Category Archives: Culture

Cultural Values of Egypt and Morocco

Posted on December 16, 2013 by | Leave a comment

The Hofstede survey, which measures specific cultural values in countries, can be use to compare values in countries that have been surveyed. The website provides “insights on Hofstede’s research into national and organizational culture.”

The values are as follows:

-Power Distance (PDI): This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The fundamental issue here is how a society handles inequalities among people. People in societies exhibiting a large degree of power distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. In societies with low power distance, people strive to equalise the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power.

-Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV): The high side of this dimension, called Individualism, can be defined as a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families only. Its opposite, Collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. A society’s position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we.”

-Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS): The masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material reward for success. Society at large is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.

-Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI): The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles.

-Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation (LTO): The long-term orientation dimension can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue. Societies with a short-term orientation generally have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth. They are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results. In societies with a long-term orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results.

-Indulgence vs. Restraint (IND): Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

According to Hofstede’s dimensions, both Egypt and Morocco are equally as hierarchal, scoring 70 on the scale, and are also equally as collectivistic, with a score of 25. Morocco has an uncertainty avoidance of 68 where Egypt scored 80, and Egypt scored slightly lower in Masculinity femininity with a score of 45, whereas Morocco scored 53. This means that Egypt has a higher propensity for avoiding uncertainty, although Morocco also holds a very rigid system for also avoiding it. The major difference in the two countries, despite the scores, is that Egypt has a more feminine society, where Morocco is more masculine; the scores are not so far apart, so we cannot presume that they are that much different from each other. The scores for Indulgence vs. Restraint and Long-term vs. Short-term orientation were not listed.

 

Sources:

http://geert-hofstede.com/index.php

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Music in Morocco: The Master Musicians of Jajouka

Posted on December 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Music in Morocco is exemplified best in the music from The Master Musicians of Jajouka, which is at the moment led by Bachir Attar. The band first made its modern appearance in the 50s and 60s when they gained exposure through artists such as William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Ornette Coleman and most famously with Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. The Master Musicians of Jajouka would also go onto perform and record with the Rolling Stones in 1989.

However, 50 years ago is much closer relatively to the time they began as musicians. Jajouka is actually a town founded by the Attar’s, and is the sanctuary of Sidi Ahmed Sheikh, who went to Morocco from the east around 800 AD to spread Islam. According to some sources, the music has been passed down through the generations for an upwards of 1300 years, making it one of the oldest known bands in recorded history.  According to legend, a great ancestor of the Attar’s once fell asleep in “The Cave of Boujeloud,” or Pan, the god of music amongst other things.  During his sleep, the ancestor saw the god in a dream playing the “most beautiful music he had ever heard.” Thus the tradition was invented that the Attar’s would secure their place in history as masters of music.

The instruments used aren’t as common as those we would find in western music; some are even unique to Morocco.  The instruments used by the master musicians are as follows:

Ghaita – “A double reed horn with a series of holes, made of apricot wood in Ouezanne, a town in Northern Morocco.” The instrument is sometimes referred to as the Arabic oboe.

Tebel – A double skinned drum with varying sizes. It can be played with sticks or the hands.

Djarbouga – “A small ceramic drum with a snare. It has a strong sound for its size.”

Bendir – “A large shallow drum with a snare, common in North Africa.”

Gimbri – “A bowl back styled rustic lute with a  goatskin top.” The instrument has four strings and is played with a long curved pick.

Lira – “A common bamboo flute, recorder-like, made in Jajouka.”

Kamanja – “A violin played upright on the knee typically played with the Gimbri, drums and vocals.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AU8HWbQUsM -The Master Musicians of Jajouka – Apocalypse Across the Sky

Sources: http://www.jajouka.com/the_full_story.html

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Egypt’s New Constitutional Drafts and Culture

Posted on December 12, 2013 by | Leave a comment

In recent weeks a 50 person constitutional committee was assembled in order to make amendments to the 2012 constitution. In the second chapter entitled “General Principles for Society,” writers highlight the importance of family, saying that “the family is the basis of society,” and that the family “is founded on religion, morality and patriotism.” Another part of the chapter entitled the “Cultural Principles Section,” states that it is “the state’s responsibility to protect ‘the Egyptian cultural identity’ with all its derivatives.”

94% of the religious make-up in Egypt is Islam. Thus, it is fair to say that Egypt’s cultural identity has its origins in religion. Muslims must pray 5 times a day, and their day of Sabbath is Friday, on which no stores will be open.

Aside from Islam, perhaps the second largest part of Egyptian culture is their Collectivism. In Egypt, the family is “the most significant unit of Egyptian society,” and the individual is “always subordinate to the family, tribe or group.” The family isn’t just a direct family but also includes the extended family. In Egypt, a person’s social class is defined by their family’s reputation than by wealth, and the status they’re born into represents the opportunities they will have. The individual’s reputation will reverberate through the family’s; If someone does something disrespectful, they shame their family.

Essentially, the new amendments of the Constitution ensure the status of tradition, except in Article 11. The Article says that the state must ensure equality “between men and women, women’s representation, and the protection of women against violence.” Throughout Egypt’s recent history women’s equality has fluctuated. Recently in campaigns against Hosni Mubarak a sexualized form of punishment was created for women participating in the protests. The security “thugs” would “gang up on a woman attending a demonstration, tear off her clothes and molest her.”

Thus, the articles written in the constitution seem to be conflicting. On one hand the new amendments try to preserve Egypt’s cultural identity, which is inherently Islamic. On the other hand, part of Islamic tradition is for women to be unequal and to serve her husband. Article 11, which grants women equality with men, goes against those very same traditions they are trying to preserve.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/opinion/09iht-edalaswany09.html

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/egypt-country-profile.html

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/15296/the-new-draft-egyptian-constitution_general-princi

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Morocco: An American Perspective of Tangier

Posted on November 25, 2013 by | 1 comment

The cities of Morocco, once a place of rest from western chaos in the early 60s, still shine brightly today through the eyes of Americans.

Tangier, a city in Northern Morocco famously dubbed the “Interzone” by American writer William S. Burroughs, is a culturally rich place and home away from home that exemplifies Moroccan life.  Burroughs called the place the “Interzone” because between the years of 1924 and 1956 Tangier was very loosely governed. He referred to the city as “one of the few places left in the world where, so long as you don’t proceed to robbery, violence, or some form of crude, antisocial behavior, you can do exactly what you want.” And he certainly wasn’t far off. During those years everyone from writers, artists, war criminals and spies traveled to the Interzone for escape in a neutral area.

Today things aren’t much different. People travel to Tangier for the culture, including, but not limited to, the food and the music.  It is in Tangier where the “4000 year-old rock band,” coined by Burroughs, resides.

“For years, if you were a rock god, you had to come here,” said Anthony Bourdain, who traveled there for the cooking culture. Many notable bands, but most famously the Rolling Stones, traveled to Tangier to rock with the oldest known band.  The band was so revered that they were excused from manual labor in order to practice music.

Bourdain, of course, went to Tangier for the entire culture, but mostly for cooking.  He visited many different Café’s, which are essential to daily life, and many restaurants, detailing his meals as he went.  According to Lara Brunt “if you don’t like cumin, you may starve,” but Bourdain may as well have proven her wrong.

Tangier isn’t only popular because of its food or culture . . . or now well-defined laws.  One major reason why the city is a good tourist attraction is because of the diversity in languages. “Multilingual Moroccans will put you to shame,” Brunt says, because of their diverse amount of languages and dialects used and with the fluidity in which they change languages. Berber, Arabic, Spanish and French are all spoken in Tangier. Berber and Arabic are regional tongues, French has been passed on since the time of French colonialism, and Spanish simply by proximity. This allows westerners to learn languages which use the Latin alphabet and are therefore easier for them to learn.  This also allows them to explore African and Middle-Eastern culture without the hassle of learning Arabic languages. Morocco is also one of the very few nations that solved their “language question” by choosing to teach two languages – both Arabic and French – at school.  This shows the infusion of French into Moroccan nationalism and may be an interesting case study for historians studying nations.

Thus, Tangier continues to play a major role in tourism in Morocco, despite being continuously invested in by foreign markets. And though the investors may seek different business points, many natives believe that “Tangier’s unique character will survive.” According to Bourdain, “Tangier is Morocco, Always was Morocco.”

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/video/shows/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown/episode5/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/travel/10-things-morocco/

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