Residents’ sensory contact with Sefrou

In the first two projects, we discussed the influence of historical factors on generating the multicultural phenomenon of Sefrou and the specific manifestations of its multiculturalism. In this project, we will go directly into Sefrou and get in touch with ones which are most closely related to its multicultural phenomenon – its residents. With the help of their intuitive feelings for Sefrou – listening, smelling or tasting, we will try to piece together the residents’ views and experiences on the local multicultural phenomenon, and use them as further evidences to analyze the impact of the local multicultural phenomenon on them.

Starting from the most direct channel of human perception of the outside world – senses, each of our group members provided many questions, such as “what colors people love wearing in Sefrou””what is the smell of Sefrou”. Then, our group’s interviewer Doha went to Sefrou carrying the questions, and opened the following conversation at random on the street of Sefrou.

In this interview, the interviewee gives clear responses to show the pride and joy they have for Sefrou. This is first shown in the first interview question when they are asked what word makes them think of Sefrou. They choose the phrase “return to origin”. This makes it very visible that this is someone who has been in Sefrou for most of their life, most likely from their early years to however old they are now. Meaning they have seen Sefrou through all the changes that it had gone through within their lifetime. Hence why they mention the phrase “return to origin” , prevailing that with all that  they have experienced they still see the original significance of Sefrou, its origin.

In this interview, it seems like the interviewee is not familiar with Sefrou. They mentioned how they are originally from Taza and how they are not as familiar with Sefrou. They did later mention that they enjoy the cherry festival showing that they do travel to Sefrou from time to time. This can also mean that they travel to Sefrou on occasion or only when they need something/when an event takes place. With this you can also infer that Sefrou is quite known enough that outside people come to the city occasionally but not known enough that the outside people care to know about the culture that it has to offer.

AIn this interview it is clear the interviewee is very familiar with Seforu. He is able to talk about how Sefrou doesn’t have many strangers, meaning that only people familiar with Sefrou go to or live in Sefrou. He also mentioned things  similar to interview one, the word origin. He also talked about how they can describe the smell once He enters the city as bled(meaning origin) and he said there’s a family atmosphere.

From the detail in the responses alone it is quite prevalent that this person has been in Sefrou for quite some time. They have a clear love and appreciation for not only the city but for what it offers. They are able to talk about the history of the city, showing that they put time into respecting the culture of Sefrou which is another way to showcase the love they have for the city. Also their comment about the difference between the culture from the past and now shows how long they have been in touch with the city. To them Sefrou is family, or someplace they recognize as home meaning they find something significant in Sefrou and it has become a very prevalent piece in who they are.

Similar to the past interviews, the interview had shortened and precise answers. They reveal that they are from the city Settat that is also a city in Morocco similar to Seforu. Most of their answers talked about nature or the agriculture of Sefrou, showing that that is something that they have chosen to familiarize themselves with when they think about Sefrou.

Producer of this exhibition:

Fatima Zahrae Bakouch (Special assistance)

Grace Ekpe

Tamri Doha

Yue Luo

Zineb El Azhar