Benitadjite and Japan: Two Similar Maps?

When you're far from where you grew up, what do you do? You might think about visiting, right? But what if that's not easy? You might look at old photos on your phone or watch YouTube videos to feel closer to that place!

That's what I did this morning... but I didn't choose any of those options. Instead, I opened Google Maps, typed in my village's name, "Beni Tadjite", and started looking at places only locals knew (...) After a bit, something strange caught my eye.

I noticed that Beni Tadjite's map looked a bit like Japan's map, except Japan is an island, and Beni Tadjite looks like an oasis in the middle of the desert in southeast Morocco.

First, let’s discover Benitadjite

Beni Tadjite is situated in the southeast of Morocco, within the Figuig region, roughly 300 km from Figuig city and equidistant from Meknes but to the west. As of the latest available data in 2016, the village's population is estimated to be around 16,000 inhabitants, predominantly residing in hamlets.

Life in Beni Tadjite revolves primarily around two main activities:

• The extraction of minerals from the “Boudhar mountain”.

• Local agriculture: The area is not known for agriculture due to the dry and barren nature of the land and the lack of water. Nevertheless, this same land is suitable for a type of cultivation, especially olive farming, which is the main source of livelihood for the people in the region.

The village's history traces back to the era of French occupation in Morocco, with the initial constructions influenced by French urban architecture and work techniques employed on the Boudhar mountain.

However, there is an older part of the history of the region that can only be revealed during visits to the surrounding hamlets or 'Ksour' around Beni Tadjite Center. These small settlements, all resembling each other, have two types of architecture:

• The ancient construction dates back over 300 years and,
• The new construction that people began to develop after the French colonization was to restructure their way of life and take advantage of electricity, water systems, etc.

As for the name "Beni Tadjite," there are various interpretations, but the most famous one suggests that it is a compound name consisting of two parts:

• "Bni" is an Arabic word meaning "to build," and
• "Tadjite" has diverse meanings but seems to carry an Amazigh significance such as "to leave," "to depart," or "to go up the mountain."

Thus, the complete meaning could be to: "build, then to leave, or go up the mountain", which aligns quite well with the lifestyle of the region's inhabitants. Most of them spend a significant portion of their time in the mountains or away from home for grazing or engaging in agriculture in lands distant from their residential areas.

In addition to the mountain, olive groves stretch along the village, as well as the “A?t Issa Valley”, a seasonal river that is typically dry for most of the year. There is also the “Bni Tadjite dam”, which fills up in winter and is utilized by farmers throughout the year to irrigate the olive groves and engage in other agricultural activities.

The majority of the region's inhabitants are Amazighs, and their culture and customs do not differ much from those in the Atlas regions, whether it's the High Atlas or the Middle Atlas. Thus, a visit to Beni Tadjite would be culturally akin to visiting cities such as Azrou, Midelt, Ifrane, or Khenifra, but, of course, it would differ ecologically given the unique features of the region.

Some hamlets or 'ksour' in the Benitadjite and Talsint region

Now, let's analyze the two maps!

The idea of comparing Beni Tadjite to Japan may seem like a mere optical illusion, but let's examine them:

• Japan's map resembles what we all know, a small island in the heart of the ocean, with scattered smaller islands here and there, drawing closer to each other as if attempting to unite into a single land...

• Similarly, Beni Tadjite's map creates the impression of an olive tree oasis in a desert landscape, with farms scattered here and there, drawing closer to each other as if endeavoring to unite into a single verdant garden stretching along a lengthy line in the desert.

Do you see a resemblance? I perceive the similarity, but as a native of Beni Tadjite, I sense something deeper than mere likeness (...) Within me lies a dream that one day, this line will extend further... and trees will be planted more abundantly until this region becomes lush enough to make the map look different from what it is today.

Last words

We all have our hometowns, and there's a special nostalgia for the region where we were born and raised.

Take a moment to open the Google Maps app, search for your hamlet, and closely explore the map. You might discover that it shares similarities with a map from another part of the world.

Give it a shot! Try this exercise and let me know which map your city or village resembles.

Videos for inspiration

The first video is a documentary that presents the geography of the Atlas Mountains and the life and culture of the Amazigh people, to which Beni Tadjite belongs. While the documentary may not directly address the village of Beni Tadjite, it covers the same region. Watch it and explore the culture of the Amazigh people living in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco:

Amazigh - A story from the people of the Atlas Mountains

For the second video, it is also a documentary, but in the Arabic language. It is a fascinating work by a well-known team in Morocco called Amoudou. In this documentary, the Amoudou team explores the regions of Figuig :

AmouddouTV 147 Figuig, le don des sources ??????/ ????? ??? ??????

The last video is a compilation of images and some videos from a town near the center of Beni Tadjite, called Ksar Medrar. The video is a bit older, but it provides an overview of the nature of this region:

ksar medrar oriental maroc

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