The Intangible Heritage of the Maghreb, under Examination: Historiographic Analysis of the Works of Edvard Westermarck and Edmond Doutte

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries numerous anthropological studies were carried out in the Maghreb, in which researchers collected valuable information about the intangible heritage that forms part of Maghrebi culture. The studies explored thematic aspects related to the tales of magic, legends, symbols, popular traditions and customs that, although not originally belonging to Islam, had been assimilated into Islamic tradition by the region s Muslims. When Islam arrived in the area, elements of the indigenous intangible legacy became, in some cases, part of Islamic rites or practices; in other cases, they were rejected by the ulemas, although this does not mean they were forgotten. In this field, Edvard Westermarck and Edmond Doutte stand out as scholars who, during the height of colonialism, performed fieldwork in Morocco. This paper analyses the works written by these authors, the fruit of their field studies. It presents an overview of the type of information they provide, the characteristics of the data and an outline of the similarities and differences between the two researchers. At the same time, the paper discusses the influences to which these two scholars were exposed and which undoubtedly shaped their work.