Articles
ETHNOBOTANIQUE DE LA TRADITION DE LA ALLAGUA DE LA REGION DE GHOMRASSEN
Article number
853_55
Pages
447 – 454
Language
English
Abstract
Ghomrassen is a rustic Berber village in south-eastern Tunisia, located 16 km from Tataouine and 40 km from Médenine.
It is a municipality about 12000 inhabitants.
Allagua is a very ancient Tunisian tradition especially famous in southern Tunisia.
The term Allagua in the Ghomrassen region refers to a basket containing several objects (items), especially related to beauty and medicinal usages, that the new husband offers to his future wife during wedding festivities.
This tradition dates to the time when the elementary care could be made only by the traditional medicine.
The objective of our work is to collect information, so far untranscribed relating to the characteristics and use of plant-derived and other Allagua items, including the used plant organ, the origin, the type and mode of usage.
An ethnobotanic survey was conducted in the Ghomrassen region during summer 2007, involving 20 resource persons (5 storekeepers, 5 chemists or plants-sellers and 10 elderly women) known as having a deep knowledge of wedding ceremony traditions at Ghomrassen.
Survey data were collected and analyzed, covering every inventoried species.
More than 36 different articles were inventoried, including 10 of mineral origin and 20 of plant origin.
The plant-originating items make up approximately 56% of all Allagua items.
They belong to 20 different genuses in 18 families.
The most important species are: Prunus mahaleb, Lawsonia inermis, Santalum album, Myrtus communis, Chamaeleon gummifer, Juglans regia, Atractylis gummifera.
The majority of inventoried items are not exploited as raw materials.
In fact, 15 items are used as ingredients of several special preparations including the Skhab preparation (made up of 9 items), the Henna and Bkhour (each made up also of 9 different items), the Mardouma (4 items) and the Kohl (2 items).
Ten items articles belonging to 10 different plants are used for medicinal purposes and are generally present in the Allagua of the future bride.
However, 80% of the surveyed persons indicated that the medicinal usage of these items is more and more abandoned, and they are less and less supplied in the Allagua.
The tradition of necklace making is still transmitted from one generation to another and research studies on improving paste quality (colour, consistency, smell) are conducted by the National Office of Crafts.
Today, several traditional and modern craft creations are marketed.
On the other hand, Allagua components of medicinal usage are more and more abandoned in spite of the scientific validation of such usage.
It is a municipality about 12000 inhabitants.
Allagua is a very ancient Tunisian tradition especially famous in southern Tunisia.
The term Allagua in the Ghomrassen region refers to a basket containing several objects (items), especially related to beauty and medicinal usages, that the new husband offers to his future wife during wedding festivities.
This tradition dates to the time when the elementary care could be made only by the traditional medicine.
The objective of our work is to collect information, so far untranscribed relating to the characteristics and use of plant-derived and other Allagua items, including the used plant organ, the origin, the type and mode of usage.
An ethnobotanic survey was conducted in the Ghomrassen region during summer 2007, involving 20 resource persons (5 storekeepers, 5 chemists or plants-sellers and 10 elderly women) known as having a deep knowledge of wedding ceremony traditions at Ghomrassen.
Survey data were collected and analyzed, covering every inventoried species.
More than 36 different articles were inventoried, including 10 of mineral origin and 20 of plant origin.
The plant-originating items make up approximately 56% of all Allagua items.
They belong to 20 different genuses in 18 families.
The most important species are: Prunus mahaleb, Lawsonia inermis, Santalum album, Myrtus communis, Chamaeleon gummifer, Juglans regia, Atractylis gummifera.
The majority of inventoried items are not exploited as raw materials.
In fact, 15 items are used as ingredients of several special preparations including the Skhab preparation (made up of 9 items), the Henna and Bkhour (each made up also of 9 different items), the Mardouma (4 items) and the Kohl (2 items).
Ten items articles belonging to 10 different plants are used for medicinal purposes and are generally present in the Allagua of the future bride.
However, 80% of the surveyed persons indicated that the medicinal usage of these items is more and more abandoned, and they are less and less supplied in the Allagua.
The tradition of necklace making is still transmitted from one generation to another and research studies on improving paste quality (colour, consistency, smell) are conducted by the National Office of Crafts.
Today, several traditional and modern craft creations are marketed.
On the other hand, Allagua components of medicinal usage are more and more abandoned in spite of the scientific validation of such usage.
Authors
Z. Ghrabi-Gammar, I. Ben Haj Jilani, A. Daoud-Bouattour, S. Ben Saad-Limam
Keywords
wedding, medicinal plants, Skhab, Tunisia
Online Articles (55)