This book explores the Moroccan Rif and the city of Al Hoceima, combining local voices and ethnographic insights to provide a comprehensive and unique overview of the multifaceted dynamics of the Mediterranean region.
The focus of the book is on the society, culture and people of the region, namely the Rifians. Throughout, their voices are interwoven with first-hand ethnographic data, geographical, ethnohistorical and anthropological insights, as well as 100 photographs, giving the reader an in-depth understanding of Rifian society and culture. The book also considers other themes, including maritime and mountain economies, ecologies in times of climatic change, transregional entanglements, migration, and the tense relationship between the Rif's inhabitants and the Moroccan monarchy. The book places particular emphasis on the generation of young Rifians who took to the streets in 2016-17 after the tragic death of a fishmonger in Al Hoceima. After months of protests involving thousands of people, at times spreading to other cities in Morocco and as far as Europe, the Makhzen, the power elite that governs Morocco, eventually took back the stage and crushed the popular protest movement. Today, despite the apparent calm, the situation in the region remains tense beneath the surface.
Examining a wide range of topics related to the Rifians in northern Morocco, the book will appeal to anyone interested in the Mediterranean region, Middle Eastern society, and anthropology.
Introduction 1. The Land, the men 2. Relations with the socio-political Other 3. Maritime and montane economies of the Rif and the role of Al Hoceima 4. Ethnography of Rifian migration: cause and effect 5. Impacts on Rifian society 6. Al Hoceima: transformations of a place 7. Political actors and the changing city Conclusions
Biography
Stefan Festini Cucco is a social and cultural anthropologist, research fellow and lecturer at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy. He holds a joint PhD from the Universities of Salento and Cologne. His main research interests are society, culture, politics, and environment. He is currently conducting research on human-animal-plant relationships, perceptions of ecosystems and biodiversity, and grasslands and transhumance in the Alps and the Mediterranean.
