This is part of an alternative historical ethnography of a village in the Alpujarras in contemporary times as if the reconquista had happened but was reconquered instead of the inquisition and expulsions happening. It details the lives of 'Latino' speaking villages of mixed Muslim and Catholic religion. In this althistory the Latino speakers are called Mudéjar or Mudaxxar people (to distinguish from monolingual Arabic speakers) and Christians as a religious community are called Castillians.
MUDÉJAR LIFE IN CONTEMPORARY AL-ANDALUS:
THE VILLAGE, RELIGION, LANGUAGE & ETHNICITY
Aldar village is dwarfed by the Albuxárat mountains surrounding it in the north. It is situated on the edge of a plain, on the lower skirts of Muley Hasán (known also as Mul-Hacén), the mountain that rises above it. Nearby is the tomb of the celebrated Nasri Emir of Gharnata [Granada] - Abu Hasán Ali [Muley Hacén or Aviacen] for whom the mountain is named. The tomb is an important place that functions like a pilgrimage site not only for the population of the Albuxárat region but also for the whole area of the former Emirate, visitors come from as far as the Northern Maghrib.
Due to inter-village marriages, many villagers have relatives throughout the region. The school called ‘La Merésa’ locally, which has a teachers house attached to it is marked by a Gharnati flag on top. Local children attend the school from the age of 5 to 10 and the medium of education is Arabic, although the teachers often switch to the local Latino dialect, especially when the children are very young and aren’t using Arabic among themselves or at home yet. There are calls from regional activist groups to introduce Latino as a medium of education, or at least for Latino speaking villages to have formalised education in the language. As yet, only those villages classified as Castillian are entitled to Latino education.
The school is close to the local mosque which was built in 1984 following a terrorist attack claimed by the ‘Reconquistadores’ (a Catholic Castillian separatist group). The mosque is an impressive yet simple white stone structure with a tall square minaret, typical of the region. The mosque is called Mesejid (local Arabic for mosque) by most people, although some elder people may also refer to it as Al-Mesquita (mosque) and one can also hear Alcasalá (the house of God). The azan (prayer call) is in Arabic, like everywhere else in Al-Andalus, but announcements of other kinds are usually made in Latino. The current mulé (Latino for imam), who is from a different village, announces deaths of villagers or village meetings to be held in the mosque.
There is a movement within the christian population of de-arabizing their language but their moves for more cultural autonomy are associated with separatism and in extreme cases with terrorism. Their origins are for the large part the same as the rest of the Muslim population but at some point there was a brief period of unrest in the Christian Kingdom of Castille (which is based on the northern Iberian coast around Oviedo) and many christians claimed asylum in the United Emirates of Granada where they were housed in villages with existing Christian populations.
The native Granadan (the name for all citizens of the Emirates of Granada) christians began adopting the name Castillian and their language became influenced by northern Castillian dialects (including elements of Asturian) and there was a move for literacy programs in the Latin script. Currently, in 21st century the language varieties of the "Castillians of Granada" are endangered and there are several linguistic revitalisation programs due to modern multiculturalist policies in the democratised Emirates. The movement for revitalisation does remain, in legal terms, limited to linguisitic domains. All villagers, and only Christian villages are entitled to Latino medium education, whereas all villagers speak varieties of Latino to various levels, first language speakers remain at about 60% of the rural population, and it is variously effected by language contact with local and standardised Arabic.
The Mesquita or 'Alcasalá' of Aldar
The Flag of the Nasri Emirate of Gharnata
MUDÉJAR LIFE IN CONTEMPORARY AL-ANDALUS:
THE VILLAGE, RELIGION, LANGUAGE & ETHNICITY
Aldar village is dwarfed by the Albuxárat mountains surrounding it in the north. It is situated on the edge of a plain, on the lower skirts of Muley Hasán (known also as Mul-Hacén), the mountain that rises above it. Nearby is the tomb of the celebrated Nasri Emir of Gharnata [Granada] - Abu Hasán Ali [Muley Hacén or Aviacen] for whom the mountain is named. The tomb is an important place that functions like a pilgrimage site not only for the population of the Albuxárat region but also for the whole area of the former Emirate, visitors come from as far as the Northern Maghrib.
Due to inter-village marriages, many villagers have relatives throughout the region. The school called ‘La Merésa’ locally, which has a teachers house attached to it is marked by a Gharnati flag on top. Local children attend the school from the age of 5 to 10 and the medium of education is Arabic, although the teachers often switch to the local Latino dialect, especially when the children are very young and aren’t using Arabic among themselves or at home yet. There are calls from regional activist groups to introduce Latino as a medium of education, or at least for Latino speaking villages to have formalised education in the language. As yet, only those villages classified as Castillian are entitled to Latino education.
The school is close to the local mosque which was built in 1984 following a terrorist attack claimed by the ‘Reconquistadores’ (a Catholic Castillian separatist group). The mosque is an impressive yet simple white stone structure with a tall square minaret, typical of the region. The mosque is called Mesejid (local Arabic for mosque) by most people, although some elder people may also refer to it as Al-Mesquita (mosque) and one can also hear Alcasalá (the house of God). The azan (prayer call) is in Arabic, like everywhere else in Al-Andalus, but announcements of other kinds are usually made in Latino. The current mulé (Latino for imam), who is from a different village, announces deaths of villagers or village meetings to be held in the mosque.
There is a movement within the christian population of de-arabizing their language but their moves for more cultural autonomy are associated with separatism and in extreme cases with terrorism. Their origins are for the large part the same as the rest of the Muslim population but at some point there was a brief period of unrest in the Christian Kingdom of Castille (which is based on the northern Iberian coast around Oviedo) and many christians claimed asylum in the United Emirates of Granada where they were housed in villages with existing Christian populations.
The native Granadan (the name for all citizens of the Emirates of Granada) christians began adopting the name Castillian and their language became influenced by northern Castillian dialects (including elements of Asturian) and there was a move for literacy programs in the Latin script. Currently, in 21st century the language varieties of the "Castillians of Granada" are endangered and there are several linguistic revitalisation programs due to modern multiculturalist policies in the democratised Emirates. The movement for revitalisation does remain, in legal terms, limited to linguisitic domains. All villagers, and only Christian villages are entitled to Latino medium education, whereas all villagers speak varieties of Latino to various levels, first language speakers remain at about 60% of the rural population, and it is variously effected by language contact with local and standardised Arabic.
The Mesquita or 'Alcasalá' of Aldar
The Flag of the Nasri Emirate of Gharnata
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