The Nomad’s Wife
Bouarfa, Morocco 2006
A young Berber woman works in her tent kitchen. She pours water from the yellow bottle to wash dishes. She is frugal with the water… as someone who would have to go with a jerry-can-laden donkey to fetch more would be. She would rinse a glass, but instead of discarding the water, she’d catch it in her hand and use it to rinse the glass a second time. Luckily Moroccans don’t use many dishes, just the tagine dish in which food is prepared, cooked and eaten.
There is women’s work and there is men’s work. The men had done their work. They’d sold the animals in the market and, with hard bargaining, they’d gotten a good price. And they would kill, butcher and barbecue the goat for the celebratory meal. Now was their time to chat with friends, drink tea and catch up on the news.
This is another environmental portrait: the conditions in the tent tell us about this woman’s life. The mud from the spilled water, the utensils scattered about, the dishpan made of an old inner tube and the sacks, stuffed with clothing and blankets, heaped around the tent walls. And there she is smiling behind her veil.
This one reminds me that defining happiness is impossible. Imagine a Beverly Hills housewife in this ladies place. Yet, around the world there are countless millions would change places in a heartbeat. Ah, happiness, where are you today? J.