An important part, namely the songs, ululations and ritual utterances of the oral literature associated with the traditional wedding ceremony of the Berber-speaking Com munity of Ghadames is studied. As a result of its position, Ghadames, an oasis town situated in the desert some 600 kilo meters to the south of Tripoli on an ancient trade route linking Africa south of the Sahara with the Mediterranean coast, has been open to many different cultural influences. In addition, because of the number of ethnic groups which make up its population, it has a complicated traditional social structure. Since the literature is studied in relation to its cultural setting, the long and complex wedding ceremony is first described in detail. The physical environment (layout of the house and of the town) in which this is enacted is also described, since this has an important influence on its structure. The songs etc., which were collected during the course of two visits in 1979 and 1980, are described, transcribed in phonemic notation, translated and studied. Their relation ship to the various stages of the marriage ceremony and to other aspects of Ghadamsi traditional culture is elucidated, variants of individual songs are compared, obscure passages clarified and commented upon. Two maps and a number of Colour photographs supplement the descriptions of the social and physical settings in which the songs are performed.