| Abstract: | I propose to define nicknames as a unique folklore genre and to compare it with other mini-genres of folklore. The nickname genre combines known folklore techniques, and conveys its messages by varied poetic means, using play and creation. Nicknames constitute a perfected and ciphered system of signs of the society in which they are created. This practice acts as a two-fold mechanism, which encourages the integration of individuals into the life of the group to which they belong, while encouraging the group as a whole to maintain its norms under changing conditions. I suggest that a group which creates such a system of nicknames for itself, highlights the unity of its members and the will to maintain its traditions, uniqueness and identity. My case study is the former Jewish community of Tetuan, the capital of northern Morocco, from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present time. |
