TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

THE BENI MGUILD OF MOROOOO 238
Although the Azaghar is occupied by other nomadic groups
during the summer, these groups withdraw toward the coast during
the winter and, except for the agriculturists, the Azaghar is left to
the Beni Mguild. 22 The Azaghar is occupied throughout the winter
months; the herds utilize the pastures made rich and verdant by
the winter rains. Once the snow is melted at the passes, usually
about the beginning of March, and movement back to the Moulouya
Valley becomes possible, the Beni Mguild leave the Azaghar. They
retrace their steps, following the same route in March as they did in
November; this migration usually takes an entire month.
By April, the Beni Mguild are back in the Moulouya Valley.
Their tents are dispersed along the edges of the irrigated fields and
their animals are pastured in the fields, thereby providing fertiliser
for the next agricultural cycle. 23 At the end of the month, the fields
have been planted and the Beni Mguild are ready to move once again.
This time, the movement is toward the high mountain pastures made
available by the melting snow, for with the steppe either planted in
cereals or drying up, and with the Azagher occupied by peasant
agriculturalists or other nomads, only the upland pastures, over
2,200 m, remain to be exploited.
These mountain pastures are divided in the same way as the
lowland pastures, and each tribe knows what area is assigned to it
and what forest areas are open to its animals. 24 In the beginning of
July, the herds move out, crouing into Wadi Serrou and then turning
north to Aguelmane-Azigza and the slopes of Jabal Tamarakoit in
a repetition of the initial stages of their winter moves. 26 May and
June are spent in carrying out this move with the herds grazing slowly
upslope through the forests, much to the chagrin ofthe forest service.
Only the Ait Messaoud fail to participate fully in this movement.
Driven from the Moulouya Valley by the desiccation of its pastures,
the Ait Messaoud, like the rest of the Beni Mguild, send many oftheir
herds to the northern slopes and plateaus of the High Atlas where,
shaded from the full impact of the sun's rays, adequate pasturage
can be found. 2e
Not everyone follows the herds to the upland pastures, since
someone must stay behind to guard the family fields. The Beni
M~ild poaess both large- and small-size tents, and it is the size
of the tent accompanying the herds, as opposed to the me of the
tent remaining behind on the agricultural fields, that indicates the
relative importance of herding activities. 21 Among the Ait Ougadir,
the large tent goes with the herds into the mountains, whereas the