Patriarchy in Word and Ritual: Gendered Language and Space in Amazigh Morocco

Abstract Myths, value systems, language and rituals are interwoven constituents of human culture, aiming to explain the world and dictate behavior. Myths and value systems are often considered narratives that explore fundamental questions about existence; language and rites are the formalized activities that proclaim those myths and reinforce cultural values. Together, they help shape and homogenize a community’s identity, worldview, and social structures. In this regard, this article seeks to dismantle the structure of two cultural artefacts, language and rituals (henna ceremony and marriage procession) in rural Amazigh Morocco. Focus will be on how myths and social values in a traditional society determine gender roles, furnish attitudes and dictate behavior. To study these cultural artefacts and to identify myth-based stereotypes against women, we will use linguistics and semiotics. Morphology, the study of word-formation processes, will help us understand the bias language vehicles through its grammatical and lexical systems). Semiotics will allow us to deconstruct the sign systems of henna ceremony and marriage procession; the study uncovers how humans shape space into the landscapes that form the environments for their lives. Therefore, stereotypes mediated through cultural activities will show that culture itself is an elusive space of imagination that shows itself through human behavior and beliefs.