section_path: Seasons and Festivals/Lḥusum/Imbarken
section_name: Imbarken
paragraph_text: Imbarken
  
  Before the cold ends completely and spring begins fully, there is a period of the year that is very feared. It consists of ten days straddling the months of furar and mars (the last five of the former and the first five of the latter), and it is characterised by strong winds. It is said that, during this term, one should suspend many activities (agricultural and artisan), should not marry nor go out during the night, leaving instead full scope to mysterious powers, which in that period are particularly active and celebrate their weddings. Due to a linguistic taboo, in Djerba these creatures are called imbarken, i.e. "the blessed ones", whence this period takes its name.
  
  Jamrat el Ma (Arabic: جمرة الماء), "embers of the sea", 27 February, is marked by a rise in sea temperature.
  
  Jamrat el Trab (Arabic: جمرة التراب), "land embers" in English, is the period from 6 to 10 March and known to be marked by a mixture of heavy rain and sunny weather. The term jamrat (literally 'coal') is in reference to the warm state of the earth during this period.