Jebala Information & Jebala Links at HealthHaven.com

Jbala
	A Jebala woman at a marketplace
Total population
	1,104,000 (year 2000 census)[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
	Northern Morocco; mostly concentrated in the Rif Mountains; .
Languages
	Moroccan Arabic
Religion
	Muslim (100%); [citation needed]
Related ethnic groups
	Arabs, Berbers

Jebala (also Moroccan Arabic:Jbala (جبالة) and Spanish:Yebala) refers to the north-western region of Morocco, also known as the Western Rif.

[edit] Etymology

The word Jbala comes from Arabic Jbel which means mountain. Thus Jbala means mountain people. A man or boy is called a Jebli while a woman or a girl is called a Jebliya.

[edit] Origins

The Jebala are of Arabian,^{[citation needed]} Andalusian and Berber origin. It is important to stress, that in Morocco they are regarded as Arab-Berber or as the Moors. The Berbers in this area are the Tarifit-speaking people of the area to the east of Ketama and Targuist. West of that is Jebala territory.

They often live in the northern Morocco and they are a majority in cities such as Tangier, Tétouan, Larache, and Chefchaouen.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Music

[edit] Clothing

The traditional clothing for women includes shawls called "mendils" made from cotton or wool. These rectangular shawls are often woven in stripes of white and red in the region. They are wrapped around the waist to form skirts. They are also used as shawls and securing holding babies or goods on the back or front of the body.

The traditional man's outer garment is the djellaba, a one piece cotton or woollen cloak with a pointed hood. In the Jebela region the wool is usually un-dyed so dark brown and off-white colours are common. White djellabas are worn for religious festivals.

The Jelaba favour pointed toed leather slippers. Natural light brown, yellow and white are the most common colours.

Reed hats are another traditional feature of Jebala dress for both men and women. Women's hats are often adorned with woven woollen tassels and roping of black, white and red in variations.

[edit] External links

[edit] References and notes

Coordinates: 34°44′02″N 4°48′36″W / 34.734°N 4.810°W / 34.734; -4.810

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