Water in the Central Maghreb during the Medieval Period: A Study in Social History and the History of Mentalities

Abstract

This research aims to study the status of water in the society of the Central Maghreb during the medieval period, through an approach that combines social history and the history of mentalities. It proceeds from considering water as a fundamental element of daily life and a cultural and religious symbol that contributed to shaping the collective perceptions of society. The research examines the aspects of water's presence in various facets of lived experience and the associated social and economic practices, before moving on to explore its symbolic dimensions, which manifested in several phenomena such as rainmaking rituals (istisqa'), folk beliefs, celebrations, proverbs, tales, and myths, as well as its presence in literary and poetic output. The research relies on a range of historical, geographical, literary, and jurisprudential (fiqh) sources. It aims to uncover society's interaction with water as a vital resource on one hand, and as a carrier of a system of meanings, values, and symbols on the other. It seeks to demonstrate that understanding the history of water is not limited to studying its material uses, but extends to elucidating its presence in the collective consciousness and the associated mental and cultural perceptions. This contributes to a deeper understanding of the social and cultural structure of the Central Maghreb society during the medieval period.