Lord of Pastures : Amghar n’Tuga

Idir, a nomadic pastoralist from the tribe Ilemchan (the Ait Atta tribal confederation) was appointed by his tribe as Amghar n’Tuga (Lord of Pastures). In this film he tells us about the last nomads, their way of life, traditional pastoral systems, and the challenges threatening their survival.

Amghar n’Tuga or the Lord of Pastures is the protector of the Atlas Mountains’ rich pastoral heritage, he coordinates grazing and sees to the respect of the traditional pastoral system’s customary rules. Every year, each pastoral community in the Atlas Mountains elect someone to carry on this mission. Their duties include coordinating seasonal transhumance, ensuring the sanctity of Agdal by prohibiting access to pastures temporarily to protect them from biodiversity degradation, intervening to avoid conflict within the community and so forth. This film follows Idir, whom Ilemchan herders appointed to be their Amghar n’Tuga, in his migration from Saghro to Izoughar pastures in the northern slopes of Central High Atlas Mountains, delving into Ait Atta nomads’ way of life and the challenges they face.

The camera follows Idir and his family in their seasonal migration to Izoughar, their summer pastures. Accompanied by their livestock, they transhume from Asamr, the High Atlas Mountains’ dry southeastern slopes, to Amalu, the more humid and fertile northwestern slopes. The film lets us discover the beautiful landscapes of Morocco’s alpine rangelands as Idir talks about his duties as Amghar n’Tuga, the traditional pastoral system of Agdal, the nomadic life, their sheep, goats and dromedaries as well as about drought, land and water predation and the issues threatening their survival. Amghar n’Tuga is a production of the North African Food Sovereignty Network and Elias Terrass with the support of The Transnational Institute and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – North Africa.