Kabylie
Encyclopedia
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
It is part of the Tell Atlas
Tell Atlas
The Tell Atlas is a mountain chain over 1,500 kilometers in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching from Morocco, through Algeria to Tunisia. It parallels the Mediterranean coast...
and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Kabylia covers several provinces of Algeria: the whole of Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou is a city in Kabylia, Algeria, where it ranks second in population after Béjaïa. It is the capital and largest city of Tizi Ouzou Province and of Great Kabylia .-Etymology:The name comes from the Kabylian Berber Tizi n Uzezzu and is pronounced Tizuzzu, commonly...
and Bejaia
Béjaïa
Béjaïa, Vgaiet or Bejaya is a Mediterranean port city on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Under French rule, it was formerly known under various European names, such as Budschaja in German, Bugia in Italian, and Bougie...
(Vgayet), most of Bouira
Bouira
Bouïra is the capital of Bouïra Province, Algeria.-Demographics:It has 75,086 inhabitants as of the 1998 census, which gives it 15 seats in the PMA.-Geography:...
(Tubirett) and parts of the wilayas of Bordj Bou Arreridj
Bordj Bou Arreridj
Bordj Bou Arréridj population 140,000 , is the capital city of Bordj Bou Arréridj Province, Algeria. It is situated 148 miles by road east of Algiers, near the Hodnar Massif in the southern Kabylia Mountains, at an elevation of 916 metres....
, Jijel
Jijel
Jijel is the capital of Jijel Province in northeastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche Jijelienne, and has an estimated population of 148,000 inhabitants .Jijel is the administrative and trade centre for a region specializing in cork processing, leather...
, Boumerdes
Boumerdès
Boumerdès is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 28,500 in 1998 and 15,000 in 1987....
, and Setif
Sétif
Sétif |Colonia]]) is a town in northeastern Algeria. It is the capital of Sétif Province and it has a population of 239,195 inhabitants as of the 1998 census. Setif is located to the east of Algiers and is the second most important Wilaya after the country's capital. It is 1,096 meters above sea...
. Gouraya National Park
Gouraya National Park
The national park of Gouraya ' is one of the coastal national parks of Algeria. It is located in Béjaïa Province, near the town of Sidi Touati.The park is located 30 kilometers north-east of Jijel...
and Djurdjura National Park
Djurdjura National Park
The national park of Djurdjura ' is one of the national parks of Algeria. It is located in Kabylia, named after the Djurdjura mountain chain. Nearby cities include Tizi Ouzou and Bouïra...
are also located in Kabylie.
It is important not to confuse "Kabylia" and the global "Kabyle people" elsewhere: around 25% of Kabyle people live in the Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
capital region. This article concerns only the territorial "Kabylie" region, and does not include Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
's Kabyle population and society.
Antiquity
Algeria was known as NumidiaNumidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
(202 BC – 46 BC).
Middle Ages
The Kabyle country remained as unconquerable as it was inaccessible to the Ottoman deys who had to content themselves with a few disturbed coastal military settlements and some valleys where the rule of the islamic ottoman empire was imposed. The mountainous core land however remained independent and the islamic faith found its way through peaceful means only, namely the MaraboutMarabout
A marabout is a Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, and in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids , or leaders of religious communities...
movement, which many argue is the reason of the Kabyls' indifference towards Islam. The Ottoman threat disappeared with the arrival of the European and American Navies to put an end to the Islamic piracy from bases on the coast of North Africa.
Modern age
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Lalla Fatma N'Soumer
[Lalla Fadhma n'Soumer, in Kabyle Lla Faḍma n Sumer was an important figure of the Kabyle resistance movement during the first years of the French colonial conquest of Algiers. The impact of her involvement was such that she has been seen as the embodiment of the struggle...
, 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
Pied-noir
Pied-Noir , plural Pieds-Noirs, pronounced , is a term referring to French citizens of various origins who lived in French Algeria before independence....
. Many arrests and deportations were carried out by the French, mainly to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. 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
Messali Hadj
Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from France...
, Imache Amar, Si Djilani, and Belkacem Radjef
Belkacem Radjef
Belkacem Radjef was born in Fort-National , Algeria and spent 32 years of his life in the fight to liberate Algeria from French colonialism. He joined the first movement for independence, L'Etoile Nord Africaine, in 1930...
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.
During the War of independence (1954–1962), Kabylia was one of the areas most affected, because of the importance of the maquis (aided by the mountainous terrain) and French repression. Several historic leaders of the FLN
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
came from this region, including Hocine Aït Ahmed
Hocine Aït Ahmed
Hocine Aït Ahmed is an Algerian politician....
, Abane Ramdane
Abane Ramdane
Abane Ramdane was an Algerian revolutionarist born in Kabylie. He was the architect of the Congress of Soummam in 1956....
, and Krim Belkacem
Krim Belkacem
Krim Belkacem was an Algerian revolutionary fighter and politician....
.
After independence
Tensions developed between Kabyle leaders and the central government on several occasions, initially in 1963, when the Socialist Forces FrontSocialist Forces Front
The Socialist Forces Front , , is a social democratic and secularist, political party in Algeria. It was formed in 1963 by Hocine Ait Ahmed...
party of Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the use of the name of a popular resistance movement as a political party, by Nasserian agents, of lower grade within the FLN, incapable of organizing their respective regions to provide delegates for the establishment of the 1st Legitimate Algerian Constitution. Organized as a temporary Government a Junta with allegiance, and military support from Nasser and other Pan-Arabists succeeded in preventing such a convention and a legitimate Constitution voted by a legitimate parliament. A year armed confrontation resulted, in which most FLN leaders from Kabylia and the eastern provinces were either executed or pushed to exile. In 1980, several months of demonstrations demanding the officialization of the Tamazight/Berber language, known as the Berber Spring
Berber Spring
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 Kabylia and Algiers...
, took place in Kabylie and Algiers, resulting in an extra-judiciary imprisonment of thousands of Kabyl intellectuals. The Government security forces sieged and violently prevented a conference on the old Kabyl poetry by the faculty and students of the main city of Kabylia, Tizi-Wezzu.
Lounès Matoub
Lounès Matoub was a famous Berber Kabyle singer and mondol player who was a prominent advocate of the Berber cause and secularism in Algeria throughout his life.He is revered as a hero and martyr in Kabylie and the Berber World but reviled by most of the Arab...
and at the time that a law generalizing the use of the Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
in all fields of education went into effect worsening tensions. In the months following April 2001 (called the Black Spring
Black Spring (Kabylie)
The Black Spring was a series of violent disturbances and political demonstrations by Kabylian Berber activists in the Kabylia region of Algeria in 2001, which were met by repressive police measures and became a potent symbol of Kabylian discontent with the national government...
), major riots — together with the emergence of the Arouch
Berber Arouch Citizen's Movement
The Arouch Movement or Berber Arouch Citizen's Movement is an organization in Algeria representing the Kabyle people, an ethnic Berbers group of the province of Kabylia. Their name, Arouch, is the plural form of the word Arch, referring to a traditional Kabyle form of democratic political assembly...
, ancestral local councils confederation as the only Authority in the region — followed the killing of a young Kabyle (Masinissa Guermah
Masinissa Guermah
Massinissa Guermah was a 19-year-old Kabyle high school student arrested by Algerian gendarmes on 18 April 2001...
) by gendarmes, and gradually transformed into the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia MAK calling for self-government.
Since 23 March 2007, the Military of Algeria
Military of Algeria
The People’s National Army is the armed forces of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. Algeria has a large and reasonably well-equipped military to counter foreign and domestic threats...
has conducted extensive searches in the Kabylie region in search of members of the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb
The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat is a radical Islamist militia which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it is currently engaged in an insurgent campaign.The group...
(QOIM). Two major roads, between Béjaïa
Béjaïa
Béjaïa, Vgaiet or Bejaya is a Mediterranean port city on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Under French rule, it was formerly known under various European names, such as Budschaja in German, Bugia in Italian, and Bougie...
and Amizour
Amizour
Amizour is a town in northern Algeria....
and between El-Kseur
El-Kseur
- History :In Roman times, El Kseur was known as Tubusuptu. It was a Roman colony founded by Augustus for military veterans. Economically, the colony was known for its olive oil. Today, Roman ruins include baths, which are well preserved....
and Bouïra
Bouira
Bouïra is the capital of Bouïra Province, Algeria.-Demographics:It has 75,086 inhabitants as of the 1998 census, which gives it 15 seats in the PMA.-Geography:...
, have been partially closed. The bombings in Algiers on 11 April 2007 rendered this search all the more urgent, as the QOIM has recently become the Maghrebin arm of the al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
Network.
Geography
- The Great Kabylia, which runs from ThéniaThéniaThénia , with around 40,000 inhabitants, is the chief town in the daïra of the same name, in the wilaya of Boumerdès, in Kabylie in northern Algeria...
(west) to Bgayet (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 AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, the capital of AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. - Kabylia of Bibans and Kabylia of BaborBabor DistrictBabor District is a district of Sétif Province, Algeria....
s, 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 Tifrit n'Ait El Hadj (Tamgout 1278 m)
- In the south, the DjurdjuraDjurdjuraDjurdjura is a mountain range situated in Kabylia within the Djurdjura National Park. Famous mediaeval explorer Ibn Batuta went to Béjaïa through this mountain range. Actually he was heading towards Tunis with a caravan on his jorney for Hajj...
, dominating the valley of Soummam, culminating with Lalla-Khedidja (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 OuzouTizi OuzouTizi Ouzou is a city in Kabylia, Algeria, where it ranks second in population after Béjaïa. It is the capital and largest city of Tizi Ouzou Province and of Great Kabylia .-Etymology:The name comes from the Kabylian Berber Tizi n Uzezzu and is pronounced Tizuzzu, commonly...
, lies in that mountain range. At Iraten (formerly "Fort-National" in French occupation), which numbered 28,000 inhabitants in 2001, is the highest urban centre of the area.
Ecology
There are a number of flora and fauna associated with this region. Notable is a population of the endangered primatePrimate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
, Barbary Macaque
Barbary Macaque
The Barbary Macaque , or Common macaque, is a macaque with no tail. Found in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco with a small population, of unknown origin, in Gibraltar, the Barbary Macaque is one of the best-known Old World monkey species. Besides humans, they are the only primates that...
, Macaca sylvanus, whose prehistoric range encompassed a much wider span than the present limited populations in Algeria, Morocco and Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
.
Population
The area is populated by the Kabyles, a Berber ethnic group , the second most populous Berber peopleBerber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
after the Chleuhs in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
They speak the Kabyle
Kabyle language
Kabyle or Kabylian is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people north and northeast of Algeria. Estimates about the number of speakers range from 5 million to about 7 million speakers worldwide, the majority in Algeria.-Classification:The classification of Kabyle is Afro-Asiatic, Berber and...
variety of Berber
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
. Since the Berber Spring
Berber Spring
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 Kabylia and Algiers...
in 1980, Kabyles have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of the Berber language
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
(see Languages of Algeria
Languages of Algeria
The official language of Algeria is Arabic, as specified in its constitution since 1963. In addition to this, Berber has been recognized as a "national language" by constitutional amendment since May 8, 2002. Between them, these two languages are the native languages of over 99% of Algerians,...
) and secularism (laïcité) in Algeria .
Economy
The traditional economy of the area is based on arboriculture (orchards, olive treeOlive Tree
The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
s) and on the craft industry (tapestry
Tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
or pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
). The mountain and hill farming is gradually giving way to local industry (textile and agro-alimentary).
Today Kabylie is one of the most industrialised parts of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. Kabylia product less than 15% of Algerian GDP (excluding oil and gas). Industries include: pharmaceutical industry in Bejaia
Béjaïa
Béjaïa, Vgaiet or Bejaya is a Mediterranean port city on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Under French rule, it was formerly known under various European names, such as Budschaja in German, Bugia in Italian, and Bougie...
, agro-alimentary in Ifri
IFRI
IFRI may refer to:* International Forestry Resources and Institutions* Institut Français de Recherche en Iran* Institut français des relations internationales...
and Akbou
Akbou
Akbou,Aqvu is a town in northern Algeria in Béjaïa Province. It is a growing city with a population of 52,300 in 2008. This is a number approximately 20,000 more than what was recorded in 1998.-History:...
, mechanical industry in Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou is a city in Kabylia, Algeria, where it ranks second in population after Béjaïa. It is the capital and largest city of Tizi Ouzou Province and of Great Kabylia .-Etymology:The name comes from the Kabylian Berber Tizi n Uzezzu and is pronounced Tizuzzu, commonly...
and other little towns of western Kabylia, and petrochemical industry and oil refining in Bejaia
Béjaïa
Béjaïa, Vgaiet or Bejaya is a Mediterranean port city on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Under French rule, it was formerly known under various European names, such as Budschaja in German, Bugia in Italian, and Bougie...
.
Bejaia
Béjaïa
Béjaïa, Vgaiet or Bejaya is a Mediterranean port city on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Under French rule, it was formerly known under various European names, such as Budschaja in German, Bugia in Italian, and Bougie...
's port is the second biggest in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
after Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, and the 6th largest of the Mediterranean Sea.
Politics
- Two political "algerianist" parties have their principal support base in Kabylia: the FFSSocialist Forces FrontThe Socialist Forces Front , , is a social democratic and secularist, political party in Algeria. It was formed in 1963 by Hocine Ait Ahmed...
, led by Hocine Aït AhmedHocine Aït AhmedHocine Aït Ahmed is an Algerian politician....
, and the RCDRally for Culture and DemocracyThe Rally for Culture and Democracy is a political party in Algeria. It promotes secularism and has its principal power base in Kabylia, a major Berber-speaking region...
, led by Saïd SadiSaïd SadiSaïd Sadi is an Algerian politician and President of the Rally for Culture and Democracy ....
. Both parties are secularist, Berberist and "AlgerianistAlgerianistThe term algerianism has had two meanings in history, one during the French colonial era, and another one after the independence of Algeria.-French period:...
". - The Aarchs (Kabyle confederations) emerged during the Black SpringBlack Spring (Kabylie)The Black Spring was a series of violent disturbances and political demonstrations by Kabylian Berber activists in the Kabylia region of Algeria in 2001, which were met by repressive police measures and became a potent symbol of Kabylian discontent with the national government...
of 2001 as a revival of the Kabyle pre-colonial political system. Although the system is indigenous in its form, the Aarchs' political action was meant for all Algerians. - The MAK (Movement for the autonomy of KabylieMovement for the autonomy of KabylieThe Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie is a Kabyle political organization which demands self-government status for the region of Kabylie in Algeria...
) also emerged during the Black Spring, and is the predominant political movement that militates for self government in Kabylia. - On 21 April 2010, Ferhat Mehenni, the then president of the (Movement for the autonomy of KabylieMovement for the autonomy of KabylieThe Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie is a Kabyle political organization which demands self-government status for the region of Kabylie in Algeria...
) proclaimed in Paris a Provisional Government of Kabylia in exile (ANAVAD) which was established officially on 1 June 2010 at the Palais des Congrès. He was elected President by the National Council of the MAK and he named nine Ministers.
Since the Black Spring, Kabyle politics can be divided into two sides: the "kabyle movement", or kabyle nationalists, which fight for a large autonomy statut, or independence of Kabylie, and "algerianists", who are kabyle political supporters of remaining with the rest of Algeria.
These last years, the Movement for the autonomy of Kabylie
Movement for the autonomy of Kabylie
The Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie is a Kabyle political organization which demands self-government status for the region of Kabylie in Algeria...
, is considered as the most important political movement in Kabylia