{"id":2138,"date":"2026-07-28T00:25:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T00:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/?p=2138"},"modified":"2026-07-28T00:25:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T00:25:45","slug":"the-register-of-the-jewish-burial-society-in-tetuan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/the-register-of-the-jewish-burial-society-in-tetuan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Register of the Jewish Burial Society in Tetuan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yaakov Bentolila
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Jewish community of Tetuan,1 as in other Jewish communities in Morocco,
official registration of the population was not practiced. We can, however, obtain
demographic and lifestyle details from private or semi-official documents, such as
records of circumcisions and deaths. The Circumcisions\u2018 Book left by the mohel
(\u2015circumciser\u2016) R. Isaac Haserfaty, who was active in Tetuan between 1881 through
1940, is a good example of this kind of document; it is the basis of thorough research
by Ana Mar\u00eda L\u00f3pez \u00c1lvarez,2 who succeeded in extracting from a considerable
number of sociological details, as not only names and dates of birth of the
circumcised babies were registered, but also their parents\u2018 names and other facts
about the families, such as the fathers\u2018 occupations. Such information shed light on
the families living at that time in Tetuan, mainly regarding onomastics.
I will present some interesting data found in the Register of the Deceased,
1
2
Tetouan was founded in the northern part of Morocco, near the Mediterranean coast, at the
beginning of the sixteenth century. \u2015Jews from Spain arrived at the same time, making the city\u2018s
Jewish population overwhelmingly Sephardic. Judeo-Spanish (Haketia) remained the community\u2018s
mother tongue into the twentieth century. Following Spain\u2018s declaration of war against Morocco in
1859, and the subsequent defeat of the sultan\u2018s forces, the Spanish army occupied Tetouan on
February 6, 1860, remaining until May 1862. The Spaniards set about modernizing the city. Many of
the city\u2018s Jews eagerly supported Spain\u2018s attempts at modernization, and the occupation proved an
important milestone in the transformation of the Jewish community. In 1912, the Treaty of Fez
established the Spanish protectorate of Morocco in the northern part of the country with Tetouan as
its capital. The Jewish community grew, reaching its height around World War II. In 1940, the
Jewish population reached its height of 8,058,\u2016 Jessica Marglin, \u2015Tetouan,\u2016 Encyclopedia of Jews in
the Islamic World (exec. ed. Norman A. Stillman; Brill, 2010. See also Juan Bautista Vilar, Tetu\u00e1n
en el Resurgimiento jud\u00edo contempor\u00e1neo (1850\u20131870): Aproximaci\u00f3n a la Historia del Juda\u00edsmo
Norteafricano (Caracas: Biblioteca Popular Sefarad\u00ed, 1985); Jacobo Israel Garz\u00f3n, Los jud\u00edos de
Tetu\u00e1n (Madrid: Hebraica Ediciones, 2005).
Ana Mar\u00eda L\u00f3pez \u00c1lvarez, La comunidad jud\u00eda de Tetu\u00e1n 1881-1940: Onom\u00e1stica y sociolog\u00eda en
el libro de registro de circuncisiones del rabino Yishaq Bar Vidal Haserfaty (Madrid: (?), Ministerio
de educaci\u00f3n, cultura y deporte, 2003)..
1
compiled by the Jewish Burial Society of Tetuan, called \u0126evrat \u0126uppat Eliyahu
ve\u0126esed veEmet. It covers the period from 1896 to 1987, when Moshe Bar-Asher,
Yosef Shitrit and myself visited Tetuan and photographed the manuscript. The first
part of the manuscript is written in \u0127asi-qulmos or solitreo, a Rashi-like cursive
Hebrew script, in an accounting notebook. I shall call it Book A (Figure 1); it registers
3,128 individuals, who passed away over the course of about ninety years. The last
entry is from 5 Tishrei 5731, corresponding to October 5, 1970. Only Jewish dates are
used, not the Gregorian calendar equivalents. The details specified include the given
name of the deceased (though not always, as we shall see), family name and, in a
somewhat inconsistent manner, other information, such as the father\u2018s name. In the
case of women, the relationship to the most pertinent male in the family is specified,
usually the husband or father. I have reason to believe that the number of the deceased
was higher than the number registered, since the mortality rate was actually much
higher in the early period, considering plagues and generally lower life expectancy.
Possibly, infants and children were not registered,3 although I cannot estimate at what
age registration began.4
Figure 1: Book A\u2013\u2013written in an accounting notebook
3
4
I did not find any record of three infants from my own family, one born dead and two who died
before their third year.
In one record from 1960, a female is described as mocita (\u2015little girl\u2016), without specifying her age.
2
The second part of the manuscript, let us call it Book B, opens with the protocols
of twenty-seven executive meetings of the society, starting from April 1935 up to July<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Book B is written in Spanish, in Latin script, and both the Jewish and the
    Gregorian calendar dates are designated. The protocols deal with various issues such
    as role distribution among the society members, fund raising and maintenance of the
    cemetery. These protocols are followed by 207 entries, each containing the details of
    a deceased individual (Figure 2). The first dates from July 5, 1968. The latest item in
    the manuscript we photographed is March 25, 1987, just five months prior to our visit.
    Each entry includes the name of the deceased, the date, burial expenses and the actual
    payment made. In some cases, the age and address of the deceased are supplied, as
    well as the time of death. The first fifty-nine of these entries are the same as the last
    fifty-nine records of Book A, From entry no. 60, there are no equivalents in Book A.
    Registration becomes progressively less detailed, so that by July 1978 we find just
    given and family names with dates of death (Figure 3).
    Figure 2: Book B\u2013-Records of two deceased
    3
    Figure 3: Last records in Book B
    Since I have not yet copied all the names, I base my analysis so far on the full
    registration of two chronological groups in Book A:
    a) First fourteen years: 1897\u20131910
    b) Last nineteen years: 1953\u20131971.
    I will refer to these two periods as \u2015the early period\u2016 and \u2015the later period\u2016
    respectively.
    In the early period, we find 660 deceased: 49% male and 51% female. In the later
    period, we find 564 deceased: 45% male and 55% female. The annual average in the
    early period is forty-seven and in the later period thirty-three. These findings (Table
    1) reveal both a decrease in the population due to increased emigration in the later
    period, and an improvement in the conditions of health and medical care. The rise in
    emigration is also reflected in the higher ratio of women to men in the later period.
    4
    Table 1: Number of deceased
    Early period
    N
    %
    Later period
    N
    Male
    322
    49
    %
    253
    Female
    338
    51
    45
    311
    Total
    660
    100
    55
    564
    Average
    47
    100
    33
    What I will present, then, is a comparative analysis of the early and later periods. I
    will begin with general comments, with data pertaining to names and orthography,
    and will then proceed to some sociological issues.
    General comments
    Given Names
    The given names are in Hebrew, Arabic, or Spanish, the proportionate number of
    names in each language changing according to gender and period. Men from both
    periods have mainly traditional Hebrew names; women\u2018s names are equally
    distributed among the three languages, with a shift of approximately 5% from Arabic
    to Spanish in the later period. One innovation in the later period is the use of
    hypocoristic names for the women: alongside with Mas\u201buda (eight instances) we also
    find Mesody (eleven instances); we also find Fre\u0127i (for Fre\u0127a), Kota and Koti (for
    Yaqot), Lucy, Miri (for Miriam), Ra\u0127eli (for Ra\u0127el), and Simi (for Sim\u0127a). Arabic
    5
    names may be converted into Spanish equivalents, for example Mas\u201buda to Mercedes,
    Fre\u0127a to Alegria, and Johar to Perla. This is prominent in the double registration of
    the years 1968\u20131970. The same person is named Mas\u201bud in the Hebrew entry in Book
    A, and Fortunato in the Spanish parallel in Book B; similarly Sim\u0127a alongside
    Alegria.
    Orthography
    In both periods, the spelling of men\u2018s given names is basically traditional ,\u05d9\u05e2\u05e7\u05d1, \u05d9\u05e6\u05d7\u05e7 occasionally in the names Eliyahu and Yehuda the he ;)Ya\u201baqov, Yis\u0127aq, Moshe( \u05de\u05e9\u05d4<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    is replaced by alef \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5 \u2192\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5 and \u05d9\u05d0\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4\u2192\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4, probably to avoid the sequence yod
    he-waw, used in the Name of God.
    Some family names are inconsistently spelt. For example: Abecasis shows twice as Azerrad ;\u05d1\u05d5\u05e7\u05d0\u05e1\u05d9\u05e1 and twice as ,\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05e7\u05e6\u05d9\u05e5 four times as ,\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05e7\u05d0\u05e6\u05d9\u05e5 fourteen times as ,\u05d0\u05d1\u05d9\u05e7\u05d0\u05e1\u05d9
    \u05e1
    is spelt five times \u05d0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0\u05d3, twice \u05d0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e8\u05d3, and three times 5;\u05d0\u05d6\u05d9\u05e8\u05e8\u05d0\u05d3 Waknin is spelt \u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05e2\u05d0\u05e7\u05e0\u05d9\u05df
    twice, \u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05e7\u05e0\u05d9\u05df twice, \u05d5\u05d5\u05e2\u05e7\u05e0\u05d9\u05df once, \u05d5\u05e2\u05d0\u05e7\u05e0\u05d9\u05df once, \u05d1\u05d5\u05d0\u05e7\u05e0\u05d9\u05df once, and 3 \u05d1\u05d5\u05d0\u05e7’\u05e0\u05d9\u05df times. The
    spelling of Ajuelos is twice \u05d0\u05d2’\u05d5\u05d0\u05dc\u05d5\u05e1, once \u05d0\u05d2’\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05e1, once \u05d0\u05d5\u05d2’\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05e1, once \u05d0\u05d6’\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05e1, and
    once \u05d0\u05db’\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05e1, in a record from 1900, where the shift \u017e \u2192 \u03c7 reveals a recently adopted
    Hispanic pronunciation.6
    Cases of plene spelling in the early period include \u05e1\u05e2\u05d3\u05d9\u05d9\u05d0, \u05e2\u05d9\u05d6\u05d9\u05e8, \u05e2\u05d0\u05d6\u05d0\u05e8 (Sa\u201badya,
    \u2018Azar, \u2018Ezer), and in the later period \u05d4\u05dd, \u05e9\u05dc\u05d5\u05de\u05d4, \u05d4\u05dc\u05d9\u05dc, \u05ea\u05d0\u05de\u05d0\u05e8, \u05d7\u05d0\u05e0\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9\u05d9\u05d0
    \u05d0\u05d1\u05e8
    \u05d0
    (Abraham,
    \u0160elomo, Hillel, Tamar and \u0126ananya). Writing becomes increasingly sloppy with time,
    both in terms of calligraphy and orthographic consistency. For example, the name
    5
    6
    Double resh (\u05e8\u05e8) is a common spelling in Judeo-Spanish documents from North Africa, either to
    render the Spanish \/rr\/, or to represent a geminated [r] in words of Arabic origin.
    This shift is evidenced as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century, possibly earlier. Our
    records show it frequently in words like \u05de\u05d5\u05db’\u05d9\u05e8 and \u05d4\u05d9\u05db’\u05d4 (\u2015wife\u2016 and \u2015daughter\u2016). However, finding
    it in a personal name reflects the progress of the Hispanization that took place in the community.
    6
    Jimol [\u017dimol]7 is inconsistently spelled: \u05d2\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05dc, \u05d2’\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05dc, \u05d2\u05de\u05d5\u05dc, \u05d2’\u05de\u05d5\u05dc, \u05d2\u05de\u05dc, \u05d2’\u05de\u05dc \u2192\u05d2’\u05d9\u05de\u05d5\u05dc; likewise
    Miriam: \u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05d0\u05dd, \u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05d9\u05d0\u05dd, \u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05d9\u05df, \u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd\u2192\u05de\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd. It seems that the scribes of the later period
    were no longer bound by the traditional orthography of Hebrew and Ladino. They
    alternate between Yehuda with he (five times) and Ye\u2018uda with alef (four times), and
    they are not consistent with the use of the diacritic apostrophe for pe [f], kaf [\u03c7] and
    gimel [\u017e , t\u0161].
    Onomastics
    Among the aspects of onomastics that deserve attention, I would like to point to the
    family names used in the community. The comparison between the ranking of the
    twenty most frequent names in the works of L\u00f3pez \u00c1lvarez8 and in ours, shows a
    remarkable resemblance, as can be seen in table 2. Fourteen names appear in both
    lists. The six names that appear in one column only are displayed in bold italics.
    7
    8
    In Judeo-Spanish documents from North Africa, the letter ‘\u05d2, gimel with an apostrophe, renders the
    sounds [\u017e] or [t\u0161]. The phone [d\u017e] is not used, as opposed to the Ottoman Judeo-Spanish, where ‘\u05d2
    stands for [d\u017e] or [t\u0161], and ‘\u05d6, zayin with an apostrophe, for [\u017e]. See David M. Bunis, Judezmo, An
    Introduction to the Language of the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire (Jerusalem: Magnes
    Press, The Hebrew University 1999 [Hebrew]), 53.
    Supra, ftn. 2, 322. In Table 2, I changed the spelling used by L\u00f3pez \u00c1lvarez to the commonly used
    system.
    7
    8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Table 2: the most frequent family names
    N of deceased (both periods) N of circumcised (1881\u20131940)
    Name N Name N
    Hacohen 61 Chocron 159
    Chocron 50 Benzaquen 130
    Halevy 46 Hacohen 119
    Benzaquen 42 Bentolila 118
    Nahon 41 Halevy 77
    Bentolila 35 Nahon 73
    Benchimol 28 Serfaty 66
    Garzon 27 Abitbol 54
    Benarroch 25 Benarroch 52
    Abecasis 22 Garzon 52
    Serfaty 22 Israel 51
    Israel 20 Acrich 47
    Sananes 19 Benatar 44
    Serruya 19 Sananes 40
    Azulay 18 Serruya 40
    Benhamu 18 Benassayag 38
    Bensadon 18 Wahnich 38
    Gabay 16 Abecassis 36
    Hachuel 16 Azulay 35
    Jalfon 15 Wahnon 35
    Titles, appellatives and nicknames
    Rabbis are named with the ‘\u05e8 (\u05e8\u05d1\u05d9= Rebbi) title, some with the distinguishing \u05de\u05d5\u05d4\u00bb\u05e8 = \u05d5\u05d7\u05e9\u05d5\u05d1 \u05db\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3 \u05d4\u05e8\u05d1 \u05d4\u05e0\u05db\u05d1\u05d3 ( \u00ab\u05d7 \u05db\u05d4\u00bb\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e0\u05d5 ;)\u2016morenu harav \u2015Our guide the Rabbi = \u05d4\u05e8\u05d1 \u05de\u05d5\u05e8\u05e0\u05d5
    (
    9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    hanni\u03c7bad ve\u0127a\u0161uv, kevod harav \u2015The distinguished and notable, his honor the
    Rabbi\u2016); \u05d4\u05d3\u05d9\u05d9\u05df \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9 (haddayyan rebbi \u2015the judge Rabbi\u2016); \u05d4\u05d7\u05db\u05dd \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9 (he\u0127a\u03c7am rebbi = \u2015the erudite Rabbi\u2016). Other honorific appellatives are \u05d4\u05d6\u05e7\u05df (hazzaqen \u2015the ancient\u2016),
    once \u05d4\u05d6\u05e7\u05e0\u05d4 (hazzeqena \u2015the ancient\u2016 [fem.]), \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05de\u05d0\u05e0\u05d4 (Hermana, \u2015sister\u2016 in Spanish),
    used to honor (mostly old) women with special religious or social qualifications; the
    masculine counterpart \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05de\u05d0\u05e0\u05d5 (Hermano) is also, used, but rarely. The acronyms \u05d6\u00bb\u05dc alav\u2018 = ) \u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d4\u05e9\u05dc\u05d5\u05dd \u05e2\u00bb\u05d4 zi\u03c7rono livra\u03c7a \u2015of blessed memory\u2016) and = ) \u05dc\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d4 \u05d6\u05db\u05e8\u05d5\u05e0\u05d5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ha\u0161\u0161alom \u2015may peace be upon him\u2016) are used only with rabbis\u2018 names; \u05e0\u05d5\u05d7\u05d5 \u05e2\u05d3\u05df( \u05e0\u00bb\u05e2 =
    nu\u0127o \u2018eden \u2015May he rest in Paradise\u2016) is used for the name of a deceased husband in
    female records. A small number of individuals are designated according to their roles
    in the community: two as \u05d7\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9 (\u0127evri \u2015member of the Burial Society\u2016), one as \u05e9\u05de\u05e9
    (\u0161amma\u0161 \u2015maintenance man of a synagogue\u2016), and one as ‘\u05e9’\u05d9\u05da (\u0161e\u03c7 [Arabic] \u2015person
    in charge of public affairs in the Jewish quarter\u2016).
    Some occupations are specified\u2013\u2013with the Arabic term: \u05e0\u05d9\u05d2’\u05d0\u05e8 (nid\u0163ar \u2015carpenter\u2016), \u05d6\u05d0\u05d9\u05d9\u05dc\u05d0\u05d2’\u05d9 (zaila\u0163i \u2015tile-setter\u2016), \u05db’\u05d0\u05d3\u05d3\u05d0\u05e8 (\u03c7addar \u2015vegetable
    merchant\u2016), \u05db’\u05d5\u05d3\u05e8\u05d4 (\u03c7udra \u2015vegetable [merchant]\u2016), \u05db’\u05d5\u05d3\u05e8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 (\u03c7udrero [Spanish
    morphology] idem); or with the Spanish term: \u05de\u05d9\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7\u05d5 (m\u00e9dico, \u2015physician\u2016), \u05e1\u05d0\u05e1\u05d8\u05e8\u05d9
    (sastre \u2015tailor\u2016), \u05e4\u05dc\u05d0\u05d8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 (platero \u2015silversmith\u2016), \u05e4\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 (Judeo-Spanish ferrero for
    Spanish herrero \u2015blacksmith\u2016), \u05e6\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 (J-Sp cerrero for Sp cerrajero \u2015locksmith\u2016), \u05de\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 (molino \u2015mill\u2016 for \u2015miller\u2016), \u05dc\u05d0\u05d8\u05d4 (lata \u2015tin\u2016 for \u2015tinsmith\u2016), \u05e7\u05d0\u05e4’\u05d9
    (caf\u00e9 for \u2015a dealer in coffee or the like\u2016), \u05dc\u05d5\u05d8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05d9\u05d4 (loter\u00eda \u2015[who sells] lottery
    tickets\u2016), \u05e7\u05d0\u05e8\u05d1\u05d5\u05df (carbon \u2015[who sells] coal\u2016).9 Most professions are inscribed in the
    records of the earlier period; the sellers of lottery tickets and coal, as well as the
    tinsmith, are the only ones recorded in the later period.
    Outsiders are designated by their origin: \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d1\u05d0\u05d8\u05d9 (erbati, \u2015from Rabat\u2016), \u05d8\u05d0\u05e0\u05d2’\u05d0\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9
    and \u05d8\u05d0\u05e0\u05db’\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 (tan\u0163awi [Arabic] and tangerino [Sp.] \u2015from Tangier\u2016), \u05e2\u05d0\u05e8\u05d0\u05d9\u05d9\u05e9’\u05d9 (\u2018arai\u0161i
    [Ar.] \u2015from Larache\u2016), \u05e2\u05d0\u05e8\u05d0\u05d9\u05d9\u05e9’\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5 (\u2018arai\u0161ito, idem with a Spanish diminutive suffix), \u05d3\u05d9 \u0161e\u0161awnia, idem( \u05e9\u05d9\u05e9\u05d0\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u05d0\u05d4 ,)\u2016de \u0161e\u0161wan or \u0161e\u0161awni \u2015from Chauen( \u05e9\u05d9\u05e9\u05d0\u05d5\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9 or \u05e9’\u05d9\u05e9’\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05df<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    fem.), \u05e8\u05d9\u05e4’\u05d9\u05d0\u05d4 (rifea \u2015from the Rif mountains\u2016 fem.), \u05e4’\u05d5\u05e8\u05d0\u05e1\u05d8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 (forastero \u2015outsider,\u2016 as
    Judeo-Arabic speakers were called in Tetuan), \u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d0\u05df \u05d3\u05d9 (de Oran \u2015from Oran\u2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9 Notice the way of naming things to signify occupations.
    A few records include nicknames:10 \u05d2’\u05d5\u05d7\u05d4 (\u0162o\u0127a [mas.]11 \u2015a well known schemer
    from popular tales\u2016),12 \u05de\u05d9\u05d3\u05d9\u05d9
    \u05d0
    sock\u2016?),13 \u05d5\u05d9\u05e1\u05d8\u05d5\u05d6
    \u05d4\u05dc
    \u05d4\u05dc\u05d4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (la media, ambiguous \u2013 \u2015the half [fem.]\u2016?\/\u2015the
    (la vistoza \u2015the exhibitionist\u2016 [fem.]).
    Sociological comments
    Omission of women\u2019s given names in the early period
    A prominent phenomenon in the early period is the high percentage (33%) of
    omission of women\u2018s given names\u2014the deceased woman is only referred to in
    relation to the most significant male relative: husband, son, father, brother, or even
    nephew. The syntactic pattern is \u05de\u05d5\u05db’\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d3\u05d9\/\u05d0\u05e9\u05ea\/\u05de\u05d0\u05d3\u05e8\u05d9 \u05d3\u05d9\/\u05d4\u05d9\u05db’\u05d4 \u05d3\u05d9\/\u05d1\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e9\u05dc \u05e4\u05dc\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9\u2015wife\/mother\/daughter of X (male\u2018s name).\u2016 In the later period, female given names
    are no longer omitted, but the relationship to the significant male relative is still
    specified in most cases: 81%.14 Significantly, for the majority, this relationship is
    designated with the Hebrew term \u05d0\u05e9\u05ea, \u05d0\u05e9\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e9\u05dc, \u05d1\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e9\u05dc, \u05d0\u05dc\u05de\u05e0\u05ea (\u2015wife, daughter,
    widow\u2016): 78% as against 54% in the early period (Table 2). This, alongside a
    10 Nina Pinto-Abecasis has done research on nicknames in the Community of Tetuan. Among her most
    important findings is the relevance of humor and gender. See: Nina Pinto-Abecasis, Humor in
    Nicknames among the Jews in Tetuan Doctoral Thesis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
    Jerusalem 2008 [Hebrew]; idem, \u2015Nicknaming Patterns Among the Haketia Speaking Jews of
    Tetuan,\u2016Ladinar V (2009 [Hebrew]), 89\u2013137; idem, \u2015\u2017Ja Ja Ja\u2018 and \u2017The European\u2018 \u2013 Gender in
    Nicknaming Among the Jews of Tetuan\u2016, Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Folklore XXVI (2009
    [Hebrew]) 87\u2013110.
    11 This (from 1960\u201361) is the only nickname recorded in the later period. In the early period we find a
    woman (from 1906\u201307) related to \u017do\u0127a: Reina la de \u0162o\u0127a (\u2017\u017do\u0127a\u2018s Reina\u2018); there must have been
    another person with the same nickname, which means that every generation had its own \u017do\u0127a; see
    next footnote.
    12 On the personage of \u017do\u0127a among Judeo-Spanish speakers in Morocco, see Gladys Pimienta, \u2015Djoha
    en haketia,\u2016 Aki Yerushalayim 76 (2004), 34\u201338; on \u017do\u0127a in oriental Judeo-Spanish tales, see Tamar
    Alexander-Frizer, The Beloved Friend-and-a-Half (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, The Hebrew
    University of Jerusalem and the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 1999 [Hebrew]), 357<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

    1. 13 In the present day, a century later, it is impossible to understand the motivation for these nicknames.
      Were they based on the bearer\u2018s body, her appearance, her personality? See Pinto-Abecasis, Humor
      in Nicknames, ch. 3, sect. 4.
      14 In this case the syntactic pattern is: \u2015Y (female\u2018s given name), wife\/mother\/daughter of\u2026 X (male\u2018s
      name)\u2016
      11
      consistent use of the full word \u05d1\u05df ben instead of its traditional Moroccan abbreviation ‘\u05df
      nun (Table 3), seems to reflect an emergent acquaintance with Modern Hebrew and a
      growing interest in the recently established State of Israel.
      Table 3: Linguistic terms for the naming of women
      in relation to a male relative
      Early period
      Later period
      Language of
      terms
      Spanish
      N
      %
      151
      46
      N
      %
      56
      Hebrew
      178
      54
      22
      196
      Total
      329
      100
      78
      252
      100
      Table 4: Use of the full word ben instead of its traditional abbreviation
      Early period
      Late period
      Abbreviation\/full \u05df
      ‘ \u05d1
      \u05df
      Example \u05df’ \u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d2
      \u05d9 \u05d1\u05df \u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d2
      \u05d9
      Transcription
      N\u2018 Mergui
      Ben Mergui
      Double family names in the later period
      The non-Jewish Spanish pattern of two family names\u2014the father\u2018s followed by the
      mother\u2018s\u2014was widely used by men and women in the Jewish community of Tetuan,
      especially in later years, in direct proportion to the consolidation of the Spanish
      11
      influence.15 This practice appears in the records of the later period only, occasionally
      (in 9% of the cases) with respect to the names of men.16 According to the Hispanic
      custom, almost half of the married women are registered with two family names, their
      maiden name and their husband\u2018s name.17
      Bachelors and spinsters
      Individuals who had never married were consistently described as bahur \u2015young
      man\u2016 or betula \u2015virgin.\u2016 In the later period, twenty-nine individuals were registered in
      each of these categories (including two betulot aged eighty and ninety). In the early
      period, however, the ratio of bachelors to spinsters shows thirty-eight \u2015young men\u2016 as
      against fifteen \u2015virgins\u2016 (Table 4); these are always designated as \u2015daughters of,\u2016
      following the custom we have already seen\u2014relating the deceased female individuals
      to a male kin. We may probably attribute the rather low ratio of betula designations to
      the fact that girls were married at a young age: when deceased at a very young age
      they were not registered at all,18 and by the time a girl was old enough to be
      registered, she was already old enough to be married.
      15 On Spanish influence, see supra ftn. 1.
      16 For example: Shelomo Nahon Marrache.
      17 For example: Fre\u0127a Cohen, widow of Rebbi Shemuel Bentolila.
      18 See supra ftns. 3 and 4.
      12
      Table 5: Widows, bachelors and spinsters
      Early period
      Later period
      N
      %
      N
      Widows
      7
      2
      %
      159 51
      Wives
      201
      59
      59 19
      Bachelors \u2015bahur\u2016
      38
      12
      29
      11
      Spinsters \u2015betula\u2016
      15
      4
      29 9
      Widows
      In the early period only seven women were described as \u2015widows,\u2016 as opposed to 159
      in the later period. We may assume that in the early period, the number of widows
      was actually higher, but they were described as mothers, daughters, etc. \u2015Widow\u2016
      connotes an independent status, whereas a woman in the early period was
      predominantly defined in relation to her male kin.
      The difference between the early and later periods also reflects a demographic
      change: many of the young people emigrated from Tetuan to Israel, the Americas and
      Europe, leaving the elderly behind. This process is reflected in the drop in the number
      of women described as \u2015wives of\u2016: 19% in the later period, as against 59% in the
      early period. In the entries of Book B, where the age of the deceased is mentioned in
      ninety cases, a relatively old society emerges (Figure 3).
      13
      25
      20
      15
      N
      10
      5
      0
      15-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100+
      Age
      Figure 4: Number of deceased by age in Book B
      To summarize
      A close look at the lists of deceased persons sheds some light on the evolving lifestyle
      of the community of Tetuan during the last century. A comparison of the early and
      later periods shows a developmental path characterized by the following elements: an
      improvement in sanitation and medical care; a weakening of the ties to the linguistic
      tradition of the community along with an accelerated process of Hispanization; an
      emerging attraction to Modern Hebrew; an improvement in women\u2018s status, and an
      increase in emigration, leaving the older generation behind. This process has left
      almost no Jews in Tetuan.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Yaakov Bentolila Ben-Gurion University of the Negev In the Jewish community of Tetuan,1 as in other Jewish communities in Morocco,official registration of the population was not practiced. We can, however, obtaindemographic and lifestyle details from private or semi-official documents, such asrecords of circumcisions and deaths. The Circumcisions\u2018 Book left by the mohel(\u2015circumciser\u2016) R. Isaac Haserfaty,… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[69,70],"class_list":["post-2138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","tag-burial","tag-tetuan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2138"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2146,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2138\/revisions\/2146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogia.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}