Image: Le Cauchemar by Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1802
“I was awake and conscious. I felt a heavy weight over my chest, or more like some creature sitting on it, and I couldn’t move. I wanted to get the damned thing away from me, but I had absolutely no control over my body, and the freaking thing was too heavy to move by an inch. I wanted to scream for help, but no voice came out of my mouth. I panicked and cried… Although I remained completely soundless. It was frightening!” This is a testimony I often heard, without realizing how scary this experience actually is, until the “monster” paid me a visit once, the only and unique time in my whole entire life.
We call “him” in Morocco bôghTTâT بوغطاط in Darija and baghrâr باغرار in Berber. In the Middle East, they call it al-jâthôm الجاثوم, which is a word that stands also for “nightmare” in MSA.
In reality, bôghTTâT is a physiological state called: Sleep Paralysis. In MSA: shalal annawm شلل النوم.
What’s Sleep Paralysis? Or what does bôghTTâT really stand for?
20% of sleep is what’s called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which is the portion of sleep during which dreams occur. And when you are dreaming, the brain sends signals to your muscles to completely relax, so that if you dream that you’re crazily running, you don’t produce the same moves in bed and bang the wall. Sleep paralysis occurs when a person goes into or out of a REM sleep. It’s an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body. That is when you suddenly wake up before your brain orders your body to get back to its normal state, which makes you fully conscious, yet hallucinating.
Qualifying Sleep Paralysis by a monster does not come out of the blue. In many cultures, nightmares and all kind of nocturnal attacks were always associated with demoniac spirits. Nowadays, some scholars even believe that sleep paralysis is all about abduction by space aliens!
[Check out other references to Sleep Paralysis in different cultures]
Almost, 50% of people have experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their life. Have you?
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Welcome!
Animated cartoons are arrosôm al-mota7arriakah الرسوم المتحركة in MSA. In Darija, we also say rrosôm lmota7arrika, or shorten it to cartoons, rrosôm.
Another name for the animated cartoons is inspired from Mickey Mouse, as some Moroccans mainly say mikkiyât ???????? for all kind of animated cartoons, without Mickey being part of them. And some would ironically or jokingly say mikkiyât مِيكّيات . Calling someone mikh-khî, or a group of people mikh-khiyât مِيخّيات is insulting, because it implies that they are helpless or cowards.
In the late 80s and beginning of 90s, Moroccan kids had only the two Moroccan channels to watch. And cartoons’ time was at 6pm, after school. You’d see all the kids running home not to miss the daily cartoon dose. There was also the well known Al-qanât aSSaghira القناة الصغيرة (the small channel), a weekly TV programme on Sunday mornings, that had all kinds of nice activities for kids.
Nowadays, in the 21st century, there are plenty of TV channels. Kids go from Al-Jazeera for kids, to Space Toon or MBC3 and watch cartoons any time they want. They are sure they will find a cartoon on at any given time, as long as they manage to get the remote control.
Today, I want to share with you some of my childhood’s cartoons. I spent the whole day searching On Youtube and reviving all the memories. For some of the cartoons, I remember very well the title and opening. But for others, the title feels strange, but once I listen to the opening, all the memories are there; I am not 100% sure that I watched a minority of these, but feel strangely familiar with them. Feel free to let the rest of us know about your favourite cartoon if I happened to miss mentioning it.
Below is a list of 60 cartoons that shaped the childhood of MILLIONS of Moroccan kids, and Arab kids in general, during the 80s and 90s.
Now fasten your safety belts, and get ready for this journey back in time. The time machine will now be turned on. I wish you a safe journey.
Sali سالي
Moghamarât Sôzân مغامرات سوسان
Bill wa Sebastien بيل و سباستيان
Attinnîno aSSaghîr التنين الصغير
Captain Majed كابتن ماجد
Lôlô aSSaghîra لولو الصغيرة
Alice fî bilâdi al3ajâ2ib أليس في بلاد العجائب
Qaryato attôt قرية التوت
Môka môka موكا موكا
Assanâfir السنافر
Robotan روبوتان
Grendizer غرندايز
Ferdy فيردي
Addibabato aTTayyibôn الدببة الطيبون
Addibabto aTTa2ira الدببة الطائرة
Lobna assarî3a لبنى السريعة
Zahrato Albarârî زهرة البراري
Fatâto lmarâ3î فتاة المراعي
Alfatâ annabîl الفتى النبيل
Roben Hood روبن هود
ArrawDato alkhadrâ2 الروضة الخضراء
Soqôro Al2arD صقور الأرض
Annamiro almoqanna3 النمر المقنع
A7lâm wa fara7 أحلام و فرح
Ibnatî l3azîza râwiya ابنتي العزيزة راوية
ADDarbato aSSâ3iqa الضربة الصاعقة
Sala7ifo anninjâ سلاحف النينجا
Almâsato azzarqâ2 الماسة الزرقاء
Sa7ibo aDH-DHilli aTTawîl صاحب الظل الطويل
Moghamarât Zîna wa na77ôl مغامرات زينة و نحول
Sindibâd سندباد
Kalemero كاليميرو
Mawkli ماوكلي
ASSayâdo aSSaghîr الصياد الصغير
Siwaro al3asal سوار العسل
Arraghif al3ajib الرغيف العجيب
7ikâyato al3amâliqa حكاية العمالقة
Moghâmarâto sonbol مغامرات سنبل
Alfawâkih الفواكه
Moghâmarâto 7anîn مغامرات حنين
La7no al7ayât لحن الحياة
Reemy ريمي and the song Anti Al2amân
Arramyato almoltahiba الرمية الملتهبة
Marôkô aSSaghîra ماروكو الصغيرة
Madrasto Alkung fu مدرسة الكونغ فو
Simba سيمبا
Almo7aqqiq Conan المحقق كونان
Pokemon بوكمون
AbTâlo addijitâl أبطال الديجيتال
Anâ wa akhî أنا و أخي
Moghâmarât Sasuki مغامرات سازوكي
Moghâmarât kôkî مغامرات كوكي
Safînato al-2aSdiqâ2 سفينة الأصدقاء
Assayyida mil3aqa السيدة ملعقة
Ka3bôl كعبول
Ri7lat al3ajâ2ib رحلة العجائب
Ra3d al3imlâq رعد العملاق
AlbaTal khomâsî البطل خماسي
Fâris alfatâ ash-shojâ3 فارس الفتى الشجاع
Al2a7lâm adh-dhahabiyya الأحلام الذهبية
Bonus Video:
Moghâmarât Abî l7orôf مغامرات أبي الحروف
