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Moroccan Marabout Sacred Groves (regional)
Atlas Mountains & rural Morocco
Morocco
Active but eroding
Regional cluster
- Location
- Atlas Mountains & rural Morocco
- Coordinates
- ~31.5°N 7.5°W (region)
- Elevation
- Atlas Mts (variable)
- Size
- 101 documented marabout groves (~3 per 10 km²)
- Age / Founded
- Historic (Islamic saint veneration)
- Status
- Active but eroding
- Deity & Religion
- Muslim saints (sidi/marabout); Islam (Sufi saint veneration)
- Community & Guardians
- Rural Moroccan (Amazigh & Arab) communities
- Vernacular name
- Marabout (saint-shrine grove)
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Shelter saints' tombs & burial grounds; last forest remnants in cultivated regions
Plant species
Relict native forest vegetation around shrines
Biome & fauna
North African Mediterranean/montane forest remnants
Threats & protection
Eroding taboos & weakening protection; degradation
Source
Deil et al., 'Sacred groves in Morocco – a society's conservation of nature for spiritual reasons'; Conservation status of Sacred Natural Sites in NW Morocco