Inoumar Granary

Traditionally the Anti Atlas is a conflict zone. Hostile Berber tribes and nomadic groups from the Sahara represented a constant threat. Moreover, the region has always been the scene of conflicts between local tribes and the central government, called Makhzan. It was therefore referred to as Bilad al-Siba, the land of schism, because it did not yield to the authority of the sultan. Only during the first decades of the twentieth century the turbulent region settled down, when the Sultan finally could establish his dominance. The French pacification in the 1930s finally silenced the din of arms.

Due to these two factors: the uncertain harvests and the constant threat of aggressors of all sorts, a particular collective architecture developed. For centuries, the Berbers built igoudar (singular agadir), or collective granaries to protect and preserve their crops and other valuables. Families stored in them principally barley, but also, oil, almonds, title deeds, money, silver, jewels, clothes and carpets. In short, everything of value.

The bulk of the current igoudar is very old, their foundation dating back to the sixteenth or seventeenth century. It is assumed that the agadir is a thousand year old tradition that originates in the period when the southern tribes were still nomadic. The first igoudar were depositories fitted up in caves by nomads to store valuables during long absences. Sedentarisation made the igoudar evolve into what they are today: complex structures with an important communautary significance. This institute functioned fully into the 1930s, but became more and more obsolete afterwards because there was no, or in any case, a greatly reduced external threat.

Each agadir was garded and managed by an amin, or guardian, who was appointed by a council of dignitaries for a limited period of one or a few years. It was a very prestigious appointment that implied a great responsibility. The amin resided in the agadir and opened the gate at fixed hours, usually in the morning. Most igoudar, even those in disuse,

Localisation 

City  : Agadir
GPS : 31°34′34″N 5°35′10