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Bou Hmara

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Jīlālī bin Idrīs al-Yūsufī al-Zarhūnī
الجيلالي بن إدريس اليوسفي الزرهوني
Pretender
Bornc. 1860
Oulad Youssef, Morocco
DiedSeptember 12 1909

Jīlālī bin Idrīs al-Yūsufī al-Zarhūnī (Arabic: الجيلالي بن إدريس اليوسفي الزرهوني; c. 1860 – 1909), commonly known as El Rogui, El Roghi or Bou Hmara, was a pretender to the throne of Morocco in the period 1902–1909, during the reign of Abdelaziz and Abd al-Hafid.[1]

Name

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His given name was Jilali ibn Idris al-Yusufi al-Zarhuni[1][2] deriving from his birth place being the village Ouled Youssef in the Zerhoun area near Fes. It is alternatively written as Djilali ben Driss Zerhouni el Youssefi.[3] Alternatively, his given name was Omar ez-Zarhouni.[4]

He was known as El Rogui (الرُقي ar-Ruqī) meaning "the pretender".[1] This name comes from an earlier pretender from the Gharb region in Morocco called Jilali al-Rughi, who was from Rawagha fraction of the Sufyan [fr], hence the nisba al-Rughi.[5]

He was also known by the nickname Bou Hmara (بو حمارة Bū Ḥmāra)—also spelled Bu Himara, Bou Hamara, Bouhmara or Abu Himara —meaning the man on a female donkey[1] because like many religious rebels in North Africa he rode a donkey.[6] Riffians referred to him as Bu Tghyutsh for a similar reason.[7]

Early life

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Jilali ibn Idris al-Yusufi al-Zarhuni was born in 1865[8] and was a Jebli peasant or tribesman[9] from an Arab clan known as the Awlad Yusuf which settled near Zerhoun.[2] According to Eugène Aubin [fr], he was an Arabized Berber.[3] He was educated at Al-Qarawiyyin[10] and trained in Hassan I's student engineer corps (tulba muhandis)[11][12] studying as a student engineer (talib al-muhandis) in the 1980s. He became a minor makhzen official[2] and originally held the position of secretary to one of the viziers,[12] Moulay Omar, brother of Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz.[citation needed] He was imprisoned in 1894 by the regent Ba Ahmed for forgery.[2][8][10]

Pretender

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After release, he went to Algeria, whence he returned (riding a female donkey) to Taza in the northeast of Morocco with the idea of impersonating Moulay Mohammed, another brother of the Sultan. Moulay Mohammed was venerated by the Moroccan public as a saintly figure, but although still alive and well, he kept to the royal palace in Fes and was almost never seen in public. Under this assumed identity, Bou Hmara proclaimed himself Sultan of Morocco. This was at the end of 1902, when he was about 40 years old.

He is said to have ruled ruthlessly in Taza and the surrounding area of the Rif and Nekor. He persecuted the Jews, who had to take refuge in neighbouring areas. He is said to have executed some of his opponents by soaking the victims in petrol, then setting them alight at night.[13][better source needed]

While ensconced in Taza, he was able to repel all attempts by the Sultan's army to invade his domain.[14] However, by 1909, he had enlarged his area of control, and could not retain the loyalty of all the many different tribes it encompassed. In addition, he had alienated some of these tribes by selling mining concessions to Spanish interests.[15]

By then the Sultan was Moulay Abdelhafid, a more vigorous ruler than Abdelaziz. Abdelhafid first attempted to discredit Bou Hmara by taking the real Moulay Mohammed, who was up until now imprisoned by the Sultan Abdelaziz, to a public mosque; but this caused a near riot and was not repeated. Fearing that Bou Hmara was expanding towards Fes, Abdelhafid sent another army against him, armed with cannon manned by French artillery instructors. During the resulting battle, the cannon were used to shell a religious shrine where Bou Hmara had taken refuge, and he was captured.[13]

Death

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Bou Hmara in a cage in 1909

After his capture in August 1909,[16] Bou Hmara was parading through Fez in a wooden cage and then tortured.[17] He was put in a pit with lions by Abd al-Hafid of Morocco.[9] They were too well-fed to do anything but maul him so he was eventually killed by a servant and his body burned.[18] He died on September 12 1909.[17]

Bou Hmara's men were either decapitated on the spot, or taken hostage. It is said that 400 prisoners began the march to Fes but only 160 arrived, the remainder having been ransomed. Once at Fes, one-fifth of the captives were punished at a public mutilation, a hand and opposing foot being cut off (hirabah), and the others imprisoned.[13]

Legacy and reception

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Bou Hmara as a figure fascinated colonial writers more than his revolt. Because of his sudden rise, personality, ability as a military leader and defiance against the central government, he became a folk hero. The circumstances of his death also exacerbated his legend which persisted in the imagination of Moroccans long after his defeat.[16]

He had a reputation for magic and prestidigitation.[12] He surrounded himself with "a halo of miracles, prophecies and dreams" and is said to have done a number of miracles like his face changing colour three times a day.[1] He attributed this to the claim that he was actually Mawlay Mohammed, the rightful hear to and eldest son of Hassan I.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Miller, Susan Gilson (2013). A History of Modern Morocco. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-139-62469-5. OCLC 855022840.
  2. ^ a b c d Burke III, Edmund (2009-02-15). Prelude to Protectorate in Morocco: Pre-Colonial Protest and Resistance, 1860-1912. University of Chicago Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-226-08084-0.
  3. ^ a b Aubin, Eugène (2004). Le Maroc dans la tourmente: 1902-1903 (in French). Eddif. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-9981-896-48-2.
  4. ^ Suolinna, Kirsti; Lahtinen, Tommy (2008-01-01). "Tangier as a Meeting Place for North African and European Cultures During the Time of the Last Sultans of Morocco". In Houtsonen, Jarmo; Antikainen, Ari (eds.). Symbolic Power in Cultural Contexts: Uncovering Social Reality. Brill. p. 194. ISBN 978-90-8790-266-7.
  5. ^ Shinar, Pessah. Modern Islam in the Maghrib. Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. p. 165. ISBN 9789657258026.
  6. ^ Pennell, C. R. (2013-10-01). Morocco: From Empire to Independence. Simon and Schuster. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-78074-455-1.
  7. ^ Hart, David Montgomery (1976). The Aith Waryaghar of the Moroccan Rif: An Ethnography and History. University of Arizona Press. p. 361. ISBN 978-0-8357-5290-9.
  8. ^ a b Gordon, Matthew S. "Bu Hamara". In Mattar, Philip (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Inc. p. 542. ISBN 0028659872.
  9. ^ a b Hart, David M. (2014-05-12). Tribe and Society in Rural Morocco. Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-135-30254-2.
  10. ^ a b Pennell, C. R. (2000). Morocco Since 1830: A History. Hurst. pp. 127–128. ISBN 978-1-85065-273-1.
  11. ^ Dunn 1981, p. 31
  12. ^ a b c d Vinogradov, Amal; Waterbury, John (1971). "Situations of Contested Legitimacy in Morocco: An Alternative Framework". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 13 (1): 46–47. ISSN 0010-4175.
  13. ^ a b c Le Glay, ref. cited below.
  14. ^ See article on T'hami El Glaoui.
  15. ^ Article by Dunn cited below.
  16. ^ a b Dunn 1981, p. 34
  17. ^ a b Wyrtzen, Jonathan (2016-01-05). Making Morocco: Colonial Intervention and the Politics of Identity. Cornell University Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-5017-0425-3.
  18. ^ Pennell, C. R. (2000). Morocco Since 1830: A History. Hurst. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-85065-273-1.

Sources

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Further reading

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