Fatima Gaddar

The Amazigh Culture in the Context of Urbanization and Modernization: the Case of Ayt Merghad Fatima Gaddar

Cultural diversity is a feature of Morocco, and within such a multicultural society, the maintenance of the various existing cultures is critical for the preservation of the community?s heritage and identity. However, as a result of the process of urbanization and modernization, some aspects of Ayt Merghad?s culture have been affected. The study is concerned with the investigation of the gradual loss of the Amazigh culture in the Ayt Merghad community, with a special focus on the rituals of birth, marriage, and death. A deep understanding of the issues investigated is achieved through an ethnographic type of data which emerged from participant observation, interviews and focus groups. The researcher argues that the changes that the rituals of birth, marriage and death have undergone during the last decades are but micro manifestations of the macro changes that the community has undergone in its repertoire of values and mentalities. An understanding of the dynamics of urbanization, modernization and development leads us to conclude that the loss of the Amazigh cultural heritage is an inevitable consequence of these processes occurring in the whole society.