A recently rediscovered collection of early 20th-century Moroccan poetry is gaining renewed attention following features on the French radio program Les Midis de Culture and in a new print adaptation of the podcast L’Instant poésie. The work of Mririda n’Aït Attik, a poet from the High Atlas Mountains, offers a rare glimpse into the life of a woman who navigated societal constraints and expressed her experiences through verse, despite being unable to read or write.Her poems, originally in the Tashelhit language and translated into French by René Euloge, explore themes of love, survival, and the complex realities faced by women in Morocco during this period.
Rim Battal discovered the poetry of Mririda n’Aït Attik while searching for a joyful subject for her doctoral thesis. She found the work to be “more beautiful and more transformative” than she initially imagined. Born in the Azilal region of Morocco, the Tassaout River lent its name to her family. As a child, she learned verses recited during evening gatherings. In a tradition where poetry was passed down through generations, she sang of the dizzying heights of love, the suffering of women, and the abuses of men. Her texts reflect the struggles for survival she witnessed among those close to her. Mririda n’Aït Attik worked as a sex worker in the Tassaout Valley and became a courtesan in French military camps, but she carefully chose her companions. Her poetry allowed her to maintain control in relationships and understand the violence she encountered. These poems were originally written in the Tashelhit language, and today only French translations exist. The collection, The Songs of the Tassaout, remains the sole written record of her work.
“This is a poem of memory, by someone who couldn’t read or write”
Mririda n’Aït Attik (1900-1940) was a poet from the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco whose bold voice significantly impacted Moroccan poetic expression. Her work is deeply intertwined with the life of René Euloge (1900-1984). A French journalist, philosopher, ethnographer, traveler, and translator, Euloge settled in Morocco in the 1920s and spent years exploring the High Atlas. He documented the lives of nomads and collected stories from shepherds, children, pilgrims, and bandits. He met Mririda n’Aït Attik in 1927 and shared a nearly decade-long love affair with her. His portraits of Mririda n’Aït Attik are the only known photographs of the poet taken during her lifetime. During World War II, while separated from her, he translated her 120 poems. When he returned to Morocco, she had disappeared. René Euloge dedicated himself to publishing The Songs of the Tassout in the years that followed, and a 1986 reissue included a preface by Léopold Sédar Senghor. This rediscovery of a powerful female voice from the early 20th century continues to resonate with readers today.
The Songs of the Tassaout, by Mririda n’Aït Attik
Naive young man, stop harassing me!
I came to the country to visit my parents,
Not to look for a husband – God forbid –
And I will soon return to Azilal, God willing…
My favors for one night have so overwhelmed you
That, without laughing, you invite me to become your wife.
I know how long your whim would last!
What do you have to offer me in exchange for my freedom?
And first, don’t take that reproachful look
To shame me for the profession that is mine, the profession thanks to which you have enjoyed yourself so much…
What other fate would make me happier?
And you, who beg me to be yours alone,
What could you offer me, tell me, naive young man?
Days without meat, without sugar, and without songs, the sweat and grime of hard work,
The manure of the stable, the stinking clothes
And the dreadful smoke from the dark kitchen,
While you go to dance the adersi
And you would certainly ask me to bear sons, sons, sons!
Don’t you see that I am not made for that?
Let me return to the market of Azilal.
You are wasting your time and your prayers annoy me.
For, after all, why should I work
When I am covered with money and gifts?
I am like a flower with an intoxicating scent
Who has only the pleasant concern of opening up
To receive, as she pleases, each night, each day, the freshness of the dew or the caress of the sun…
In The Songs of the Tassaout
First translation by René Euloge in 1963 at Éditions de la Tighermt
Since September 2025, the podcast collection L’Instant poésie has been adapted into a 300-page book, published by Éditions Seghers, which reproduces the introductory texts of the curators, the poems they selected, and the illustrations accompanying each episode.
In immersive sound 🎧 To fully enjoy this sound recording offering a sound immersion, as if you were there, listen with your headphones!
