Rawaa from Gafsa

Wiss from el Kef

Yosra from Siliana

Nidhal from Kasserine

Sarah from Tunis

Khayri from Kasserine

Gladly friends and those who became friends over the course of the work helped us out. Welcome to our new colleagues Rawaa and May from Gafsa, Wiss from el Kef, Yosra from Siliana, Sarah from Tunis as well as Khayri, Nidhal and a further new colleague from Kasserine! Moreover, the Austrian Embassy in Tunis kept on supporting the TUNOCENT field research and thus, the entire project.

“It was a great experience to be part of the TUNOCENT project. Even though creating a relaxed atmosphere and encouraging people to talk was not easy, it deserves the try! I had the chance to meet exceptional people; the beautiful thing is the paradox between the happiness of the people I met and the lack of comfort that they are facing. The extraordinary beauty of those places in my precious country amazed me. Finally, I want to thank you for this opportunity even though it was only for a short period but it was remarkable for me.” (Sarah)

While our actual researcher team kept themselves busy with explaining, coordinating and managing, their new colleagues found themselves facing the challenging job of field research. Despite being locals, it proved difficult to them, too. Although the interviewers were Tunisians, some people used standard Arabic even after being reminded to talk in their local dialect multiple times, Wiss reports. Others, in turn, were unable to translate the requested sentences because of their different education levels.  

“Some persons were difficult to deal with, others were more  friendly and open minded.” (Khayri)

“I learnt to exercise patience and got to know many new people. Being part of the TUNOCENT team was an honour for me and made me happy!” (Yosra)

For other people the recordings simply took too much time and concentration. Many people for instance did not understand what a dialectal research is about and doubted in it, Wiss explains. Convincing people to cooperate was a difficulty in this job, Nidhal agrees. Yosra continues that some people even associated her with politics and suspected her to work as politician. May shares this experience:  

“I am very happy to be a part of the TUNOCENT team. In fact, it gave me the opportunity to discover new places in my country. It is each time an adventure: I listen to new stories about the history of the places and very amusing myths. Also meeting new different people and watch their behavior, live with them their daily life and taste their traditional food was so fun for me. Despite these pleasing parts, I have faced some problems. At the beginning 15 hours seemed so easy to collect but then I discovered is not easy at all. In fact, it is not that evident to find someone who wants to talk for more than 30 minutes. Finding the perfect environment (no noise, no children …) for the recording is very hard, too. Still, the most annoying thing is explaining people that you are not a spy.” (May)

This attitude complicated the matters. As male researchers, Khayri and Wiss experienced also women’s refusal of recording. Furthermore, all our new colleagues had struggles with the transportation. Nevertheless, Rawaa, May, Wiss, Khayri, Yosra, Sarah and Nidhal eventually were very glad to be part of our team. They gained exciting experiences and shared their best moments with us.  

“I liked this work very, very much because I got to know a lot of things about my country of which I was not aware before. Even customs from other places that are not far from my hometown were new to me! Moreover, I got in touch with very kind new people!” (Rawaa)

“I very much enjoyed listening to the stories of elders. Thereby, I learnt new things and got insights about how my own people used to live in previous times. Also, I joked with the interviewees and we had fun.” (Wiss)

Nidhal describes his job experience as a change of perspective. Learning about the life of locals in his own region, he started to focus on details.

“This job is an amazing experience for me. It opens my eyes as I am going through a journey of self-discovery. I feel like an alien trying to learn about life here. Words cannot capture my gratitude for this opportunity. I won’t look at my country the same way as I did before.” (Nidhal)

Within the municipality of Er Rouhia the dialect of is-Skārna is famous for its unique lexical expressions. Folk etymology has it that the name of the town is derived from ir-rūḥ hīya “It is the spirit”. Er Rouhia used to be a vivid center of spiritual life, famous for its zrid-ceremonies (singular zarda “feast celebrated in honour of a saint”), in the course of which the local population as well as people from other parts of Tunisia visited the saints’ tombs (e.g. Umm id-Dlǟl, Sīdi l-Hǟdi, Ḥmid Bū ʕĪn, Sīdi ʕAlī). After the revolution in 2011 these activities stopped and have shown a slow revival within the last years.

 

Mountain

Cock

Ilona with two locals

Researcher Ilona surrounded by children

Sidi Hmada is home to about 2,000 inhabitants who consider themselves descendants of the local saint Sīdi Ḥmǟda. He is said to be the son of a Libyan father and of a mother from the Ūlǟd ʕŪn tribe of Siliana.

Researcher Ilona with a local

Siliana market

It consists of 17 districts and is the hometown of the historian Ahmad ibn Abi Dhiyaf and the famous singer Hédi Jouini. In the beginning, Silyana’s population was mainly formed by Arabic Bedouin and Amazigh tribes. Due to immigration from the neighbouring rural areas, the town has, since the 1990s, constantly increased in size.

Impressions of Siliana

On the streets of Siliana

On the streets of Siliana

On the streets of Siliana

On the streets of Siliana

On the streets of Siliana

However, the working conditions are not that easy for the researchers. Tunisia’s scorching sun means that locals rarely leave their homes throughout the day during summer months. Interviewees are hard to catch as they are usually found at home, enjoying a siesta in the shade. These circumstances demand late-night hours interviewing those who are available after their afternoon naps. Being flexible allowed us to adapt to the timing and availability of potential interview partners.

Nonetheless, the lack of infrastructure often restricted our eager plans. Many regions – rural areas and small towns – do not offer any public transportation after five o’clock. Sometimes there is even no connection before five! Our partial reliance on local guides had somewhat of an impact on our schedules, and meant that early mornings, coupled with evening ḥōš-assemblies*, were the general order of the day – taking every opportunity for Franziska and Aleksandra to catch valuable sleep. Ilona, for her part, acquired a taste for the local’s daily rhythm and happily adopted their siesta custom gaylūla.

 

All the more, we are very satisfied with our fieldtrip’s outcome: The work in the governorates Beja and Siliana is completed, the wide parts of the governorate El Kef covered and even first sites in Jendouba opened up. Moreover, though working separately in different governorates, our researcher team manages to meet up in the capital for a joint lunch, strong hugs and to compare their notes and as their trip draws to its close.

* ḥōš: depending on the Tunisian dialect variety, the word ḥōš, also pronounced ḥūš, can imply either the meaning “house” or – as in this case – “courtyard”, in which family members, neighbours and friends gather in summer nights. People tell stories and jokes and sometimes even sing songs during those late-night assemblies.

After a short period of discussing the questionnaires and formalities at the institute, the team is ready for the new challenge of fieldwork. As the best way to become familiar with the field research is conducting it in situ, Aleksandra and Ilona start with their first interviews in Tunisia. Heading for the northern governorates Beja and Siliana, the investigation begins.

Looking back on her first field trip, Ilona reports: