Sugar Dolls

“Since my earliest childhood and every New Year of the Hegira, my father never failed to bring a number of candied sugar figurines home: large dolls for my sisters, a rooster for my older brother and a lion cub or rider for myself; these statuettes made from melted sugar and decorated with shimmering colors brought joy to the whole household. These figurines have always fascinated me and the origin of this original and almost exclusive tradition from the city of Nabeul has always intrigued me but I have never received a satisfactory answer to my questions on this subject; it would therefore be high time to try to elucidate this mystery, even if only in part, especially since the new year 1423 AH is on the horizon and only a few days still separate us from the meeting - you annual with the delicious couscous which will be served according to the immutable Nabeulian custom, in footed, flared and colorful dishes and on which the famous and no less mysterious sugar dolls will sit. » It is with this monologue that the quest for information on this beautiful tradition begins, in particular on the origin of these mysterious dolls, on the procedures for their manufacture and marketing, as well as on the use made of them. within Nabeulian families. Indeed one of the enigmas, and not the least to be resolved in this case, consisted of trying to understand how Nabeul, a Muslim capital with dozens of mosques and whose population is deeply attached to the precepts of Islam prohibiting use of statues and other figurines... how were these sugar dolls able to make such a sensational entry into tradition, and survive for so long among social and festive practices?... This was the central question; we had to try to find an explanation, if not an answer.

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