No picturebook of Morocco is complete without the slender and elegant
silhouette of the palm
tree, It's not only beautiful but it's also an essential element in both
Arab and berber culture. As the Berber proverb says: "It is good to know
the truth and speak the truth, but it is even better to
know the truth and speak about palm trees."
The country has a wide
variety of palm trees, but the date palm (phoenix dactrlifera) is the
most important. It's said that the date palm needs to have its feet in
the water and its head in the fire, so it's perfectly adapted to the
Moroccan south and is the only crop in the region. It's vital to the
people there for several reasons: • The trees can bear fruit for over 150 years. •
They protect the soil from erosion by the desert wind and provide
protection from the blistering sun, both for humans and for the crops
grown in their shade. • Every part of the palm tree is used: dates are a key ingredient in the
Moroccan diet, the flowers provide a popular aphrodisiac, the trunk and
leaves are used as building
materials, the sap makes an inebriating liqueur and the fibres are woven
into ropes. Over one million people still live off palm groves, but in recent years
the extent of the groves has nearly halved, in about 44,000ha. One
reason is that young people are shunning the hard labour of the soil. In
addition, a large number of trees in North Africa have been blighted by
an (as yet) incurable fungal disease called bayoud.
Religious Date
The trees also have a religious importance in Islamic Christian and
Jewish traditions. The Prophet Mohammed was born in a palm grove at a time when dates were often the only solid
food. To remember this, Muslims traditionally break the Ramadan fast each
night with a date and a spoonful of water. A North African tradition
has it that the date palm originated in the Garden of Eden when a
full-grown tree bearing ripe fruit sprang from the spot where Adam
had just cut his nails and hair. The angel Gabriel appeared behind
the tree and told Adam that it was to be his food. When
Adam had to leave the garden he took the palm with him as the main fruit
of the world. When the ancient Jewish leader Moses led his people out of Egypt, they
were hungry and thirsty until they came to the palm grove of Elim. The bible also mentions the beauty,
mythology and usefulness of palm trees.
The boussekri has firm flesh and, eaten with mint tea or milk, is the
usual snack of shepherds.
The majhoul date, less sweet but naturally preserved, is usually left
on the branch to ripen.
The oblong boutoub also keeps well, while the soft boufggous date is
dipped in cumin-flavoured water.
In villages, dates are kept in earthenware jars and buried in the
ground - akbourn or buried dates have a strong smell and
bitter taste because of their fermentation.
