Westermarck, Edward.

Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco.

London, Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1914. 15 cm x 23 cm. XII, 421 pages. Hardcover [publisher’s original dark brown cloth] with gilt lettering on spine. Blind ruling to boards. Deckled top and fore- edge. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Interior bright, clean and unmarked. Some untrimmed pages and chipped pages near rear.

Includes, for example, the following: The Betrothal and Marriage Contract / Muhammedan law on the subject / Between Berber and Arabic-speaking natives / Muhammedan Law [Arabic Law] concerning the Dowry / Ceremonies in the Bridegroom’s Home Previous to the Fethcing of the Bride / Ceremonies in the Bride’s Home / The Fetching of the Bride / The Arrival and Reception of the Bride / The Meeting of the Bride and Bridegroom and the Morning After / Later Ceremonies and Taboos / Restrictions to which the young wife is subject / Shyness in the relations between a young man and his parents / Various supersitutious beliefs and practices connected with Moorish marriages / Omens at weddings / Why bride and bridegroom are supposed to be in a dangerous condition and the bride is considered to be dangerous to others/ Practices expressing or symbolising sexual bashfulness / Ceremonies supposed to confer positive benefits on the bride or bridegroom or both / Baraka as an element in the ceremonies connected with a Moorish marriage / The social importance of Moorish marriage ceremonies etc. Index of Arabic and Berber wordds are also included at end of book.

The monograph is a study of the wedding customs of the “Muhammedan natives, among whom I have spent some six years engaed in sociological reserach. These natives “are chiefly of Berber race” and the Arabic-speaking peoples of Morocco. Westermarck, during his sixteen journeys to Morocco, studied “the customs and belifs of these various groups of people, and for this reason chosen representatives for all of them, with the exception of the Dráwa, as regards whom I have been unable to procure any reliable information.” (p.1-3). His subject “is not altogther new, although a comparative study of the marriage ceremonies in the different parts of Morocco has not been attempted before.” (p.6)

Edward/Edvard Westermarck (1862-1939) was a prominent figure in the formation of modern anthropology and a pioneer in modern anthroplogical and sociological fieldwork. He authored a number of books on sexuality and sexual mores, marriage rituals and morality. Westermarck was a lecturer in sociology at the University of Helsinki (1890–1906) and then professor of moral philosophy (1906–18) and professor of philosophy at the Åbo Academy (1918–30). He also was professor of sociology at the University of London (1907–30). ‘The History of Human Marriage’ (1891) and ‘The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, I-II’ (1906-1908) are reguarded as his most significant scholarly contributions (Britannica)
Westermarck combined Darwinian natural selectionist theories of numerous social phenomena with extensive fieldwork. In 1898 he began doing fieldwork in Morocco. He was to make 21 visits to the country over a 30 year period, spending a total of seven years there. The ethnographic monograph ‘Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco’ resulted from these trips.

His fame came to rest on his encyclopedic studies of the history of marriage, the cultural patterns of sexual conduct, sexual mores, and the nature of moral judgment. Westermarck’s studies attracted considerable attention in the early 20th century, but subsequently were largely marginalized, if not forgotten to academia.
In the 1970s and 1980s, however, the proponents of constructionist views of sexuality cited Westermarck among the scholars who, along with Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, paved the way for constructionist interpretations and more liberal views of homosexuality. In the last two decades there has been a revival of interest in his work, in particular among evolutionary psychologists and in gender studies and sociobiology, and he is now coming to be seen as a pioneering figure in the development of these academic disciplines. (Encyclopédie internationale des histoires de l’anthropologie)

• Keywords: Africa – Rare · Africa, North · Africana Collection of Rare Books · Anthropology · Anthropology – Rare · Arabs · Berbers · Ceremonies · Cultural Anthropology · cultural criticism · Darwin · Ethnography · Ethnology · Ethnophilosophy · Islam · Islamic Culture · Marriage · Marriage Ceremonies, Customs, Rituals etc · monograph · Morocco · Native, Rituals and Customs · North Africa · Sex customs · Sociological Study · Sociology · Sociology of Culture · Travel Africa – Rare
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 120031AB

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