Mellah in Demnat

Identifier: travelsinatlass00thom (find matches)
Title: Travels in the Atlas and Southern Morocco, a narrative of exploration
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: Thomson, Joseph, 1858-1895
Subjects:
Publisher: London, Philip
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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dunghills and indescribable filth ; but weconsidered it our bounden duty as explorers to let nofastidiousness stand in our way. Stepping along with studied care and watchfulness,keeping down as best we might the unpleasant sensa-tion that would arise, as it had from far differentcauses at sea, we peeped into various houses and exa-mined with interest the daughters of Judah, whomassed themselves round the doors in filthy gownsand repulsive fleshliness. It was quite irritating to find that some 80 percent, of the eyes directed toward us were sightless fromcataract, disfigured by squinting, or inflamed and 158 MOROCCO. swollen by ophthalmia. It seemed almost incrediblethat such thino*s could be in a small town situated ina welldrainod valley, and surrounded by wholesomecooling breezes from the snowy heights in the immediateneighbourhood. And yet it was no puzzle. No family, howeverlarge, occupied more than one small windowless room,though frequently several families are huddled together
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like pigs in a poke. In addition, the rooms are, inalmost every case, built round a small court some fifteenfeet square, and have a second series of upper apart-ments similarly occupied, the balcony which leads tothe doors affording a partial shade to the court below.These enclosures are the common family sewers,general reception and work rooms for the women, andhappy play-grounds of the children. In addition, they TOWN AND VALLEY OF DEM NAT. 159 serve as stables for the donkeys and mules of those inthe compound who possess such beasts of burden. Thesights and smells are sickening beyond description.And yet here, in happy unconsciousness of anythingunusual, groups of women spend the day carding orspinning wool, sewing clothes, cooking, &c. Theirdress is quite the same as their Shellach neighbours,but necklets of gold coins are more common. Amongother things to arouse our astonishment and disgust,was the discovery of the existence of child-wives ofeight, nine, and ten years of age,

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