, it is impossible to state with accuracy the southern limits of the oasis, for much of the land situated south of the junction of the Wad Ziz and the Wad Gheris is only capable of cultivation after exceedingly heavy rains, when natives of the Aït Atta tribe till the banks as far as the Dayet ed Daura. From the northern limit of the oasis of Tizimi to the junction of the rivers Ziz and Gheris may be safely estimated at from forty to fifty miles, the average width of this portion of the oasis being about ten miles. All this district of, say, 450 square miles, is under dense palm cultivation. By this, however, one must not understand the whole oasis, for I have purposely ignored all that lies south of the meeting of the two rivers, a district which depends greatly upon floods and the melting of the Atlas snows for its varied supply, and what might be true of one year might be a gross exaggeration or underrating for any other season.

I have above enumerated the seven districts into which the oasis of Tafilet is divided. It now remains to make a few notes about each of these divisions. To take them in geographical order.

(i.) Tizimi, or Aït Izimi, is a large district extending along the west bank of the Wad Tizimi, as the main channel of the Wad Ziz is called at this part of its course, from the name of the district it passes through. The inhabitants of Tizimi are Arabs, though the name is essentially a Berber one, leading one to think that the original Berbers must have been displaced by Arab tribes. The present inhabitants are the Tizimi branch of the Ahl Subah Arabs, though one or two ksor belong to Shereefian families. Constant fighting is occurring in this part, owing to the proximity of the Berbers at Medaghra and Ertib. Tizimi contains a great number of palm-trees and several large ksor, the principal being Kasbat el Barania, Kasbat ben Ali, and Ksar bel Hassen. To the north-west of Tizimi, a mile or so across the desert, is the oasis of Mulai Brahim, where is the tomb of the saint so named, a place of pilgrimage. The oasis properly belongs to Tizimi, and is in the hands of the Shereefs and the Ahl Subah. I saw the tomb when passing through Tizimi. It is a large, domed, square building, painted white, and surrounded by a few smaller tombs of less important Shereefs.

Separating Tizimi from the two nearest districts, Es Sifa on the south-west and Tanijiud on the south-east, is a strip of desert varying in extent from two to five miles, through which the Wad Ziz flows in a sandy bed, a few oleanders and coarse herbage being the only signs of vegetation on its banks.

(ii.) Es Sifa is the next district, forming the west side of the oasis. It lies between the Wad Gheris and the Wad Ziz, which are here some four to five miles apart, their courses being almost parallel. The district is, however, irrigated almost entirely from the Wad Ziz, the Gheris being too salt for the purpose. This part of Tafilet is poor enough. The palms do not flourish well, the irrigation canals are in ill repair, the water-supply is very poor, the garden walls are broken down, and the ksor are few and far between. The immediate surroundings of El Meharza, in which I spent a night, and of which I have already given a short description, appear the best kept portion of this district of the oasis. El Meharza lies high above the Wad Gheris on its east bank, and is a place with pretensions to size and importance.

(iii.) Wad el Melha, or salt river, so called from the Wad Gheris, which forms its western boundary, is the next district, forming the south-western province of Tafilet. Like Es Sifa, it lies between the Wad Ziz and the Gheris, and though a smaller district than this last, it is more fertile and better irrigated. Taghranjiut is its principal ksar, situated in a portion of the district known as Beled el Riad, or “garden-land,” about equidistant from the two rivers.

(iv.) Es Sefalat forms the southern boundary of the oasis proper, and is a large and fertile district, bounded on the west by the Gheris, while it extends to the east considerably across the Wad Ziz, which almost bisects it. This district possesses the largest ksar in the whole oasis—namely, Tabuassamt, which lies on the west bank of the Wad Ziz. Although so large, the ksar is of no great importance, though it forms a caravanserai for the caravans going to the Sudan and Draa valley. However, little or none of the merchandise which passes through it is exposed for sale there, the caravans usually arriving late at night and leaving before dawn.