Most Shilha villages contain between 50 and 500 people. They typically live in two-story, mud brick homes with flat roofs. In the more rugged mountain areas they live in sturdy goat skin tents. Urban men and women wear western clothing, sometimes with long hooded robes, or jellabas, over them. Men wear turbans, or skull caps, called tagiyas, and women wear veils or head scarves.
Rural women dress colorfully, but modestly, wearing several layers of clothing.
The Shilha don't really value education because they believe that hard work is of higher value. Only a small number complete more than a few years of public schooling. A typical family consists of close relatives living under the authority of the male head of the family. A new bride, often as young as 14, will move into the home of the husband's family after marriage. Since the late 19th century, many Shilha have left their poor, overpopulated valleys, in hopes of finding new resources in the northern cities of Morocco.