Abstract

The Mimouna is a ritual that is unique to the Moroccan Jewish community and an important part of their identity. As an integral part of this community’s Passover celebrations, its observance has been maintained through this community’s emigration to new countries. With a large number of Moroccan Jews settling in Montreal, the Mimouna has now become a part of the Passover landscape of this city. With information gathered through interviews with members of the Moroccan Jewish community in Montreal and through participant observation carried out at Mimounas being held in Montreal, this thesis examines how its practice has developed in the new Canadian environment the community has settled in.
Food is a central element in the celebration of the Mimouna and is the lens through which my study of the Mimouna has been understood and used to examine the way the Mimouna has changed and remained the same since bring brought to Canada, the meaning the ritual holds for members of the Moroccan Jewish community, the role it plays among the Moroccan Jewish community in Montreal and the way in which this celebration impacts upon their identity as Moroccan Jews. In order to frame its celebration in Montreal the historical roots of the Mimouna are examined, how it was celebrated in Morocco, how it has been presented in Moroccan Jewish cookbooks as well as in a community magazine.