Launching the Azday Booklets

Azday ‘ⴰⵣⴷⴰⵢ ‘ which means to collect or to gather and compare in Tamazight is a project to preserve some of the cultural heritage of the Amazigh in Libya.

In the extreme North West of Libya lives one of the Amazigh communities; the At Willul. The At Willul have inhabited the area surrounding the city of Zuwara for centuries. 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.  

The booklet you are about to read is a collection of stories, traditions, and recipes about couscous ‘ⴽⵙⴽⵙⵓ’, one of the staple diets of the Amazigh. This is more than just a recipe book. 

To ensure that the dishes, the traditions, and the mythologies that surround them do not disappear, 15 Amazigh elders were asked to recount their memories. Their stories have been echoed in the pages of this booklet. The knowledge, wisdom, and experiences that they kindly agreed to share is what makes this booklet special.

To make these important stories as accessible as possible, the booklet is available in Tamazight, English and Arabic.

We hope that you will enjoy reading and learning about Amazigh culinary traditions as much we enjoyed creating the booklet.

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

You can read the three versions of the booklet below, and visit the Azday website for more, stories and details about the project.