Interpreting the myth of Sidi Mhâmmad : oral history in the Highlands of North-western Tunisia

The myth the author focuses upon is that of Sidi Mhâmmad, a local saint venerated in the Khrumiriya highlands of North-western Tunisia. After presenting the myth and briefly indicating the relatively a-historical elements it has to offer to a cultural and structural analysis, a framework is build up within which the historical content of this myth opens up for analysis. This framework is informed first by an analysis of the social and religious organization of contemporary rural society in this region, and secondly by oral-historical evidence derived from other local sources than the myth of Sidi Mhâmmad