Kabylie
This article focuses on the region in Algeria. For the ethnic group, see Kabyle people. For their language, see Kabyle language. Kabylie or
Kabylia is a mountainous area in the north of
Algeria. Its name comes from Arabic "Al Qabayel" ("tribes"), but its inhabitants call it "Tamurt Idurar" (Land of Mountains) or "Tamurt Leqvayel" (Land of Kabyles). It is part of the
Atlas Mountains and is located at the edge of the
Mediterranean Sea. Kabylia covers several districts (
wilayas) of Algeria: the whole of
Tizi Ouzou and
Bejaia (Bgayet), most of
Bouira (Tubiret) and
Bordj Bou Arreridj, and parts of the wilayas of
M'Sila (Tamsilt),
Jijel,
Boumerdes, and
Setif.
Middle Ages
The
Fatimid dynasty of the
10th century originated in Petite Kabylie, where an
Ismaili da'i found a receptive audience for his millennialist preaching, and ultimately led the
Kutama tribe to conquer first
Ifriqiya and then
Egypt. After taking over Egypt, the Fatimids themselves lost interest in the
Maghreb, which they left to their Berber deputies, the
Zirids. The Zirid family soon split, with the
Hammadid branch taking over Kabylie as well as much of Algeria, and the Zirids taking modern Tunisia. They had a lasting effect on not only Kabylie's but Algeria's development, refounding towns such as
Bejaia (their capital after the abandonment of
Qalaat Beni Hammad) and
Algiers itself.
After the Hammadids' collapse, the coast of Kabylie changed hands regularly, while much of the interior was often effectively unruled. Under the
Ottoman Turks, most of Kabylie was inaccessible to the deys, who had to content themselves with occasional incursions and military settlements in some valleys. In the early part of the Ottoman period, the Belkadi family ruled much of Grande Kabylie from their capital of
Koukou, now a small village near Tizi-Ouzou; however, their power declined in the
17th century.
Modern age
The French colonization
The area was gradually taken over by the French from 1857, despite vigorous local resistance by the local population led by leaders such as Lalla
Fatma n Soumer, continuing as late as
Cheikh Mokrani's rebellion in 1871. Much land was confiscated in this period from the more recalcitrant tribes and given to French
pied-noirs. Many arrests and deportations were carried out by the French, mainly to
New Caledonia. Colonization also resulted in an acceleration of the emigration into other areas of the country and outside of it.Algerian immigrant workers in France organized the first party promoting independence in the 1920's.
Messali Hadj,
Imache Amar,
Si Djilani, and
Belkacem Radjef rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930's and actively developed militants that became vital to the future of both a fighting and an independent Algeria. During the war of independence(1954-1962), Kabylie was one of the areas that was most affected, because of the importance of the maquis (aided by the mountainous terrain) and French repression. The
FLN recruited several of its historical leaders there, including
Hocine Aït Ahmed,
Abane Ramdane, and
Krim Belkacem.
After the independence of Algeria
Tensions have arisen between Kabylia and the central government on several occasions, initially in 1963, when the
FFS party of
Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the authority of the single party (FLN). In 1980, several months of demonstrations demanding the officialization of the Berber language took place in Kabylie, called the
Berber Spring. The politics of identity intensified as the Arabization movement in Algeria gained steam in the 1990s. In 1994â€"1995, a school boycott occurred, termed the "strike of the school bag". In June and July of 1998, the area blazed up again after the assassination of singer
Matoub Lounes and at the time that a law generalizing the use of the
Arabic language in all fields went into effect. In the months following April, 2001 (called the
Black Spring), major riots â€" together with the emergence of the
Arouch, neo-traditional local councils â€" followed the killing of a young Kabyle (
Masinissa Guermah) by gendarmes, and gradually died down only after forcing some concessions from the President,
Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
One distinguishes:
* The Great Kabylia, which goes from
Thenia (west) to
Bejaia (east), and from the Mediterranean Sea (north) to the valley of
Soummam (south), that is to say, 200 km by 100 km, beginning 50 km from
Algiers, the capital of
Algeria.
* Kabylia of Bibans and Kabylia of Babors, which form the Little Kabylia.
Three large chains of mountains occupy most of the area:
* In the north, the mountain range of maritime Kabylia, culminating with
Aït Jennad (1278 m)
* In the south, the
Djurdjura, dominating the valley of Soummam, culminating with
Lalla-Khadîdja (2308 m)
* Between the two lies the mountain range of
Agawa, which is the most populous and is 800 m high on average. The largest town of Great Kabylia,
Tizi Ouzou, lies in that mountain range.
Larbaa Nat Iraten (formerly "Fort-National"), which numbered 28,000 inhabitants in
2001, is the highest urban centre of the area.
The area is populated by the
Kabyles, the second
Berber group per order of importance after the
Chleuhs in
Morocco.Their name means "tribe" (from the Arabic "qabîlah" قبيلة). They speak the
Kabyle variety of
Berber. Since the
Berber Spring in
1980, Kabyles have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of the
Berber language in Algeria (see
Languages of Algeria).
Genetics
*The
Y chromosome is passed exclusively through the paternal line. The composition is: 48% E3b2, 12% E3b* (xE3b2), 17% R1*(xR1a) and 23% F*(xH,I,J2,K) (
(Arredi et al., 2004) [
1]), according to the method used by
Bosch et al. 2001. We may summarize the historical origins of the Kabyle Y-chromosome pool as follows: 60% Northwest African Upper Paleolithic (H36/E3b* and H38/E3b2), 23% Neolithic (F*(xH,I,J2,K)) and 17% historic European gene flow (R1*(xR1a)). The
Y chromosome is passed exclusively through the paternal line. Bosch et al theorized that the Northwest African Upper Paleolithic component results from "an Upper Paleolithic colonization that probably had its origin in
Eastern Africa."
*The
mtDNA, by contrast, is inherited only from the mother and is: 30.65% H, 29.03% U* (with 17.74% U6), 3.23% preHV, 4.84% preV, 4.84% V, 3.23% T*, 4.84% J*, 3.23% L1, 4.84% L3e, 3.23% X, 3.23% M1, 1.61% N and R 3.23%. Thus the mtDNA makeup of Kabyles is: 66.12% general Western Eurasian (H, J, U, T, K, X, V and I), 22.58% specific Northwest African (U6, L3E), 8.07% Asian (M1, N, R) and 3.23% sub-Saharan gene flow (L1-L3a).
Religion
*There are no real statistics on the religious beliefs of Kabyles; they have been
Muslim in belief while predominently secularist politically (they vote at 80% for secularist political parties: the FFS and the
RCD).
*Christians are few in number, and nonreligious people outnumber them.
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).
* Two political parties dominate in Kabylie and have their principal support base there: the
FFS, led by
Hocine Aït Ahmed, and the
RCD, led by
Saïd Sadi. Both parties are
secularist,
Berberist and "
Algerianist".
*The Arouch emerged during the
Black Spring of 2001 as a revival of a traditional Kabyle form of democratic organization, the village assembly. The Arouch share roughly the same political views as the FFS and the RCD.
* The MAK (Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie) also emerged during the
Black Spring, and is a political association that militates for the autonomy of Kabylie.
Artists
*
Isabelle Adjani, actress, Kabyle father,
German mother
*
Rabah Asma, singer
*
Sliman Azem, singer
*
Djur Djura, female singers group
*
Mohya, Kabyle folk poet, and actor
*
Lounis Ait Menguellet, singer
*
Idir, singer
*
Lounes Matoub,
Berberist and secularist singer assassinated in 1998
*
Si Mohand, Kabyle folk poet
*
Édith Piaf, singer, Kabyle maternal grandmother
*
Daniel Prévost, actor, Kabyle father
*
Salah Sadaoui, singer
*
Takfarinas, singer
*
Sinik, rapper
Figures of the Algerian resistance and revolution
*
Colonel Amirouche, Algerian revolutionary fighter, killed by French troops in 1959.
*
Krim Belkacem, Algerian revolutionary fighter, assassinated in 1970.
*
Belkacem Radjef, Algerian nationalist and revolutionary (1909-1989).
*
Abane Ramdane, Algerian revolutionary fighter, assassinated in 1957.
*
Lalla Fatma N'Soumer, woman who led western Kabylie in battle against French colonizers.
Politicians
*
Belaïd Abrika, one of the spokesmen of the
Arouch.
*
Hocine Aït Ahmed, Algerian revolutionary fighter and secularist politician.
*
Nordine Ait Hamouda, secularist politician and son of
Colonel Amirouche.
*
Ferhat Mehenni, politician and singer who militates for the autonomy of Kabylie.
*
Ahmed Ouyahia,
Prime Minister of Algeria*
Saïd Sadi, secularist politician.
*
Sidi Said, leader of the Algerian union of workers:
UGTA.
*
Khalida Toumi, Algerian feminist and secularist, currently a Minister in the Algerian government.
Sportsmen
*
Tarek Benhabiles, professional
tennis player.
*
Omar Kouidri,
boxer.
*
Mohammed Zaaf,
cyclist in Tour de France.
*
Zinedine Zidane (
1972â€" ),
French football star.
*
Rabah Madjer ,soccer player
Religious Leaders
*
Pope Gelasius I, Pope (492 - 496)
Writers
*
Tahar Djaout, writer and journalist assassinated by the
GIA in 1993.
*
Mouloud Feraoun, writer assassinated by the
OAS.
*
Fadhma Amrouche, Christian writer and poet.
*
Ath hemdoun un village de Kabylie ,forum tchat webtelé,webradio..*
Pictures of Kabyles.
*
Kabyle.com (French)
*
imyura.com (kabyle language)
*
Kabyles du Pacifique an article on the French-language Wikipedia*
Kabylpedia Project*
Ath Hamdoune Pictures of villages Kabyles
