Emilio Blanco Izaga: colonel in the Rif

Blanco Izaga, Emilio; Hart, David M.

Book

Emilio Blanco Izaga: colonel in the Rif

Human Relation Area Files • New Haven, Conn. • Published In 1975 • Pages: 3, 3, 418 leaves

By: Blanco Izaga, Emilio, Hart, David M..

Abstract
The information, both published and unpublished, contained in this source is the result of Blanco's twenty years of administrative experience among the Rif. The introduction, written by Hart, gives a biographical sketch of Blanco, a history of colonial Morocco, and also information on the Aith Waryaghar tribe, the tribe about which most of this source is written. The second part of this work is Hart's translation of Blanco's book, La Ley Rifena, which was written when Blanco was the regional administrator of the Rif, and then published in 1939. This book was originally intended to have been the second part of a two-volume study of Rifian customary law. The first part of this proposed treatise on Rifian law and jural procedure was never published by Blanco. It is presented here for the first time in print, and constitutes the first part of this source. Most of the information is concerned with the Aigh Waryaghar tribe: its sociopolitical organization; law; and the tradition of the local communities. One section, however, contains notes on the Igzinnagyen tribe of the Rif (pp. 139-152), and a law of the Aith Siddat tribe (Senhaja MX4) is discussed on pp. 329-336. Pages 45-95 (excluding pp. 64-64d) are a duplicate of 3: Hart and, therefore, these pages have not been marked. See 3: Hart in the MX3 Rif file for this information. Hart has supplied many footnotes which are quite useful, not only because of the additional information they contain, but also because of their critical nature, which serves to place Blanco's remarks in proper perspective. Hart criticizes Blanco for his many factual errors in the notes on the Rif as well as his irresponsible statements and value judgments. It is for these reasons that Hart has called Blanco an amateur ethnologist. Another of Hart's criticisms of Blanco is concerned not with the content of the work but with the way in which the author has presented the information. Anyone who reads this source must agree with Hart that Blanco was quite adept in constructing 'tortuously meandering sentences.' (p. 194 f.n.). In all fairness, however, it must be noted that not all of Hart's comments about Blanco were negative. Hart recognized the contributions that Blanco made to an understanding of the Rif. For example, Hart states that, 'The concept of the relative autonomy or independence of the tribal clan...is, as far as we know, an original contribution by Blanco to the overall study of Berber social structure.' (p. 156, f.n. 13). Also, Hart thinks that one of Blanco's most significant contributions was his recognition of the Rif concept of 'turn' (p. 161, f.n. 43), 'doing things in or by turn' (p. 102). Another recognized contribution, or rather 'original discovery,' was that of the staggered irrigation rotation (p. 411, f.n. 140). Blanco has used many Arabic and Rif terms without always stating which ones were Arabic and which were Rif. A glossary has been prepared for this source and will be found in Category 104. Where possible, it has been indicated whether a word in the glossary in Arabic or Rif. It should also be noted that there are spelling or typographical errors, and misused words (Hart usually points these out) are not rare. With imagination, however, the reader should not have difficulty discovering their true meaning.

Cultural identity and pride

Community structure

Community councils

Lineages

Inter-community relations

Sanctions

Congregations

Functional and adaptational interpretations

Territorial hierarchy

Clans

Tribe and nation

External relations