id: jmaa-village-assembly
title: Jmaa Village Assembly
description: >-
  A Moroccan Berber (Amazigh) and Arab practice of village assembly
  governance, where the men of the village gather to manage water, land,
  and communal affairs by discussion and consensus. Found across rural
  Morocco, particularly in the Atlas regions, the jmaa predates and
  complements state structures.
source: Moroccan Amazigh village tradition / Association Amoud
source_url: https://www.amoud.ma/
tags: [moroccan, amazigh, berber, jmaa, governance, indigenous]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Convene the jmaa
    description: >-
      The senior men of the village convene the jmaa at a known meeting
      place — often the mosque square or a tree. All adult male
      household heads may attend.
  - headline: Present the matter
    description: >-
      The matter — water allocation, a land dispute, a communal work — is
      presented. Each affected household speaks through its head.
  - headline: Deliberate to consensus
    description: >-
      The jmaa deliberates until consensus is reached. The senior members
      guide but do not impose; a decision without consensus does not hold.
  - headline: Pronounce and record by memory
    description: >-
      The decision is pronounced and held in collective memory — often
      unwritten. The jmaa's authority rests on communal recognition, not
      on a document.
  - headline: Enforce collectively
    description: >-
      The village collectively enforces the decision. Sanctions for
      violation are communal — exclusion from water rotation, from
      communal labour — not imposed by a separate body.
outcome: >-
  Village affairs are governed by consensus of household heads, with
  decisions enforced collectively and held in communal memory.
practice: >-
  The jmaa's unwritten character depends on continuity of memory and
  Contemporary jmaas in some communities now include women,
  reflecting evolving gender roles.
  attendance. Where young men no longer attend, the form ages and
  weakens. Water allocation is the test — a jmaa that cannot govern
  water has lost its function.