La novela autobiográfica de Mohammed Chukri como fuente para una etnografía de la pobreza urbana en Marruecos

Abstract

The Naked Bread was the first novel written by Moroccan writer Mohammed Chukri. The author himself has described it as an autobiographical work, for it narrates the misadventures of a kid from the rural Rift migrating with his family to Tangiers, where they settle in a slum. The novel illustrates the passing from rural poverty to urban destitution in the Morocco of the Spanish Protectorate. By analyzing the novel, Castaño Madroñal discusses the validity of literary works as suitable sources of ethnographic data for the social conditions reigning in the underprivileged areas of Moroccan cities. A parallel can be established with current rural migration to urban areas and to countries north of Morocco. The analysis builds upon the hypothesis of an ethnoliterature that draws from literary sources to approach the social reality ethnographically. Ethnoliterature can be a useful source for cultural knowledge prior to ethnographic study. It can also be a tool for cross-cultural comparisons and the anthropological analysis of social communities.