cha3ala شعالة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“cha3ala” (شعالة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning Ashura bonfire.
Meanings
- Ashura bonfire
- big fire, blaze
Usage
The word cha3ala refers mainly to the fire lit on the night of Ashura, in neighbourhoods or villages. Children and young people gather around it, sing and jump over the flames. The word comes from the same family as ch3el ("to light"). Outside this festive context, it is sometimes used for a big fire or a blaze, but this sense is less common. For an ordinary fire, l3afya is used instead. So the word primarily evokes a specific tradition, not just any fire.
Example
ليلة عاشورا الدراري كيشعلو الشعالة فالدرب
lilt 3achoura ddrari kaych3lo cha3ala fdderb
“On the night of Ashura, the kids light the bonfire in the alley.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “cha3ala” but also “ch3ala”, “sha3ala”, “chaala” and “sh3ala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.