The temporal scales in the Jerid oases (Tunisia)

The temporal scales in the Jerid oases (Tunisia)

– Original title:
Les échelles temporelles des oasis du Jérid tunisien
Anthropos, vol. 95, n°2, Sept. 2000, p. 419-432.
ISSN: 0257-9774
PDF File: https://hal.science/halshs-00004013/en/

– Abstract:
Saharan oases often conjure up an image of a lost Paradise, but ethnological analysis and local discourse offer a different image, namely that of an unchanging oasis and of the past as a golden age. It becomes important to understand how people understand time and whence they derive their notions of time. The Western notions of space and time, intimately related to the different ideal types of nature which people ascribe to, must also be taken into account. The “crisis” of oasis agriculture, a term often used by oasis farmers as well as agents of development, is a good place to study the implications of different notions of time. In addition, hierarchical theory sheds light on the life and death of oases gardens.

Are the Saharan oases an image of a lost Paradise?
Both ethnological analyses and local discourses offer a paradox: an unchanging oasis and a past seen as a Golden Age. To understand the local oasian time requires a careful clarification of the local society view’s on the time (temporalities), especially throughout their use simultaneously of different calendars (Muslim, Gregorian, Berber/Julian). As (and accordingly to) the different conceptions of space, the different spatialities (see The sense of the places, Spaces and pratices in the palm groves of the Jerid (Southwest Tunisia)), temporalities may vary with the different types of relationship to the environment in which local communities and institutions subscribe. The “crisis” of oasis agriculture, a concept often used by oasis farmers or agents of development, is a good entry word to study the implications of different notions of time. In addition, hierarchical theory will shed light on the life and death of oases gardens.

Page de calendrier tunisien (du 17 avril 1999).
Ce calendrier est celui que l’on retrouve très couramment dans la région du Jérid. La première date en haut à gauche est selon le calendrier grégorien, la seconde en haut selon le calendrier musulman, et la troisème en bas à droite selon le calendrier julien (en bas à gauche sont les heures des cinq prières de la journée).

– Anthropos. International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics
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Les échelles temporelles des oasis du Jérid tunisien

Vincent Battesti, Les échelles temporelles des oasis du Jérid tunisien, Anthropos 95, sept. 2000, p. 419-432