Kabylie

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Kabylie

Tamurt n Leqbayel

ⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ
Taddart Taqbaylit.jpg
Location Kabylie.svg
Location of Kabylie in central Algeria (northwestern Africa)
Coordinates: 36°48′N4°18′E / 36.8°N 4.3°E / 36.8; 4.3 Coordinates: 36°48′N4°18′E / 36.8°N 4.3°E / 36.8; 4.3
Region Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Provinces - Wilayas Tizi Ouzou Province, Béjaïa, Jijel, Bouïra, Boumerdès, Setif, Bordj Bou Arréridj, Médéa, Mila
Area
 • Total25,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi)
Population
 (2012)
 • Total7,575,643
 • Density300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Kabyles
Iqvayliyen
Time zone UTC+1
 • Summer (DST) UTC+1 (CEST)
ISO 3166-2
KAB
Area code +213 (Algéria)
Languages Kabyle (Tamazight)
French

Kabylie (English: Kabylia, Berber languages : Tamurt n Yiqbayliyen; ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ) is a cultural region, natural region and historical region in northern Algeria. It is part of the Tell Atlas mountain range, and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

Contents

Kabylia covers several provinces of Algeria: Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia (Bgayet), less of Bouira (Tubirett) and parts of the wilayas of Boumerdes, Jijel, Setif and Bordj Bou Arreridj. Gouraya National Park and Djurdjura National Park are also located in Kabylie.

History

Topographic map of Kabylia. Kabylie topographic map-fr.svg
Topographic map of Kabylia.

Antiquity

Kabylia was a part of the Kingdom of Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC).[ citation needed ]

Middle Ages

The Fatimid dynasty of the 10th century originated in Lower Kabylia, where an Ismaili missionary (dā‘ī) found a receptive audience for his millennialist preaching, and ultimately led the Kutama tribe to be accepted as a voluntary tax collector in Ifriqiya. After failing to raise the moneys and support hoped for, the kutama tribe/family left for Egypt. A Berber Family emerged as a formidable leader in the Unique Berber form of Elected Delegates form of Government (through financial contribution and thus influence), the Zirids. Beyond their immediate Zirid territory(aarch/Congregation) another Aarch and Family Hammadid and its associates emerged in Kabylia with influence covering most of today's Algeria, whereas the Zirid's territory extended eastward to cover the area of modern Tunisia.

Regency of Algiers

During the Regency of Algiers, most of Kabylia was independent. Kabylia was split into two main kingdoms, the Kingdom of Kuku in modern Tizi Ouzou, and the Kingdom of Ait Abbas in modern Béjaïa.

French colonisation and resistance

First mass in Kabylie during the French conquest of Algeria, 1837 Premiere messe en kabylie horace vernet.jpg
First mass in Kabylie during the French conquest of Algeria, 1837

Though the region was the last stronghold against French colonization, [1] the area was gradually taken over by the French after 1830, despite vigorous local resistance by the local population led by leaders such as Faḍma n Sumer, until the Battle of Icheriden in 1857 marked a decisive French victory, with sporadic outbursts of violence continuing as late as Mokrani's rebellion in 1871. Much land was confiscated in this period from the more recalcitrant tribes and given to French pieds-noirs . Many arrests and deportations were carried out by the French in response to uprisings, mainly to New Caledonia (hence the origins of the Algerians of the Pacific.) Colonization also resulted in an acceleration of the emigration into other areas of the country and outside of it.

Algerian migrant workers in France organized the first party promoting independence in the 1920s. Messali Hadj, Imache Amar, Si Djilani, and Belkacem Radjef rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930s and actively trained militants who became key players during the struggle for independence and in building an independent Algerian state.

In the Algerian War

During the War of Independence (1954–1962), the FLN and ALN's reorganisation of the country created, for the first time, a unified Kabyle administrative territory, wilaya III, being as it was at the centre of the anti-colonial struggle. [2] As such, along with the Aurès, it was one of the most affected areas because of the importance of the maquis (aided by the mountainous terrain) and the high levels of support and collaboration of its inhabitants for the nationalist cause. Several historic leaders of the FLN came from this region, including Hocine Aït Ahmed, Abane Ramdane, and Krim Belkacem. It was also in Kabylia that the Soummam conference took place in 1956, the first of the FLN. The flipside of being such a critical region for the independence movement was being one of the major target of French counter-insurgency operations, not least the devastation of agricultural lands, lotting, destruction of villages, population displacement, the creation of forbidden zones, etc. [3]

After independence

From the moment of independence, tensions had already developed between Kabyle leaders and the central government, with the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) party of Hocine Aït Ahmed, strong in wilayas III and IV (Kabylie and Algiers), opposing the FLN's Political Bureau centred around the person of Ahmed Ben Bella, who in turn relied upon the forces of the border army group within the ALN commanded by Houari Boumediene. As early as 1963 the FFS called into question the authority of the single-party system, which resulted in two years of armed confrontation in the region, leaving more than four hundred dead, and most of the FLN leaders from Kabylia and the eastern provinces either executed or forced into exile. [4]

Demonstration by Kabyles in 2014 Marche du MAK le 27 avril 2014.jpg
Demonstration by Kabyles in 2014

In April 1980, following the banning of a conference by writer Mouloud Mammeri on traditional Kabyle poetry, riots and strikes broke out in Tizi Ouzou, followed by several months of demonstrations on university campuses in Kabylia and Algiers, known as the Berber Spring, demanding the officialisation and recognition of the Tamazight language. These resulted in the extrajudicial imprisonment of thousands of Kabylie intellectuals, along with other clashes in Tizi-Ouzou and Algiers in 1984 and 1985. [5] With the opening up and establishment of the multi-party system in 1989, the RCD (Rally for Culture and Democracy) party was created by Saïd Sadi, at the same time as identity politics and the cultural awakening of the Kabylians were intensifying in reaction to the increasingly hard-line Arabization. [6] In the midst of the civil war, there was an act of massive civil disobedience beginning in September 1994 and lasting the entire school year until mid 1995 where the ten-million strong population of Kabylia conducted a total school boycott, known as the "schoolbag strike". [7] [8] In June and July 1998 the region flared up again after the assassination of protest singer and political activist Lounès Matoub at the same time that a law requiring the use of Arabic in all fields of education entered into force, further worsening tensions. [9] [10]

Following the death in April 2001 of Massinissa Guermah, a young high school student, in police custody, major riots took place, known as the Black Spring, in which 123 people died and some two thousand were wounded as a result of the authorities' violent crackdown. [11] Eventually, the government was compelled to negotiate with the Arouch, a confederation of ancestral local councils over the situation, alongside wider issues such as social justice and the economy, which was deemed by the government as 'regionalist' and dangerous for national unity and cohesion. [12] Nevertheless, Tamazight was recognised in 2002 as a national language of Algeria, and as of 7 February 2016, an official language of the State alongside Arabic. [13]

The Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK), founded in June 2001, has called for self-government for the region since 2011. The MAK was renamed as "Mouvement pour l'Autodétermination de la Kabylie" seeking independence from Algeria . [14]

Geography

Landscape near Azazga Iazzuggen.JPG
Landscape near Azazga

Main features:

Three large chains of mountains occupy most of the area:

Ecology

There are a number of flora and fauna associated with this region. Notable is a population of the endangered primate, Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus, whose prehistoric range encompassed a much wider span than the present limited populations in Algeria, Morocco and Gibraltar. [15]

Population

Kabyles, c. 1900 Kabylere.jpg
Kabyles, c. 1900

The area is populated by Kabyles, a Berber ethnic group. They speak the Kabyle variety of Berber. Since the Berber Spring in 1980, Kabyles have been at the forefront of the fight for recognition of the Berber language as an official one in Algeria (see Languages of Algeria).

Economy

The traditional economy of the area is based on arboriculture (orchards, olive trees) and on the craft industry (tapestry or pottery). The mountain and hill farming is gradually giving way to local industry (textile and agro-alimentary).

Today Kabylia is one of the most industrialised parts of Algeria. [16] Kabylia produces less than 15% of Algerian GDP (excluding oil and gas). [17] Industries include: pharmaceutical industry in Bgayet Bejaia, agro-alimentary in Ifri and Akbou, mechanical industry in Tizi Ouzou and other small towns of western Kabylia, and petrochemical industry and oil refining in Bgayet Bejaia. [17]

Bgayet (Bejaia)'s port is the second biggest in Algeria after Algiers, and the 6th largest on the Mediterranean Sea.

See also

Related Research Articles

Articles related to Algeria include:

Provinces of Algeria type of administrative entity

Algeria since December 18, 2019, is divided into 58 wilayas (provinces). Prior to December 18, 2019, there were 48 provinces. The 58 provinces are divided into 1541 baladiyahs. The capital city of a baladiyah, daïra, or province, always gives those entities their name, even Algiers, the capital of the country gave it its name.

Kabyle language Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people

Kabyle, or Kabylian, is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people in the north and northeast of Algeria. It is spoken primarily in Kabylie, east of the capital Algiers and in Algiers itself, but also by various groups near Blida, such as the Beni Salah and Beni Bou Yaqob.(extinct?)

Languages of Algeria Languages of a geographic region

The official languages of Algeria are Arabic and Tamazight (Berber), as specified in its constitution since 1963 for the former and since 2016 for the latter. Berber has been recognized as a "national language" by constitutional amendment since 8 May 2002. In February, 2016, a constitutional resolution was passed making Berber an official language alongside Arabic. Algerian Arabic and Berber are the native languages of over 99% of Algerians, with Algerian Arabic spoken by about 72% and Berber by 27.4%. French, though it has no official status, is widely used in government, culture, media (newspapers) and education, due to Algeria's colonial history. Kabyle, the most spoken Berber language in the country, is taught and partially co-official in parts of Kabylie.

Bejaia Province Province of Algeria

The Bejaia province, stylized Béjaïa in French, is a province of Algeria in the Kabylie region. The province's capital city is Béjaïa.

Berberism Berber political-cultural movement of North Africa

Berberism or Amazighism is a Berber political-cultural movement of ethnic, geographic, or cultural nationalism, started mainly in Kabylia, Algeria and in Morocco, later spreading to the rest of the Berber communities in the Maghreb region of North Africa. A Berber group, the Tuaregs, have been in rebellion against Mali since 2012, and established a temporarily de facto independent state called Azawad, which identified itself as Berber.

Abane Ramdane Algerian politician

Abane Ramdane was an Algerian political activist and revolutionary born in Kabylie. He played a key role in the organization of the independence struggle during the Algerian war. His influence was so great that he was known as "the architect of the revolution". He was also the architect of the Soummam conference Bejaia in 1956 and was very close to Frantz Fanon.

Krim Belkacem Algerian revolutionary fighter and politician

Krim Belkacem was an Algerian revolutionary fighter and politician.

Ferhat Mehenni Algerian Berber politician

Ferhat Mehenni, also known as Ferhat Imazighen Imula, is a Kabyle artist, a political activist and the founder and first President of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie. Since 1 June 2010 he has been the President of the Provisional Government of Kabylia, a government in exile that the movement set up in France. He has been a Laureate of the Gusi Peace Prize since 23 July 2013.

The Berber Spring was a period of political protest and civil activism in 1980 claiming recognition of the Berber identity and language in Algeria with events mainly taking place in Kabylie and Algiers.

Kabyle people Ethnic group

The Kabyle people are a Berber people indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, one hundred miles east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking population of Algeria and the second largest in North Africa.

JS Kabylie association football club

Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie, known as JS Kabylie or JSK, is an Algerian football club based in Tizi Ouzou. The club are named after the cultural, natural and historical region that is home to the Berber-speaking Kabyle. The club was founded in 1946 and its colours are green and yellow. Their home stadium, Stade du 1er Novembre 1954, has a capacity of 21,240 spectators. The club is currently playing in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1.

Mouloud Mammeri Amazigh linguist, writer

Mouloud Mammeri was an Algerian writer, anthropologist and linguist.

Bouzeguene Commune and town in Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria

Bouzeguene is a Kabyle town in Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria, approximately 170 km from Algiers.

Aokas City in Béjaïa, Algeria

Aokas is a coastal city and district in the Béjaïa Province in northern Algeria and is located at about 25 kilometres from the province's capital city of Bgayet. The commune of Aokas was created by decree of October 2, 1869. It covered an area of 2,202 hectares and had a population of 2,245 inhabitants in 1931. Its name in berber means shark. Its average altitude is 300 meters.

El Kseur Place in Béjaïa, Algeria

El Kseur is a town in northern Algeria.

Bounouh Commune and town in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria

Bou-Nouh is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria.

Tadmaït Commune and town in Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria

Tadmaït is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria, located 18 kilometers west of Tizi Ouzou and 85 kilometers est of Algiers.

Kingdom of Ait Abbas former state in present-day Algeria

The Kingdom of the Ait Abbas or Sultanate of the Beni Abbas, was a Berber state of North Africa, then a fief and a principality, controlling Lesser Kabylie and its surroundings from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. It is referred to in the Spanish historiography as "reino de Labes"; sometimes more commonly referred to by its ruling family, the Mokrani, in Berber At Muqran. Its capital was the Kalâa of Ait Abbas, an impregnable citadel in the Biban mountain range.

Mohamed Seghir Boushaki, was an Algerian Berber politician after the French conquest of Algeria.

References

  1. ↑ "Kabylia - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". Oxfordislamicstudies.com. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Stora, Benjamin (5 July 2004). "Veillée d'armes en Kabylie". Le Monde.fr (in French). ISSN   1950-6244 . Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Harbi, Mohammed; Stora, Benjamin (2005). La Guerre d'Algérie. Hachette. p. 324. ISBN   978-2-012-79279-1.
  4. ↑ Le Saout, Didier; Rollinde, Marguerite (1999). Émeutes et Mouvements sociaux au Maghreb. Karthala. p. 46. ISBN   978-2-865-37998-9.
  5. ↑ Mourre, Michel (ed.), 'Kabyles', Dictionnaire encyclopédique d'Histoire, Paris, Bordas, Vol. 3, (1996 [1978]), p. 3082.
  6. ↑ Jacques Leclerc, "Algérie: Données historiques et conséquences linguistiques" sur L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, Université Laval, 14 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Temlali, Yassin (1 May 2006). "Petite histoire de la question berbère en Algérie". Babel Med (in French). Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Chaker, Salem (2001). "Berber Challenge in Algeria: The State of the Question". Race, Gender & Class. 8 (3): 135–156. JSTOR   41674987.
  9. ↑ Jacques Leclerc, "Algérie: Loi no 91-05 du 16 janvier 1991 portant généralisation de l'utilisation de la langue arabe" sur L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, Université Laval
  10. ↑ Jacques Leclerc, "Algérie: Les droits linguistiques des berbérophones", in L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, Université Laval, 20 April 2010
  11. ↑ "Report No. 15" (PDF). Algeria: Unrest and Impasse in Kabylia. International Crisis Group. 10 June 2003. p. 9. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  12. ↑ Addi, Lahouari (2012). Algérie: Chroniques d'une expérience postcoloniale de modernisation. http://www.algeria-watch.org/farticle/analyse/addi_plateforme_elkseur.htm: Barzakh. ISBN   978-9-947-85199-9.
  13. ↑ "ALGERIA: Tamazight Recognised". Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series. 53 (1): 20850B–20850C. 1 February 2016. doi:10.1111/j.1467-825X.2016.06822.x. ISSN   1467-825X.
  14. ↑ Zirem, Youcef (2013). Histoire de Kabylie: Le point de vue kabyle. Yoran Embanner. p. 179. ISBN   978-2-914-85598-3.
  15. ↑ "Barbary Macaque (Macaca sylvanus) - iGoTerra.com". Globaltwitcher.auderis.se. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Tmurt Iqvayliyen ass-agi", Maxime Ait Kaki
  17. 1 2 "Tadamsa taqbaylit", Saεid Duman
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