The ancient practice of 'oucham', the tradition of tribal facial markings
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While the tradition of cultural tattoos in Morocco, in particular facial tattoos, isn't common in big cities, it’s a large part of Amazigh ( the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa) culture. This article covers the significance it has aesthetically and religiously as well as the reasons for its decline in recent years. This custom is practised mainly by women in Amazigh villages, the main reason being it is a sign of beauty. The first oucham (meaning tattoo in Moroccan Darija) is normally done once a girl hits puberty, it conveys the entrance into womanhood and is believed to induce fertility. “They represent a belief that supernatural energy resides in all things [...] Women considered the tattoos their defining factor in that it made them stand out. Their permanence symbolised a sort of immortality that cannot be attained with removable make-up. It gave women a type of glitz and glamour that nevertheless did not obscure their real beauty and facial features like the cosmetic products of the modern era. It made them pretty without reducing them to consumeristic subjects vying for attention or validation” (Ahdad, 2019). By enduring the pain, it represents maturity for the adult responsibilities to come. These tattoos are also done to symbolize important milestones in a woman's life, specifically in marriage as a way to attract potential suitors.
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Secondly, the oucham play a large role in Moroccan tribalism, it not only ties them to their land, but it's passed down from each generation. Every village has specific designs that represent their tribe, a symbol of group identity. It's tradition for the mother to tattoo her daughter when she becomes of age, “Amazigh women teach this artistic language to their children. They wear most of the art they produce in the form of textiles, jewellery, and tattoos on their bodies. The women are primarily responsible for preserving and passing down these visual forms through the generations” (Becker, 2002 quoted by Barnes, 2008). Thirdly, these oucham aren’t used solely for aesthetic purposes but also as form of protection against black magic and the evil eye. As seen in figure 1a, the designs are commonly made of geometric symbols such as diamonds, triangles and lozenges. They are believed to divert the evil eye, another reason why it's done before marriage, to prevent bad luck from potential jealousy at the ceremony. And lastly, they are also believed to have healing qualities that help with medical complications. Licona, González and Sevilla (2019) conducted research into this topic in a sanctuary in Sidi Abd al-Noor and Sidi el Hach Amarani in the Rif, Morocco. There, the tattooist would sacrifice a cow and the patient would take part in a ritual fountain shower before tattooing specific designs on the affected areas. Line tattoos were done for people facing rheumatism, headaches and lumps on the body; when interviewing an Amazigh woman, she revealed that the practice did indeed cure her from her joint discomfort saying, “the doctor is very traditional, and the tattoos pull out the pain” (Ibid.).
Figures 1a to 1c are photos by Mosa'ab Elshamy, this collection stood out to me as they felt quite personal and intimate, creating a more profound experience between myself as a viewer along with the participants despite having never met them. “These arguments insist on a sense of the relationship between the body and the photographic images, how users position themselves in relation to photographic images, how they view, handle, wear, and move with photographic images and perform a sense of appropriateness through relationships with the photographic image [...] This position indicates not a lack in images but a rich and complex praxis through which people articulate their eyes and their bodies in relation to pictures” (Edwards, 2012). By having the participants sit very close to the camera with just their face and a blurred background, it makes these sensory photographs feel much more intimate. The eye contact allows the viewer to connect deeper not only to the person but to the tattoos themselves when combined with the information written about these oucham.
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Focusing on the physical process of tattooing, rural Morocco doesn't have tattoo guns, they use a traditional stick and poke method. The ink itself is made up of kohl and coal ash and as seen in figure 2, using a needle to poke the designs into skin (Ahdad, 2019). Other methods also include using vegetable dye that's made of dry leaves and certain coloured plants that are mixed with powdered coal. The tattooing process is done up to 5 times and the end result is not seen until three days after the last session, it should also be noted that this practice is generally done free of charge (Licona, González and Sevilla, 2019).
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I not only chose to write about this topic because of the richness of oucham cultural but also because my grandma as well as other family members have taken part in this ritual. Growing up in Morocco, I grew very interested in this topic, noticing the differing opinions on facial tattoos compared to how they were socially understood in the West. Figure 3 shows a photo of my grandma with my mum and aunt in the 1970s. Unfortunately, the photo isn't very clear but if looked at closely, my grandma has a tattoo on her forehead, chin and hand; although not visible in the photo, the designs she had are almost identical to figure 4a. She also had oucham on her legs, ankles and arms, similar to figure 4b. When asking my mother why she hadn't gotten the tattoos herself, she explained that one of the reasons this tradition is fading was due to how old fashioned and out of style it was considered when she was growing up. Getting it done was seen as unfashionable especially since she was raised in Casablanca, the biggest and most progressive city in Morocco. I also questioned her on her views on tattoos since my mum has always been strict against them. She was more lenient on oucham compared to Western style tattoos, oddly enough she didn't consider them to be the same thing because Western tattoos had a completely different cultural meaning.
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Getting a face tattoo in Western societies is generally seen as a lawless act that could affect ones career yet living within a rural village the oucham was considered honourable and patriotic to your tribe. Ironically, although she's against facial tattoos, she had gotten an eyebrow tattoo when she was younger, I feel this is important to note as it highlights how differing people’s views on tattoos are dependent on the context. In the West, it is very common for people to tattoo their eyebrows, lips and eyeliner, it's a cosmetic procedure, a sign of beauty, in the same way the oucham was in Morocco. Except generally they are looked down upon in Western societies, often associated with gang violence and rebellion. This was a very interesting point to think through, how culture affects differing views on the same topic, “in 2011, 31% of employers nationwide told job website Career Builder that having a visible tattoo would hinder a candidate's likelihood of being promoted” (Herndon, 2014). It is fascinating how taboo tattoos are in the West compared to other parts of the world, it was generally common for girls to get their first oucham at the age of ten in the small villages but in the UK it’s illegal to get a tattoo under the age of 18. I imagine this may be because tattoos in the West are considered as a form of individuality and rarity that a child can’t be trusted to make such a big lifelong decision, whereas Moroccans see it as a standard component of being part of Amazigh culture.
Moving on, the photos from figures 4a to 4c are part of a photography collection named C’est Haram by photographer Giulia Frigieri. Upon reading Edwards’ Objects of Affect: Photography Beyond the Image, the quote “Anthropology has produced ethnographically grounded accounts of photography as an everyday phenomenology of the photographic object, considered in conjunction with a careful attention to the photograph’s ontology” (2012: 225) in particular made me think carefully about what photos I wanted to include in this report. Rather than simply choosing random photos that show these oucham at face value, I considered the deeper visual implications included within the entire photo that add to the entire photo’s story. I reflected on the ideas of ‘placing’ which is interpreted as an awareness of time and space to specific social expectations and material forms that authentically express the ethnographies of the photographic practice. While Elshamy’s photos focus on more of a sensory, emotional and intimate experience of the relationship between the participants and their tattoos, Frigieri’s photos decipher the wider implications of the tattoos' social and cultural context. For example, figure 4c shows a tattooed woman with her family; rather than taking a close photo with her face to see the tattoos, we are able to not only see her with her family, but also what they're wearing and the addition of the mountains in the background. This gives a more thorough understanding of the culture behind these tattoos which ultimately provides a more comprehensive interpretation of them on a more extensive anthropological level, “material culture studies have stressed the importance of the spatial dynamics of objects. The placing of photographs as objects in an assemblage of other objects and spaces is integral to the work asked of photographs and human relations with them” (Ibid., 226). Also, as with figure 4b, by taking the photo of her ankle slightly further away, the inclusion of the rugged unbalanced floor and the old plastic sandals conveys the cultural connection between the oucham and rural societies, something we would rarely ever see within the big cities of Morocco. Similarly, figure 5, although not part of Frigieri’s work, tells a broader story, by seeing their location it connects you more to their experience as you are able to imagine where the tattooing takes place and how truly authentic and rustic the practice is.
Despite the long-lasting tradition, oucham are now very uncommon, this practice is quickly fading away, nowadays the only people with these tattoos are elderly. As mentioned above, my mother had discussed how taking part in the practice seemed old fashioned, a large reason for this was due to the French revolution. During the 60s and 70s, people associated modernity with European culture and facial tattoos wasn't considered attractive in the West. When the French first arrived, many Amazigh women were inclined to have more tattoos done, they believed that if it was considered unattractive to the French, it would hopefully protect them from the sexual harassment and rape present. The practice was also promoted to express their independence and to fight for cultural freedom against the colonisation. Unfortunately, when the French set up brothels, many Amazigh women were kidnapped from their villages and were forced into prostitution. This created an ill-fated associated with facial tattoos, as society began affiliating them with prostitution (McCabe, 2019). Apart from changes in fashion and colonisation, the main cause for the decline of this practice is due to religion. There has been a growing sensibility to what rules fall under Islamic law, “According to the hadith Sahih al-Bukhari, narrated by Abu Hudhayfa, ‘The Prophet cursed the one who does tattoos and the one who has a tattoo done.’ This is because the process of tattooing changes the body, thus altering God’s creation” (McCabe, 2019). Many women got their tattoos removed or at the very least many carry immense regret for the 'haram' act. Some claim that this tradition is considered heretical as the tattoos prevent correct ‘wudu’ practice of purification before prayer, it stops the water from ‘cleaning’ the skin. Many however disagree with this claim and justify this tradition because Prophet Mohammed’s Daughter, Fatima, had a tattoo on her chin (Licona, González and Sevilla, 2019).
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Since the decline of oucham, henna had taken over its use as an aesthetic asset. Although henna has always been a huge part of Moroccan culture, it became especially prevalent once religion began affecting views on tattoos. Unlike the oucham, henna isn't limited to rural culture but common all over the country including the urban cities. It is a customary practice in ceremonies and large festive events, in particular weddings. Amanda Rogers conducted research into henna in Morocco, when talking to interviewees she found how closely henna is viewed as a spiritual product, not simply a beauty commodity. One of the participants who also had a tattoo stated that she believed her tattoo was haram, but that henna was a sacred tool of beauty saying “Inna Allaha jameelun wa yuhibbu l-jamaal” (Rogers 2013:85), meaning God is beautiful and loves beauty. The women also explained that henna carries ‘baraka’ which means blessing, unlike makeup or tattoos that could be used as a form of black magic to entice and manipulate. This link between henna and religion is believed to be a sign of Muslim devotion especially since the Prophet Mohammed had used it himself, its known as a ‘plant from paradise’.
This is seen beyond Morocco, the use of henna is very widespread across Muslim countries, treated as a divine substance used in special ritualised occasion Figure 6, shows a photo I had taken the last time I went to Morocco, its tradition to get henna every time I go back, further highlighting how much of a role it plays in our ideas on beauty. The photo includes mine and my mother's hands and other local women who have all come to get henna designs, almost like going to a salon. The background shows that not only are hands covered but so are the feet, very much like the oucham. It's customary to go to henna stalls at markets (as seen in the figure) and treat the occasion as a social gathering with tea and treats.
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Bibliography
​​- Ahdad, K., 2019. The fading pride of Amazigh tattoos. [online] TRT World. Available at: https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-fading-pride-of-amazigh-tattoos-25555
- Barnes, M.W, 2008. Ethnographic Research into Morocco: Analysing Contemporary Artistic Practices and Visual Culture. The Ohio State University. Available at: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1218051347&disposition=inline
- Becker, C., 2010. Berber and Others: Beyond Tribe and Nation in the Maghrib - Chapter 9: Deconstructing the History or Berber Arts: Tribalism, Matriarchy, and a Primitive Neolithic Past. Indiana University Press, pp.195-212. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=W-ziBn5HakEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA195&dq=anthropology+articles+on+moroccan+berber+tattoos&ots=TNNVT-fm7s&sig=5gUu7ME213fxWUYOdzwwGsKD1FU#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Edwards, E., 2012. Objects of Affect: Photography Beyond the Image. Annual Review of Anthropology, 41(1), pp.221-234.
- Elshamy, M., n.d. In Morocco, tribal tattoos fade with age, Islam — AP Photos. [online] AP Photos. Available at: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2018/10/25/morocco-berber-tattoos
- Herndon, A., 2014. Society isn't quite ready for facial tattoos. CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/06/living/face-tattoos-style-identity/index.html
- Licona, N., González, M. and Sevilla, R., 2019. Tattoos in the Medical Practice. Advances in Anthropology, 09(01), pp.80-94. Available at: 10.4236/aa.2019.91006
- McCabe, C., 2019. The Disappearing Tradition of Amazigh Facial and Body Tattoos. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/. Available at: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/269903/tradition-amazigh-facial-tattoos
- Rogers, A., 2013. Politics, Gender and the Art of Religious Authority in North Africa: Moroccan Women's Henna Practice. PhD. Emory University. Available at: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/rf55z774x?locale=en
Photo bibliography
- Figures 1a - 1c:
Elshamy, M., n.d. In Morocco, tribal tattoos fade with age, Islam — AP Photos. [online] AP Photos. Available at: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2018/10/25/morocco-berber-tattoos
- Figure 4a - 4c :
Frigieri, G., 2016. C’est Haram • Giulia Frigieri Photography. Giuliafrigieri.com. Available at: https://www.giuliafrigieri.com/cest-haram/
- Figure 2 & 5:
Leu, F. & L., n.d. Berber Tattooing - A book by Felix & Loretta Leu. Heartbeatink.gr. Available at: https://www.heartbeatink.gr/en/books-publications/article/15735/berber-tattooing-book-felix-loretta-leu
