Tamegroute
Encyclopedia
Tamegroute is a village in the south of Morocco
, in the valley of the Draa River
. It has a history as an important center of learning and religion through its famous Sufi zawiya, historical center of the Nasiriyya
Sufi order, one of the most influential - and at one time one of the largest - Sufi orders in the Islamic world. Tamegoute's green pottery is also very well known.
zawiya was founded in the 17th century as the seat of the religious (Sufi) brotherhood of the Nasiriyya. Tamegroute had a religious school made famous by Abu Hafs Umar b. Ahmed al Ansari in 1575-76. The Nasiriyya
order took its name (and its reputation) from founder Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir al-Drawi
(1603–1674), who took over teaching at the Tamegroute zawiya in the 1640s. Since that time the leaders of the zawiya have been descendants of bin Nasir without interruption from father to son until the present day. Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir was a theologian, scholar and physician, especially interested in mental disorders. He wrote several works of fikh, some poetry, and hundreds of letters and treatises on Islamic law. He followed and extended the teachings of Shadhili
and under his leadership the Nasiriyya became the 'mother'zawiya' of sufi islam
in the Maghreb
with several branches in different parts of the country, including the zawiya of Irazan in the Sous
valley where 500 students were financed by the brotherhood.
He was succeeded by his son Ahmad
(1647–1717) who made six pilgrimage
s to Mecca
and made each of these pilgimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmad bin Nasir
traveled to Ethiopia
, Arabia, Egypt
, Iraq
and Persia. During his travels he took the opportunity of establishing new branches of the Sufi brotherhood. He wrote a voluminous series of memoirs of his journeys called the Rihla (partly translated by A. Berbrugger in 1846) and he brought back numerous works from all parts of the Islamic world. The brotherhood decided, already in the 17th century to found a university of the Quran. That university received, right from the beginning, more than 1500 students from countries in the Middle-East and West Africa
.
When Ahmad bin Nasir
died, the library (in Arabic the 'khizana habsia') of Tamegroute, with its thousands of manuscripts was one of the richest of North Africa. Some fine examples of the collection of manuscripts (now 4200) are still on display in the zawiya today and attract many tourists from Morocco
and abroad. Among them are a 14th century Quran with beautiful calligraphy
in Kufic
script, writings of Avicenna
(Ibn Sina), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), El Khwarizmi
, a translation of Pythagoras
, treatises on theology
, astronomy
, geography
and pharmacology
.
Later sheikh
s of the Sufi brotherhood of the Nasiriyya also played an important role as religious and cultural leaders and teachers of the Sufi
doctrine (Tasawwuf). The 19th sheikh
Abu Bekr is well known, in the Draa valley (zawiya in Mhamid Ghuslan) and in the west through his encounters with the travelers Gerhard Rohlfs
and Charles de Foucauld
. (. The graves of eight marabouts attract the visit of patients from all parts of the country, some of which remain in Tamegroute for months and sometimes even for years, hoping for healing and redemption by the baraka
of the Nasiriyya. In order to view the books at the library, a permit must be obtained from the Moroccan government, which allows you to handle the books inside the library only. The books collected by Ali Ben include texts on medicine, Qu'ranic learning and astrology, as well as mathematics and the sciences.
The building of the zawiya, as it stands now with its green tiles, dates from 1869, when it was rebuilt after a fire.
, Tamegroute hosts the yearly Moussem (festival) honoring Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir.
The founders of the religious brotherhood Nasiriyya
wanted to raise the status of the village of Tamegroute to that of a "Medina
", that is to say to make it a city. They assembled the merchants and craftsmen that they had brought from Fes
, a city that enjoyed good relations with Tamegroute at the time. However, today Tamegroute is a little village again, but the pottery has become its main characteristic. Except for a few ochre shades, a green glaze is the dominant colour in pottery from Tamegroute. As with Fes
Zelliges, and even more so, the ancient techniques give the glaze infinite variations.
(1670–1748), found sanctuary in Tamegroute. His first work in Berber al-Hawd was written here. His last work An-Nasiha ("The Advice"), is an ode in praise of Sidi Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir (1647–1717), Awzal's spiritual guide and grand master of the Nasiriyya
Sufi order, probably inspired as a funeral eulegy by his death, around 1717. Another famous inhabitant of Tamegroute was Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani
who joined the order of the Nasiriyya
before establishing his own brotherhood.
an court, the author and ambassador Abu-l-Hasan Ali Ibn Mohammed al-Tamgruti, best known because of the rihla
of his journey to Istanbul in 1590-91 for Ahmad al-Mansur
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, in the valley of the Draa River
Draa River
The Draa is Morocco's longest river . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini River. It flows from the High Atlas mountains south-ward to Tagounit and from Tagounit mostly westwards to the Atlantic Ocean somewhat north of Tan-Tan...
. It has a history as an important center of learning and religion through its famous Sufi zawiya, historical center of the Nasiriyya
Nasiriyya
The Nasiriyya is a Sufi order founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir al-Drawi whose centre was Tamegroute-Bibliography:* Ph.D. Thesis: by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001....
Sufi order, one of the most influential - and at one time one of the largest - Sufi orders in the Islamic world. Tamegoute's green pottery is also very well known.
Zawiya Nasiriyya/Naciria
Tamegroute has been a religious center since the 11th century. The NasiriyyaNasiriyya
The Nasiriyya is a Sufi order founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir al-Drawi whose centre was Tamegroute-Bibliography:* Ph.D. Thesis: by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001....
zawiya was founded in the 17th century as the seat of the religious (Sufi) brotherhood of the Nasiriyya. Tamegroute had a religious school made famous by Abu Hafs Umar b. Ahmed al Ansari in 1575-76. The Nasiriyya
Nasiriyya
The Nasiriyya is a Sufi order founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir al-Drawi whose centre was Tamegroute-Bibliography:* Ph.D. Thesis: by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001....
order took its name (and its reputation) from founder Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir al-Drawi
Mohammed ibn Nasir
Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir or Mohammed ibn Mohammed ibn Ahmed ibn Mohammed ibn al-Hussayn ibn Nasir ibn Amr abu Bakr al-Drawi al-Aghlabi was a Moroccan Sufi and founder of the Nasiriyya zawiyya of Tamegroute. Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir was a theologian, scholar and physician, especially interested in...
(1603–1674), who took over teaching at the Tamegroute zawiya in the 1640s. Since that time the leaders of the zawiya have been descendants of bin Nasir without interruption from father to son until the present day. Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir was a theologian, scholar and physician, especially interested in mental disorders. He wrote several works of fikh, some poetry, and hundreds of letters and treatises on Islamic law. He followed and extended the teachings of Shadhili
Shadhili
The Shadhili Tariqa is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by Abul Hasan Ali ash-Shadhili. Followers of the Shadhiliya are known as Shadhilis....
and under his leadership the Nasiriyya became the 'mother'zawiya' of sufi islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
with several branches in different parts of the country, including the zawiya of Irazan in the Sous
Sous
The Sous or Souss is a region in southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Oued Sous , separated from the Sahara by the Anti-Atlas Mountains...
valley where 500 students were financed by the brotherhood.
He was succeeded by his son Ahmad
Ahmed ibn Nasir
Ahmed ibn Nasir was a Moroccan Sufi writer and teacher of the Nasiriyya zawiyya of Tamegroute. He made six pilgrimages to Mecca and made each of these pilgimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmed ibn Nasir travelled to Ethiopia, Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Persia...
(1647–1717) who made six pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
s to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and made each of these pilgimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmad bin Nasir
Ahmed ibn Nasir
Ahmed ibn Nasir was a Moroccan Sufi writer and teacher of the Nasiriyya zawiyya of Tamegroute. He made six pilgrimages to Mecca and made each of these pilgimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmed ibn Nasir travelled to Ethiopia, Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Persia...
traveled to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Arabia, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Persia. During his travels he took the opportunity of establishing new branches of the Sufi brotherhood. He wrote a voluminous series of memoirs of his journeys called the Rihla (partly translated by A. Berbrugger in 1846) and he brought back numerous works from all parts of the Islamic world. The brotherhood decided, already in the 17th century to found a university of the Quran. That university received, right from the beginning, more than 1500 students from countries in the Middle-East and West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
.
When Ahmad bin Nasir
Ahmed ibn Nasir
Ahmed ibn Nasir was a Moroccan Sufi writer and teacher of the Nasiriyya zawiyya of Tamegroute. He made six pilgrimages to Mecca and made each of these pilgimages into a journey of several years. Sidi Ahmed ibn Nasir travelled to Ethiopia, Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Persia...
died, the library (in Arabic the 'khizana habsia') of Tamegroute, with its thousands of manuscripts was one of the richest of North Africa. Some fine examples of the collection of manuscripts (now 4200) are still on display in the zawiya today and attract many tourists from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and abroad. Among them are a 14th century Quran with beautiful calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
in Kufic
Kufic
Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. Its name is derived from the city of Kufa, Iraq, although it was known in Mesopotamia at least 100 years before the foundation of Kufa. At the time of the emergence of...
script, writings of Avicenna
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
(Ibn Sina), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), El Khwarizmi
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
'There is some confusion in the literature on whether al-Khwārizmī's full name is ' or '. Ibn Khaldun notes in his encyclopedic work: "The first who wrote upon this branch was Abu ʿAbdallah al-Khowarizmi, after whom came Abu Kamil Shojaʿ ibn Aslam." . 'There is some confusion in the literature on...
, a translation of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
, treatises on theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
.
Later sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s of the Sufi brotherhood of the Nasiriyya also played an important role as religious and cultural leaders and teachers of the Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
doctrine (Tasawwuf). The 19th sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Abu Bekr is well known, in the Draa valley (zawiya in Mhamid Ghuslan) and in the west through his encounters with the travelers Gerhard Rohlfs
Gerhard Rohlfs
Gerhard Rohlfs was a German linguist. He taught Romance languages and literature at the universities of Tübingen and Munich in Germany. He was described as an "archeologist of words"....
and Charles de Foucauld
Charles de Foucauld
Charles Eugène de Foucauld was a French Catholic religious and priest living among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for protection of the Tuareg and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr...
. (. The graves of eight marabouts attract the visit of patients from all parts of the country, some of which remain in Tamegroute for months and sometimes even for years, hoping for healing and redemption by the baraka
Baraka
Baraka means blessing in Hebrew, Arabic and Arabic-influenced languages. It may refer to:* Baraka, also berakhah, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony...
of the Nasiriyya. In order to view the books at the library, a permit must be obtained from the Moroccan government, which allows you to handle the books inside the library only. The books collected by Ali Ben include texts on medicine, Qu'ranic learning and astrology, as well as mathematics and the sciences.
The building of the zawiya, as it stands now with its green tiles, dates from 1869, when it was rebuilt after a fire.
Moussem
A month after the greatest Islam holy day of Aid el-KebirEid ul-Adha
Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice...
, Tamegroute hosts the yearly Moussem (festival) honoring Sidi Muhammad bin Nasir.
Pottery
Nasiriyya
The Nasiriyya is a Sufi order founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir al-Drawi whose centre was Tamegroute-Bibliography:* Ph.D. Thesis: by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001....
wanted to raise the status of the village of Tamegroute to that of a "Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
", that is to say to make it a city. They assembled the merchants and craftsmen that they had brought from Fes
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, a city that enjoyed good relations with Tamegroute at the time. However, today Tamegroute is a little village again, but the pottery has become its main characteristic. Except for a few ochre shades, a green glaze is the dominant colour in pottery from Tamegroute. As with Fes
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
Zelliges, and even more so, the ancient techniques give the glaze infinite variations.
Muhammad Awzal
In the 17th century the famous Shilha (Berber) poet, Muhammad AwzalMuhammad Awzal
Mohammed Awzal , also known as Muhammad ibn Ali Awzal or al-Awzali was a religious Berber poet. He is considered the most important author of the Teshelhit literary tradition...
(1670–1748), found sanctuary in Tamegroute. His first work in Berber al-Hawd was written here. His last work An-Nasiha ("The Advice"), is an ode in praise of Sidi Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir (1647–1717), Awzal's spiritual guide and grand master of the Nasiriyya
Nasiriyya
The Nasiriyya is a Sufi order founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir al-Drawi whose centre was Tamegroute-Bibliography:* Ph.D. Thesis: by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001....
Sufi order, probably inspired as a funeral eulegy by his death, around 1717. Another famous inhabitant of Tamegroute was Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani
Ahmad al-Tijani
Mawlana Ahmed ibn Mohammed Tijani al-Hassani al-Maghribi , in Arabic سيدي أحمد التجاني is the founder of the Tijaniyya Sūfī order...
who joined the order of the Nasiriyya
Nasiriyya
The Nasiriyya is a Sufi order founded by Sidi Mohammed ibn Nasir al-Drawi whose centre was Tamegroute-Bibliography:* Ph.D. Thesis: by David Gutelius. Johns Hopkins University, 2001....
before establishing his own brotherhood.
Abu-l-Hasan Ali Ibn Mohammed al-Tamgruti
Tamegroute was the place of birth of one of the most important officials of the SaadiSaadi Dynasty
The Saadi dynasty of Morocco , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554, when he vanquished the last Wattasids at the Battle of Tadla....
an court, the author and ambassador Abu-l-Hasan Ali Ibn Mohammed al-Tamgruti, best known because of the rihla
Rihla
Rihla is a medieval book which recounts the journey of the 14th-century Berber Moroccan scholar and traveler Ibn Battuta.The oeuvre was written by Ibn Juzayy after he was commissioned by the Marinid Sultan Abu Inan who was impressed by the story and journey of Ibn Battuta.The term Rihla is a...
of his journey to Istanbul in 1590-91 for Ahmad al-Mansur