Azday, Gathering Stories of Food - Afrsegh, Tekordasen, Tghwit & Ahlaj

Photo by Bashir Nannis

In the extreme North West of Libya lives the Amazigh community of At Willul. The At Willul have inhabited the area surrounding the city of Zuwara for centuries. Yet, despite their historic roots, much of their history and culture has gone unrecorded. Sadly, this is particularly evidenced by the minimal amount of sources in existence preserving their culinary heritage.  

To ensure the preservation of At Willul dishes, culinary traditions, and mythologies, 15 Amazigh elders were asked to reflect upon these topics. The story you are about to read is one of the traditions they recounted. 

The Amazigh people are distinguished by the multitude of their dishes. Couscous, ‘ⴽⵙⴽⵙⵓ’ is one of the Amazigh staple foods, consisting of small grains made out of wheat. The word Couscous traces its roots to the Tamazight language and it is derived from the phrase meaning ‘small pieces’ or ‘well rounded’. Couscous serves as the base for a variety of dishes, also known as couscous.

In addition to the popular couscous dishes prepared with meat or fish, the Amazigh At Willul cuisine also cooks couscous with more unusual ingredients.

Couscous with Afrsegh, or Asslouz in Libyan dialect, is cooked with Afrsegh, a plant  known as African mustard, that grows in the wild and in farms. Only the leaves of the plant are used in this couscous, and it is usually prepared in winter during the Afrsegh growing season. 

Couscous with Tekordasen - ⵜⴽⵓⵔⴷⴰⵙⵉⵏ is couscous with intestines. Tekordasen is sheep or cow intestines stuffed with dried meat or fat. Like a lot of other dishes in Amazigh cuisine, Tekordasen can be prepared in advance, dried and kept for a few months until they are cooked.

Couscous with Tghwit is couscous made with dried fat. Tghwit is the fat of sheep, goat or cow cut into strips, which are then salted, dipped in turmeric and left to dry in the sun. Like Tekordasen, if stored properly it can be kept for a few months. 

Mixed couscous, or Ahlaj, is cooked with another type of dried fat called Amrdokh. Like Tghwit, the fat is first cut into strips, salted and left to dry in the sun. However, Amrdokh is not dipped in turmeric. Additionally, once dried, it is grinded down and stored in a jar. 

This story is part of Azday ‘ⴰⵣⴷⴰⵢ ‘ project, an effort to document the culinary heritage of the At Willul. You can find more stories of Amazigh culinary heritage in the Azday booklet.

Azday project is funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The project is conducted in partnership with the At Wellol Movement.