Shilha Language - Geography and Demography

Geography and Demography

The Souss plains (Arabic: bilād Atlas; Berber: Tamazirt n Atlas or Tamazirt n Sus, Land of Souss), are one of Morocco's most fertile regions, irrigated by the Suss river and separated from the Sahara by the Anti-Atlas Mountains and Great Canyons, is the central area of the Shilha people. As early as the eleventh century, the area was noted for its cultivation and export of sugar. The sale of sugar to Portuguese, Dutch and English traders as well as a share in the Great Canyons gold trade brought prosperity to the region. A traditional Islamic schooling system conducted in Berber and Arabic was "a rare example of a self-organized and productive education system in an almost entirely rural environment" (vd. Boogert 1997:9) and has existed in the area for centuries.