- Sous
The Sous or Souss (Berber "tamazirt n Sus", Arabic بلاد السوس "bilād as-Sūs") is a region in southern
Morocco . Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of theOued Sous ("asif n Sus"), separated from theSahara by the Anti-Atlas mountains. The natural vegetation in the Sous issavanna dominated by theArgan ("Argania spinosa"), a local endemic tree found nowhere else; part of the area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to protect this unique habitat.A well irrigated area, this has been one of Morocco's most fertile regions for centuries, known since at least the eleventh century for its cultivation and export of
sugar . The golden age of the Sous was in the seventeenth century during the era of the kingdom ofTazerwalt , when region enjoyed autonomy and profited from both the trans-Saharan gold trade and the sale of sugar to Portuguese, Dutch and English traders. The centre for foreign trade during this time wasAgadir , a city 10 km north of the mouth of the Sous river.The Sous is inhabited by Berber peoples; aside from some Arabic-speaking tribes, the main inhabitants are the
Chleuh ("ašlḥi", Shilha, Sousis), speakers of a distinct Berber language called Tashelhiyt or Sous Berber (Tasoussit).Bibliography
*Boogert, Nico van den (1997). "The Berber Literary Tradition of the Sous: with an edition and translation of 'The Ocean of Tears' by Muḥammad Awzal (d. 1749)", Leiden: NINO. (chapter 1, 'The Sous')
*Montagne, R. (1930). "Les Berbères et le Makhzen dans el Sud du Maroc", Paris.
* [http://www2.unesco.org/mab/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=MOR+01&mode=all UNESCO Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve]
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