Why a Booktrail?
A Berber story with Berber words
The Butter Man
Why a Booktrail?
A Berber story with Berber words
What you need to know before your trail
Nora’s Moroccan-born father prepares a couscous meal, and talks about his childhood in the High Atlas Mountains. He tells her how he coped with a famine, describing the constant feeling of hunger as “a little mouse gnawing on my insides.”
The Butter Man is a warm family story about the Berber culture of North Africa, perfectly complemented by folk-art paintings of sunlit landscapes. Includes a glossary of Berber words.
Travel Guide
The High Atlas Mountains
“The story takes place in the High Atlas Mountains
Berbers or Imazighen are the native people of North Africa. Most of them are Muslim like Ali’s family in the story and speak Arabic.
In the High Atlas Mountains, people live in small village that are clustered along river valleys. The primary occupation is farming. People grow wheat, barley and potatoes, and they raise chickens, sheep, goats and cows for their butter, Nowadays some village have electricity and some roads are paved, but many still appear much as in Ali’s story.”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Butter Man
Author/Guide Elizabeth Alalou Destination: Morocco, High Atlas Mountains Departure Time: 2000s
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