File - Amazigh Cultural Association in America

Transcription

Spring-Summer 2008
Volume 16, Issue 2
Taγect Tamaziγt
The Amazigh Voice
www.tamazgha.org
Tasγunt n Tiddukla Tadelsant
Tamaziγt deg Marikan
A Magazine Published by the Amazigh Cultural Association in America
3959 Welsh Road, #320, Wilgrove, PA 19090, USA– Phone/Fax (1) 215-886-5063
Inside this issue
Isallen
2
The Ahellil of Gourara
By Mouloud Mammeri
3
Imazighen: Their Contribution to the Development of the Mediterranean Cultures
By Mohamed Chafik
9
The History of the
Armed Resistance in
the Atlas Mountains
Told by Poetry
By Ali Khadaoui
15
Ṭṭrad n Y ugurten
21
Tasuqilt per Teqbaylit
Spur Karim Achab
Tidak n Nna Fa
(Asusen/ Promotion)
28
Editorial
by
Arezki Boudif
As usual, while working on a new issue
of Amazigh Voice, I try to keep an eye on
the debated topics on Amazigh-net list.
And, a couple of months ago, one of the
members posted a contribution to the ongoing debate on the current situation of
Tamazight and Amazigh communities
claiming that: “Our intellectuals have
done their job. They have created organizations. The problem is that the rest of
the society does not follow suit.”
I wish this statement were true!
I believe, it is legitimate to show our intellectuals and activists some disapproval,
anger or disappointment when they fail to
exert the expected leadership, when they
fail to achieve the necessary consensus
that would boost the moral of our communities in their struggle for their culture
and language, when they give up their
previous commitment for… some material advantages. But let’s not lose hope
and acknowledge the contribution of our
scholars in their respective domains. Indeed, there is a noticeable trend among
Amazigh intellectuals expressing the desire to write their own history, ours! to
tell their own mythology, to celebrate
their own heroes and to introduce the
modern tools of technology to our language.
Therefore, to those who chose to continue our struggle, I have this to say: let
us do it in our language whenever it is
possible, let us do it together so that
younger generations can benefit from
your knowledge, let us be as authentic as
possible so that Humanity will discover
our culture with its true meaning.
.
In this issue, Mohammed Chafiq has been
kind enough to let us reproduce his address to a European conference on Mediterranean cultures and in which he eloquently summarized the Amazigh contribution to the cultures of the Mediterranean Basin. Ali Khadaoui, a Moroccan
poet and scholar, took us back to the
times when Imazighen of Morocco were
trying to preserve their freedom against
the European colonialists. Persuasively,
he advocates the use of the oral literature,
poetry, as a possible documentary source
to history of Tamazgha. You will also
find the third part of the translation into
Tamazight of “ Jugurthine war ”or “Trad
n Yugurten” written by Salluste and
translated to Tamazight (Taqbaylit) by
Karim Achab. The art of ahellil has fascinated
late Mouloud Mammeri.
Amazigh Voice is honored to reproduce
in this issue one of his numerous contributions to this subject.
P ag e 2
T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e
Isallen
The Amazigh Voice
The Amazigh Voice (ISSN
1526-5730) is a quarterly publication of the Amazigh Cultural
Association in America Inc.
(ACAA).
All Rights Reserved ©2008
ACAA is an international nonprofit, cultural, and scientific organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of the Amazigh
(Berber) culture in the USA and
abroad.
Chief Editor
Arezki Boudif
Editors
Akli Gana
Hsen Medkour
Karim Achab
Design
Hsen Larbi
Distribution
R abah Seffal
Layout and Production
Hsen Medkour
The Amazigh Voice welcomes
articles, columns, reviews, editorial correspondence, and poems
in Tamazight or English. Contributions should be sent to:
[email protected] or
Amazigh Voice
PO Box 265
Malden, MA 02148
Phone/Fax: (781) 322-0965
Ali Dilem awarded
On October
6th 2007, Ali
Dilem was the
recipient
of
the
21th
“Grand Prix
de l’humour
vache”, which
is the highest
distinction
awarded at 26th international festival of
the press cartoon, caricature and humour
(salon international de la caricature, du
dessin de presse et d’humour) which is
organized every year at Saint-Just-leMartel, near Limoges, in France.
Among the other contestants were Plantu
and Cabu (France), Danziger (USA), Rita
Moukarzel (Lebanon) and Kichka
(Israel).
This year, more than 400
cartoonists from around the world took
part in this event which is known
worldwide.
Every year, a cartoonist is rewarded for
the most impertinent, caustic and
clocking humor depicting the odds of our
societies. In French, it is called
“l’humour vache” literally" cow humor"
announced that a street of the city will be
named after Lounes Matoub. In a letter
sent
to
the
“Coordination des
Berbères
de
France”
(The
C o o r d i n at io n
of
Berbers in France)
Delanoë expressed
his desire to pay a
special tribute to
“The Rebel” as we
are commemorating the tenth anniversary
of his assassination.
Although eight landmarks and institutions
have been already named after Matoub in
France, it is the first time that a street in the
capital city of France is named after a
contemporary Amazigh personality.
May you rest in peace, Lounes “The
Rebel”
Said Akli …an Arab poet
“Dilem is for me the cartoonist who
illustrates the best the idea of freedom of
speech. It is the hope of the drawing of
the press and the honor of the profession”
says Gérard Vandenbroucke, the mayor
of Saint-Just-le-Martel and President of
the festival. At Amazigh Voice, we are
also proud of you, Ali Dilem.
“In the modern Lebanon, the tireless
researcher, the rigorous and awakener of
poetry, is Saïd Akli. He is one of the most
brilliant and, at the same time, the most
controversial personalities of the modern
Arabic literature…. In fact, Saïd Akli
builds his work with an allusive and
elusive technique. However, he is one of
the greatest contemporary Arabic poets.
A footnote added:
“He led a controversial campaign to write
the Arabic language with Latin scripts”.
(Read in El-Watan, a daily Algerian
newspaper).
Lounès Matoub in Paris... Forever.
Tamazgha continues to spread her sons
and daughter all over the world. Let’s
think that, someday, she will touch their
hearts and gain their sympathy.
Opinions expressed in The
Amazigh Voice are not necessarily
those of ACAA representatives
and do not reflect those of
ACAA. Material may be reprinted
only with permission.
Cover picture by Frank R ussell
www.frankrussellphotography.com
Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2
The Mayor of Paris (France’s capital
city), M. Bertrand Delanoë has
P ag e 3
The Ahellil of Gourara
Excerpt from « Culture Savante, Culture Vecue, Ed.Tala, pp124-130 »
By Mouloud Mammeri
(Translated from French by Akli Gana)
In this paper, I will restrict
myself to an empirical
description of ahellil in the
absence of a formal method to
decode it. I will deliberately
not distinguish between
diachrony from synchrony,
given the difficulty to restrict
the study of this genre to one
or the other point of view.
Therefore, I will propose
some hypotheses that may
sound strange, and then leave
it up to the specialists to refute
them or support them with
more solid arguments.
Mouloud Mammeri
Ahellil, unlike other genres of
art in Tamazgha (North Africa), was ignored for a long
time. To the best of my knowledge, no literary or
anthropological study has been undertaken on this
subject with the exception of an article published in Le
journal asiatique in 1964, which documented in a
fragmentary way the ahellil, because the authors spent
only a very short time in 1957 in Gourara. Besides there
exists no document on the language of Gourara, called
tanzennatit (in French Zenete), except for some notes of
Rene Basset, which go back to the end of the nineteenth
century. The reasons of this silence are clear because
everyone knows that the ethnological literature of the
French colonial era was often more interested in the
populations, which resisted the French conquest such as
the Kabyl and Chawi regions of Algeria. However, the
inhabitants of Gourara, being severely deprived
economically, did not present a major obstacle to the
French penetration in Gourara.
The description that I give of the ahellil as well as the
presentation of the problems that I encountered during
my study are schematically divided into three areas:
1- The nature of ahellil
2 - Its origin
3 - Its function
The term ahellil itself
cannot be translated. It is
neither about music, nor
about literature, ballet or
festival; instead, it is about
all of these. It is a sort of
complete art, which is the
reason why the best way to
designate it, is to keep its
original term in Tazennatit:
ahellil. It is both about a
singing and dancing
ceremony, which is both
private and public that
takes place during religious
or family festivals.
The ahellil, at the present
time, is a nocturnal and often male ceremony (although
one may sometimes meet middle-aged women). It lasts
from about eleven p.m. to dawn. The men, upright,
shoulder to shoulder, form a flexible circle inside which
some actors move, in particular a group of three people:
the abecniw(phonetic: abeshniw), central and main
character (he is the poet who recites the verses of
ahellil), a flutist, bab n temja, and a percussionist
playing some sort of big drum, called bab n qellal. In
addition to these three characters, one finds inside the
circle a leader who choreographs the chorus various
moves: for example a movement of forward and then
backward genuflexion called arezzi.
In front of him, solo dancers move in the same direction
as the chorus, counterclockwise, but moving backward.
The following chart illustrates the positions of the
various participants in the ahellil.
This ceremony is in fact made up of a succession of
ahellils of a few minutes duration and each one has its
own title. The experts divide the night into three parts:
1- The first ahellil called lemserre; (Arabic term which
means informal and relaxed)
2 - awgrut (term in Tazennatit)
3 – tt\a (term in Tazennatit)
The first part is open to everyone; the true ahellil starts
at the phase awgrut while the phase ttra is reserved to
initiates.
An instrumentalist, flutist or player of bengri gives the
opening of ahellil. He gives some sort of signal that
allows everyone to recognize which ahellil it is. Then
the chorus responds by uttering the title of the ahellil
and its refrain. That is the time the abecniw chooses to
get on the play by singing a stanza. Then the chorus
sings again the refrain before the poet finishes his
stanza, which creates an effect of polyphony that lasts
few seconds . A sharp note from the abecniw, which
lasts a few minutes, completes this combination: it is the
signal indicating the end of the ahellil. The chorus then
repeats a short musical and literary sentence. The
abecniw makes again a sharp cry and the chorus stops
immediately. This last part that closes the ahellil is
called tandiht; it is a sort of code.
Some time later, they start a new ahellil; the initiates
know the order in which the successive parts that
compose ahellil should be executed. It seems that each
night phase matches a definite number of ahellils.
The language of this poetry is Tazennatit, but it may
also contain entire passages in Arabic, more accurately
the pseudo-classical Arabic of the zaouias1 or the
spoken Bedouin Arabic from the south of Wahran (Main
city in northwest of Algeria).
There are three broad themes in these ahellils: religion
(especially maraboutism2), love and everyday life
related issues. They are often mixed in the same ahellil:
the poet starts to speak about God, the Prophet
Mohammed and the saints then he passes without any
transition to the description of the feminine beauty etc…
It is thus some sort of a composite inspiration. The
study of these texts raises a certain number of questions
and at the same time provides arguments in favor or
against the various hypotheses.
Sometimes later, they start a new ahellil; the experts
P ag e 4
know the order in which they should be executed. It
seems that, to each part of the night, corresponds a welldefined number of ahellils.
The language of this poetry is Tazennatit, but it may
also contain entire passages in Arabic, more accurately
the pseudo-classical Arabic of the zaouias 1 or the
spoken Bedouin Arabic from the south of Wahran (Main
city in northwest of Algeria).
There are three broad themes in these ahellils: religion
(especially maraboutism2), love and everyday life. They
are often mixed in the same ahellil: the poet starts to
speak about God, the Prophet Mohammed and the saints
then he passes without any transition to the description
of the feminine beauty etc… It is thus some sort of a
composite inspiration. The study of these texts raises a
certain number of questions and at the same time
provides arguments in favor or against the various
hypotheses.
I - The nature of ahellil
1 - A genre that is both profane and sacred, both
popular and scholarly.
1-1- The sacred aspect of ahellil can be deduced from
the texts themselves and the practice of the Gouraris3 :
the circumstances of its practice are mainly religious
festivals (festivals of the numerous saints of the
Gourara); the stanzas with religious theme are present
in a very large number in ahellil. Moreover, its formal
framework is indisputably sacred, since it must start and
finish with formal religious expressions in Arabic; the
performance of the ceremony is very ritual: the division
of the night in three parts, a very refined and identical
costume for all the chorus members, the personality of
the abecniw and the initiation by which he acquires this
title.
1-2- On the other hand, certain aspects of ahellil tend to
prove its profane character: the chorfa4 and the
marabouts5, in theory, should not attend ahellil; people
who amend themselves and return to religion should not
take part in it any more, not even recite verses; the
ceremony is primarily surrounded by practices that are
not conform to the strict religious orthodoxy (for
example the consumption of kif6); moreover it was
gender-mixed not long time ago.
The profane character of ahellil can be found in a
neighboring genre called the tagerrabt. One can note
some fundamental differences between the two: the first
is practiced upright, and outside; it is a primarily male
P ag e 5
ceremony and is rather serious. In the second, people are
seated and they are in houses; it is gender-mixed, private
festival, thus it is profane. But often the rhythms and the
melodies are the same ones, whence the fundamental
unity of the two.
2 – Is the ahellil character popular or scholarly?
2-1- Popular aspect:
A number of topics refer to everyday life issues. For
instance, some stanzas provide a description of different
varieties of dates with advices on how to grow such or
such variety. Some other stanzas are proverbs etc…
2-2- Scholarly aspect:
Pierre Augier who studied the music of Gourara
concluded that ahellil is extremely intricate and unique
to Tamazgha because of its polyphony. What I noticed,
in the poetic domain, tends to corroborate this musical
conclusion. From the linguistic point of view, one can
notice that all the terms used to designate the
instruments, instrumentalists, the different phases of the
ahellil etc.., are all in Tazennatit, which constitute a
very precise terminology. For example the names of
various types of ahellil: tahuli, lahla, tezru, are
Amazigh terms, although the term baccao (phonetic:
bashao) probably comes from black Africa.
With respect to music and while considering other areas
of the Sahara, one can notice that the Touareg music and
the Moors music of Mauritania are also elaborate (the
Moors are in majority Arabic-speaking people; they
speak hasania7 but the names of their musical
instruments, their modes etc.., are of Amazigh origin). It
seems therefore that there existed in the vast southwest
of Tamazgha, a musical culture that was very rich and
widespread.
Another argument, which confirms the scholarly
character of ahellil, is the long training which the
abecniw and the instrumentalists must undergo. The
only flutist that we have met in the Gourara has spoken
to us a little about his art as well as the very long time it
took him to learn it. He and others claim that it is much
more difficult to learn to play the Tazennatit flute than
the Bedouin flute because of the complexity of the rules
to acquire.
In addition, it is quite surprising to find in these texts of
ahellil a significant number of scholarly references to
pseudo-classical genre of the zaouias like references to
theologians such as Ibnu Acir, El Baghdadi and poets of
Andalusian genre such as Hadj Emsaieb, Sidi Budjemaa
Tlemsani. What make me think that it is rather a pseudoclassical genre than a classical one are for example
certain specific paragraphs, which are a pure intellectual
play. Example: what is one (unique)? two? three? etc…
twelve? Thus, despite a difficult economic situation and
an oral tradition for its transmission, this literature used
by the masses of Gourara contains some scholarly
musical elements, wherever is its origin.
II – Origin and Probable Evolution of Ahellil
In trying to document the origin of ahellil, I could only
base my argument on the oral traditions or the texts
themselves. But it seems to me that the traditions, such
as they were reported to me by the advisors, were recreated, re-elaborated, as if they wanted to remake
history of ahellil in conformity with the requirements of
the society. According to them, the chorfas and the
marabouts would have composed all the ahellils. A
quick look to some ahellil texts is sufficient to rule out
this possibility. There are very sentimental ones that
could not have been composed by marabouts or chorfas.
Furthermore, one has to remember that the chorfas even
made it a rule for themselves not to take part in ahellils.
In addition, the consideration of the literary contents
indicates that some stanzas preceded the arrival of the
chorfas to Gourara, the chorfa phenomenon in this area
was as important as in Morocco or even more. There is
no ksar (village), as small as it can be, that does not
have at least one chorfa family and these latter ones
prosper in business, they owned almost all the land as
well as a great quantity of the water shares. In addition,
the Gouraris say that the chorfas have and preserve
corpuses of ahellil, mainly in a ksar called Charouine
located at about sixty kilometers from Timimoun
(principal town in southwest of Algeria).
Historically, it is known that the arrival of the chorfas in
Gourara is relatively recent. It is likely that it is not
earlier than the fifteenth century; the reported
genealogies according to the Islamic calendar
correspond to the beginning of the sixteenth century.
This would indicate that the texts attributed to the
chorfas and marabouts are posterior to the sixteenth
century. But in ahellil texts, there are features whose
characteristics go back to more ancient origins. As an
example, there are entire stanzas of ahellil that describe
or evoke an extremely sophisticated urban and merchant
civilization with detailed descriptions of magnificent
palaces, extraordinary jewels, multiple perfumes, each
one having a particular name etc… By making the
P ag e 6
parallel between the contents of these stanzas and the
current rather miserable situation of the area, one can
deduce that these texts go back to an era that is not that
of current Gourara or that of the immediately preceding
centuries. These texts thus report a state of civilization,
which is much more prosperous. However, it is known
that in the Middle Ages, the region of Touat-Gourara
was a very active and flourishing trade zone between the
north and the black African countries of the south. In
one direction, there was the conveying of slaves, the
transportation of gold powder etc.., and in the other
there was the transportation of either craft industry
products or European products unloaded in the harbors
of Tamazgha, which transit by caravans through the
Sahara.
genre is called ahellil. However this term is not specific
to a geographical area or language. It is found in several
languages:
1- In Tamazight:
- There exists in the south of the Sahara a genre, which
is both poetic and musical, called ahellel and more
precisely ahellel s mess inagh in the Hoggar.
- In the Moroccan Middle Atlas, there exists a poetic
genre also called ahellel, which is distinct from the
others by the length of its texts and its serious nature.
- In Kabyl (North of Algeria), the term ihellalen refers
the young people, who during the fasting month of
Ramadan, dance and sing to wake up people at the
I believe that one can go even further with regard to the
origin of ahellil. Indeed, there are other original
elements like traces of Judaism. For example, let us
examine the title "Salamo" of an ahellil. When you ask
the Gouraris about the meaning of this word, they
answer: “salamo, i.e. salam, greeting”, this explanation
does not seem highly likely if one considers only the
two first verses of the following ahellil:
“Salamo, save me
Be favourable to me … “
In addition, there are texts that evoke tamezgida, the
prayer temple that the Gouraris say it is the Kaaba8. But
the description in the verses does not correspond at all to
the Kaaba. In my opinion it would correspond more
with that of the temple of Solomon in the Bible. One
could cite numerous examples of the traces of Judaism
that are in these texts. Furthermore, if we refer to the
history of the Algerian southwest, we can find the
presence during at least a millennium of a very
prosperous Jewish community, unlike those that settled
in the north, which survived long enough in an area
whose center was Tamentit in the Touat. At the end of
the fifteenth century, in 1492 exactly, year of the fall of
Granada9, a religious reformer, Abdelkrim el Maghili,
came from the north to restore Islamic orthodoxy. He
exterminated the Jewish population of the area or
constrained it to convert to Islam. In Timimoun, there
still exists a whole quarter called mhajra (emigrants)
whose inhabitants affirm that they descend from this
Jewish population that converted to Islam. One can note
that some texts go back to an even more ancient era than
this mercantile and thriving Middle-Ages era, during
which the Jewish religion spread in a rather important
way in the oases of the Algerian south.
2 - In Arabic, tehlil is to repeat many times the Muslim
profession of faith. It may be that this root existed in
the pre-Islamic era.
3- In Hebrew, hallel is to speak the praise of. There
exist several series of psalms called hallel.
It is thus probable that the root "HLL" is both Hamitic
and Semitic and has a sacred connotation.
Lastly, one can go back even further in the past and that
is where my hypotheses become really hazardous. This
time of the shur10 .
All these coincidences brought me to formulate a set of
hypotheses about the origin of ahellil in Gourara. It
must have existed in a very distant era in the past, in this
part of the Sahara, a genre with a rather religious
connotation, which was already called ahellil. When the
Amazigh Jews arrived in this area, they added to it a
Judaic component. This genre was later taken up by the
chorfa after the disappearance of Judaism, because they
understood the importance played by the practice of
ahellil within the population. Therefore, they concluded
that it was impossible to entirely suppress it. On the
other hand, in the Touat, the ahellil disappeared at the
same time as Amazigh language.
III - The function of Ahellil
It is now legitimate to raise the question of the survival
of this genre through so many centuries despite all the
socio-political transformations of Gourara.
The first remark that one can make on this subject is the
extreme importance of ahellil in the daily life of the
Gouraris. A small pretext is sufficient to cause a
ceremony of ahellil to occur. It seems that this practice
is for them a means to bear the misery of their existence.
They practically spend the whole day laboring in their
gardens or building foggaras11. During the night, the
decor changes completely: it is the celebration of ahellil.
At night, the Gouraris are among themselves, now they
manage to isolate themselves from the external world, in
P ag e 7
The Amazigh Voice
a circle, which is both open and close. By this secure
circ1e, the Gouraris re-create their own world, which is
perhaps imaginary. Ahellil would play a therapeutic
role.
In addition, by examining the ideology carried by these
texts, we can notice that it includes class inequality;
because it privileges the aristocratic and theocratic
chorfa over the other ordinary Gouraris. There is like an
extreme contradiction between this discourse and the
condition of the oppressed ones who sing it. One can
anyway note through some verses a weak rebellious
character:
“Although you are the son of a slave, you are a
gazelle12"
"Even if one has money, one has only one love”
"Above all there is God and we all are equal in
front of death “
This established order is tolerated and accepted, because
God orders it, the Gouraris do not make any distinction
between the chorfa ideology, which is maraboutic, and
the Islamic ideology.
Ahellil thus has also a function of acceptance of the
established order by the constant re-use of this
prestigious art, leading to its re-adaptation to a
determined historical condition as exemplified by this
stanza in which the poet declares his passionate love of
ahellil in the first three verses:
“My head hurts but I don’t get my fill of ahellil
My hands hurt but I don’t get my fill of ahellil
My legs hurt but I don’t get my fill of ahellil,
The fourth verse proposes two contradictory solutions
according to the version under consideration, the
original one saying:
“The day that I will meet you Prophet, I will
still not get my fill of ahellil”.
The other, modified by the chorfa, affirms:
“The day that I will meet you Prophet, then only
then will I get my fill of ahellil”.
Abraham in Mecca.
9
Last Muslim kingdom in Spain that collapsed in 1492.
10
A breakfast that is eaten before dawn during the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan.
11
Irrigation canals.
12
In general, in the Amazigh tradition, some animals are
symbols of qualities or physical appearance. In this case, a
gazelle would symbolize beauty and freedom.
*Transcription of the notes by Nadia MECHERI-SAADA.
*in CRAPE, oral literature • Acts of the Round Table. OPU
(1982).
Note on the geography of Gourara
Gourara is a region of Algeria composed of a group of oases. It is surrounded by the Great Western Erg (from the
North), the Touat (read Tuwat) and the Saoura (read Sawra)
regions (from the West), and the plateau of Tadmaït (from the
South and East). The latter which is an immense flat and
rocky area that separates Gourara from Tidikelt (from the
South in the region of In Salah). Like the Touat ( in the region of Adrar, Algeria) and Tidikelt (in In Salah, Algeria),
this region uses the system of irrigation of foggara, a system
of recuperation of infiltrated waters.
Some towns and communities of the Gourara are: Timimoun,
Aougrout (Awgrut), Ajdir, Tinerkouk, Ouled Saïd, Charouine
(Sharwin), M'guiden.
The following map shows an approximate geographical location of the region of Gourara
Footnotes:
1
Quranic Schools.
Movement that was created by the first Amazigh people who
learned the Quran and their descendants who form a class
different from the ordinary Amazighs, this phenomenon exists
only in Tamazgha.
3
Inhabitants of Gourara
4
People who claim to be descendants of Prophet Mohammed.
5
People who belong to a family/village that practice
maraboutism.
6
Type of cannabis
7
Dialect currently spoken in Mauritania.
2
8
The most important Islamic mosque built by Prophet
Region of
Gourara
P ag e 8
Note about the author
Mouloud Mammeri (Lmulud At Maammer in Tamazight )
was the most prominent Amazigh scholar of the 20th
Century. His vast knowledge of the Amazigh Language
and Culture as well as his commitment for their revival,
made him a natural and undisputed moral authority. He
was the model of steadfastness and moderation for all
Amazigh activists in North Africa and elsewhere.
Dda Lmulud ,as he was commonly called in Kabylia
(Dadda or Dda preceding a name is a mark of respect)
was born in December 28th, 1917 at Taourirt Mimoune
(Ath Yanni, Kabylia, Algeria). As soon as he finished his
primary education at the school of his village, he joined
(1928) his uncle in Rabat (Morocco), who was employed
as a private tutor in the Royal Palace. Four years later he
returned to Algiers, then moved to Paris, to pursue his
High school education.
In 1939 and again in 1942, Mouloud Mammeri was
drafted for the WWII. At the end of the war, he pursued
training as a teacher in literature, in Paris, France, then
returned to Algeria in 1947, where he started a career as a
teacher of French language and literature, and published
his first novel “La colline oubliée” (The Forgotten Hill) in
1952. Under the pressure of the events (The Algerian
liberation war has started in 1954), he left Algiers in
1957.
At the independence of Algeria, he thought he could
fulfill his dream of reviving the culture of his people.
Unfortunately, the first year of independence (1962) was
the year when the Department of Amazigh studies at the
University of Algiers was closed . But, Dda Lmulud still
managed to teach Tamazight as part of the ethnology
class. Not for long though! In 1973 ethnology and
anthropology were considered by the newly installed
regime in Algeria as colonial sciences, therefore had to
disappear from the curriculum of higher education.
Nevertheless, Mouloud Mammeri had some kind of
official positions during the first years of the independent
Algeria. He was elected President of the Algerian
Writers’ Association which he left as soon as the regime
decided to control it. He also directed the Center for
Anthropological, Prehistoric and Ethnographical Research
in Algiers (French acronym, CRAPE) for the period 1969
-1980.
In March 1980, the banning by the government of one of
his conferences at the University of Tizi Ouzou (Kabylia
region) on the ancient Kabyle poetry, sparked riots
throughout Kabylia and Algiers in what was called the
Amazigh Spring.
In 1982, he founded in Paris, France, the Centre for
Amazigh Studies and Research (French acronym,
CERAM) and the journal Awal, a scientific journal
dedicated to Amazigh studies. In 1988 Mouloud
Mammeri received the title of honorary doctor from the
prestigious University of Sorbonne in Paris, France.
Mouloud Mammeri died in the evening of February 26th,
1989 in a car accident, near Aïn Defla (west of Algeria),
as he was on his way back from Oujda, Morocco, where
he participated in a colloqium on the Amazigh Issues.
Dda Lmulud was buried in his native village in Kabylia.
Over 20 000 people attended his funeral.
In the course of his life, Mouloud Mammeri wrote various
novels and short stories. Two of his novels, “La colline
oubliee” (The forgotten hill) and “L’opium et le
baton” (The opium and the stick), have been turned into
popular movies. He was one of the most popular authors
in Algeria. His first novel, “La colline oubliée”, although
a fiction, carries a historical value in that not only does it
describe the customs and the way of life in Kabylia, but
also relates the significant events that marked the era of
the forties such as the Second World War and epidemics
that claimed more lives than the war itself.
Mouloud Mammeri was also a playwright for he wrote a
few plays among which the much acclaimed “Le
banquet” (The Banquet) or “La cite du soleil” (The city of
the sun).
He also compiled the poems of a nineteenth century
illustrious bard Si Muhand U Mhand, whose poems are
still popular today, and those of another renowned poet of
an earlier era Yusef U Qasi, thus saving from oblivion
valuable pieces of Kabyl literature that was, until recent
years, essentially oral. He published two books in which
he collected as many folk tales as possible from the
region of Kabylia.
Finally, it is impossible to write about Mouloud Mammeri
without evoking the extensive work he accomplished on
the grammar of Tamazight, which serves, even today, as
the reference for most writings in Tamazight, especially
in Kabylia.
Convinced that any oral culture is bound to disappear,
Mouloud Mammeri dedicated his adult life to save his
own, by documenting what he could of the rich heritage
left by his ancestors on paper.
P ag e 9
Imazighen
Their contribution to the development of the Mediterranean cultures
By Mohamed Chafik
Part I (Excerpts)
The people designated by the word
Imazighen to feel, to reflect, and
“Berbers” never refer to themselves
sometimes to want to be Arab against
by this name. Until the beginning of
all odds. This fragmentation is
the 19 th Century, Europeans
therefore due to the fact that French
colonialism defined the majority of the
generally used the term Barbaria
borders of the neighboring African
when referring to North Africa. This
states
word is inherited from the Catholic
of the Sahara, without considering
Church, known for its linguistic
ethnic differences. As a result, the
conservatism. Later , the French
Mohamed Chafik
Berber speakers belong to different
formed “Berber” from the irregular
nationalities, mainly Moroccans and Algerians, but also
plural form “Bräber” as pronounced in Arabic spoken in
Libyans, Tunisians, Mauritanians, Malians, Nigeriens,
North Africa. And, towards the end of the 18th Century,
Burkinabes, or even Chadians (Abrous and Claudotthe form “Berber” started to replace the form
Hawad). In addition, as emigration to other continents
“Barbare” . The same reason explains the Italian and
played a role, there currently exists an important,
Spanish form “Berbero” . But why have only the North
sizeable, and well-settled Amazigh Diaspora in Spain,
Africans, among all ancient people of the north and the
France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.
south of the Mediterranean basin, continued to be
Recently Canada and the United States of America have
somehow called barbarians? The reason is that Arab
invaders of what we call today the Maghreb borrowed
attracted Amazigh immigrants.
the term “Barbarus” in the seventh century from the
Inside each country of origin, the Berber identity, in fact
Byzantines who considered us enemies from a political
linguistic, inevitably does not form one block from a
and religious point of view. However no Berber ever felt
geographical point of view, except in Morocco where it
any kind of barbarity, since each one always saw
almost occupies the total national territory from the
himself as an Amazigh, which etymologically means
northeast to the southwest, and in a more or less
both a free and noble man. Their language is Tamazight.
diagonal direction depending on the areas. In Algeria,
It is the ancient Greeks who created in their language
Mali, and Niger, it certainly occupies zones naturally or
the word “barbaros”, to designate all the other peoples,
artificially separated from each other, yet sufficiently
including the Romans, whom they saw as rough and
large enough to suitably feel able to fully claim itself as
badly trimmed beings. But the Greeks would not have
an ethnic identity. In addition, because of the rural
imagined that this qualifier would befall as an
migration, several cities in Algeria and Morocco are
unclaimed heritage on the descendants of people with
demographically becoming more Berber, little by little,
whom they felt a kind of filial respect. And, thus, this
year by year. Algiers, already a Kabyl city at the time of
article sometimes uses the word Amazigh and its plural
the French rule, became more Kabyl after 1962. At
Imazighen, or sometimes the word Berber.
precisely the same time, the Berber-speaking population
of Casablanca was estimated by a researcher to be
But before we focus on the ancient Berbers, it would be
approximately 23% (Adam, I, p.273). This percentage
advisable to initially describe those of present times,
could only grow, but for political and ideological
that is those represented here today. And here, we must
reasons that are easy to guess, in Morocco at least, the
immediately recognize the painful reality of the
many censuses, which followed one another since 1960
geographical fragmentation of the Amazigh World. Its
systematically overlooked the figures concerning the
main cause is historical: with deep effects on the souls,
spoken languages. This did not prevent an interesting
Islam involved the Arabization of entire Berber
phenomenon to occur in a spectacular way in Arabic
communities, leading successive generations of
P ag e 1 0
speaking rural regions, where the best educated citizens
start to claim their Amazigh origins, based on historical,
linguistic, anthropological, and toponymic observations.
Two such cases are that of Ghiata de Taza and Jebala de
Taounate.
With regard to this issue, a poet, by the name of ElMéliani, wrote a collection of poems expressing the joy
of having found his roots. It should be noted that if this
awakening
has been initially seen among Amazigh
communities recently arabized, it somehow reached
samples of small groups and communities, which for a
long time always prided themselves to be of an out-ofthe-common descent. It is perhaps there an effect of the
Amazigh cultural militancy.
Whether in Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, and on
a lesser scale Libya, Niger, and Tunisia, it is thanks to
the Amazigh language that the toponymists carry out
their etymological decoding of the majority of the
mountains, rivers, places, regions, and many cities. Fès,
Mekhnès, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier, Oujda, Oran,
Tlemcen, Tizi-Ouzou, Tunis, Nouakchott, Tombouctou,
etc, are Berber names. This vast region, where the
toponimic Amazigh mark prevails until today, received
from ancient Greeks the name “Libya” pronounced
“Liboué”, used for the first time in 900 B.C. by the great
poet Homer describing the region from Egypt to the
Ocean. (Bailly, 1190). Borrowed from the Egyptians,
the denomination “Libya” could only originally be used
for one of the two large Berber tribes living in the desert
west of the Nile River, precisely the Libué and the
Temehu.
It is therefore since the earliest antiquity (900 BC) that
the Greeks named “Libyan” all Imazighen. Later they
named the central part of Libya “Nomadia” (Numidia,
in Latin), and the most Western part
“Maurousia” (Mauritania, in Latin). As for “Africa,” it
derives from the Amazigh word “afri, ifri”, a name
under which the cavemen of old Tunisia were known.
From this population came the large tribe of Ayt Ifran,
also known as Bani-Ifran in Arabic.
In the beginning it was the Romans who used the word
“Africa” to name the part of Numidia that fell under the
authority of Carthage. The word gained value thereafter,
since it was used to name the entire continent. In all this
continent, the ancient Greeks have therefore only named
the two areas which they knew: namely Egypt and the
incommensurable and hard to penetrate land of
Imazighen, “Libya”.
This immense land had and still has well defined
geographical characteristics: an irregular and
insufficient rainfall and a slowly creeping desertification
that started even before historical times. In addition, it
is coupled with an isolated topographical system. It is
these geographical characteristics of the "Libyé” that
molded both the temperament and the history of
Imazighen, and were at the origin of the existence,
during ancient times, of Amazigh populations whose
minority lived as sedentary, and a majority as nomads or
semi nomads, who moved in the mountainous zones, the
semi arid plateaus, and the desert surrounding the
isolated oases. For obvious reasons, only Imazighen of
the areas close or relatively close to the sea came into
contact with the other Mediterranean peoples of
Antiquity, the Greeks, Phoenicians, the Romans, and the
Hebrews, in addition to their neighbors, the Egyptians.
Therefore, only the elites could somewhat integrate
culturally. The others remained in reserve as if maybe to
safeguard the Amazigh culture itself.
The first historical partners of Imazighen were indeed
their closest neighbors, the Egyptians, on which this
article will focus at the end because these two groups of
people seem to have had much more than just simple
neighborly relationships. The focus will first be on the
Greeks. After conflicts or even short wars, because
Hellenic colonists landed in 900 BC on the Libyan costs
across form Greece, it seemed like an arrangement was
rather quickly found between the new comers and their
Amazigh hosts in all five cities, the famous Pentapolis
cities that were to thrive on the southern bank of the
Mediterranean sea during more than 15 centuries, from
the 900 BC until 600 AD. The following is the great
Greek poet Callimaque (315-240 BC) writing about a
happy life in the main city of Cyrene in 300 BC.
Large was the joy in the heart of Phoibo,
When the time of the Carnean holidays came,
Men of Enyo and the centurions,
created a choral dance with the blond Libyan women..
Apollo never saw a choral more really divine!
God never granted any other city what he did to
Cyrene!
(Callimaque, p. 228)
And, on the way, we learn that the ancient Imazighen, at
least those who lived next to the Greeks of Cyrenaica in
the 200 BC, were rather blond. However, what was
surprising is a seemingly paradoxical fact that the
Greeks nourished a deep veneration towards Imazighen.
The Greek historian, Herodotus (484-425 BC)
considered them the people of the world that “enjoys the
P ag e 1 1
best health,”
outclassing
t
h
e
Egyptians
and
the
G r e e k s
themselves
(Hérodote, L
II parag. 77
p. 199). He
also added
that
“The
costume and
the
aegis
which
are
visible
on
Juba II
A t h e n a
statues in Greece are inspired by clothing of the Libyan
women..... Harness for four horses was learned from the
Libyans by the Greeks.” (Hérodote, L IV, parag. 189, p.
444). The Latin writer, Pline the Elder (23 – 79 BC)
indicated that the Greeks attributed the foundation of
Tangier (Tingis) to their mythology giant of Antaios
(Pline, L V, parag. 2, p. 45), and that Greeks and
Libyans of Cyrene went together in pilgrimage to the
temple of Amun in Siwa (Pline, L.V, parag. 31, p.60
and comment p. 351). Athena, the Virgin, Athena, the
Goddess of War, Athena the Goddess of Wisdom, is
herself born in Libya near Lake Triton (Rossi, p. 82).
Hellenes believe that the Berbers Garamantes were
descendants of the God Apollo (Gaffiot, p. 703). Plato,
the philosopher, could never have founded his academy,
if it had not been repurchased and freed by a Libyan
when he was imprisoned and sold as a slave (Rossi, p.
119). Finally, it is well attested that Alexander the Great
had to travel 600 kilometers of desert, with all his army
and his escort, to be crowned as the King of Egypt by
the priests of Ammon in his temple in Siwa (in current
Egypt). The inhabitants of Siwa continue until today to
speak Tamazight.
Considering these data, one can assume that the Greeks
knew that their civilization was a result of that of Egypt
and Libya. The French historians Jean Servier and
Pierre Rossi developed this subject, the former focusing
on the Berbers, and the latter on the influence of Egypt
on Greece. Later, this article will reconsider the question
of the bonds between Imazighen and Egyptians.
It was also on the Libyan coast of the Mediterranean Sea
that Imazighen cohabited or simply were neighbors with
the Phoenicians sailors. With agreements, obtained with
good words from the North African natives, the
Phoenicians managed to found many trading posts on
the North African coast, some of which were on the
Moroccan Atlantic coast. One of them, Carthage,
founded in 814 BC, became over the centuries a rich
and powerful commercial city, whose cultural influence
was exerted on Imazighen, until 146 BC , the year of its
destruction by the Romans. It is well known that, in
addition, the Romans, Masters of the entire Mediterranean basin, gradually colonized the coastal zones of
North Africa, and a portion of the hinterland, between
146 BC and 430 AD. The Byzantines, who succeeded
them, approximately one century later, had to be
confined in a small number of Mediterranean ports.
Then the Arab invasion came with strength, equipped
with a combative ideology and greatly motivated from
both the eschatological and economic points of view.
Islamization of the Berbers then occurred, and despite
many incidents in this process, it reached an in-depth
that assured a long-term presence.
As a result of all of these events in history, the Amazigh
elites were variously assimilated and had richly
contributed to the development of the great Mediterranean cultures. The first trend that resulted from the
cohabitation of Imazighen with the other Mediterranean
peoples was bilingualism and even “trilingualism”.
It is worthwhile to indicate that, during each of these
historical periods, the Amazigh elite living in the areas
penetrated by the foreign cultures was at least bilingual,
with the presumed advantages and disadvantages
inherent to such a situation. Can’t we say that the
bilingualism of the Amazigh elite is a direct cause of a
certain stagnation of the Amazigh language? On the
other hand, Imazighen could claim the merit to have
profoundly influenced the Punic culture. An example of
this influence is the Goddess of Carthage, Tinnit, which
in fact belongs to the
Amazigh Pantheon.
According to Silius
Italicus’ reports on
Hannibal’s visit to a
Carthaginian temple ( p.
8) , the priestesses of
Tinnit were especially
of Amazigh extract.
They
asserted
themselves by their
ardor
and
their
enthusiasm.
Pline
(Parag. 24, p. 56), and
other old historians
wrote
that
the
Portrait of Terence
P ag e 1 2
inhabitants of Carthage region, Byzacium, and those of
the coastal cities of Numidia were named Libyphoenicians. It is precisely these Liby-phoenicians who
provided the majority of the crew of the famous trek of
Hannon (Gsell, T.I, p. 478). In addition, in the
introduction to his thesis, historian George Marcy
invites the researchers to use the Berber language
(Tamazight), a living language, to decipher the Punic
language, a dead one, instead of doing the reverse
(Marcy, p. 16). And, if there are no trace of Amazigh
productions in Punic, it is because "Punic civilization
produced neither scientists, neither poets, nor thinkers,
at least any that history might have known" (Gsell, T
IV, p. 125).
With regard to intellectual works in Greek language by
Amazigh individuals , there remain traces of a work
written by Juba II, in three books titled "Libyca,” whose
loss "causes us many regrets " (Gsell, VIII, p. 262). But
it is in the production of Publius Terentius Afer
(Terence) (195-159 B.C.) that the inventive Amazigh
genius in theatrical creativity proved to be the best.
Terence’s influence continued to be applied in the
production of the European playwrights until the 17th
Century (Brunel and Jouanny, p. 238). To this writer
keen on Hellenism, who died at the age of 33, we owe
the famous sentence: " I am a man; and nothing that
pertains to man
is thus foreign
to me”. With
this sentence,
Terence meant
that, as a fiveyear
old
A f r i c a n
prisoner of war
who was made
a slave, all
men are equal.
But
well
before Juba II
and
well
b e f o r e
Terence,
the
Portrait of Tertullian
simple
oral
Amazigh literature had already influenced the Greek
thought. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) quotes the Libyan
fables as being a literary genre. In addition, one learns
that the tragedy playwright Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.)
has been inspired by these Libyan fables (Aristotle, L II,
p. 104). In summary, it can be said that a mutual
comprehension between Greeks and Berber seems to
have been very deep. Another proof is the fact that King
Massinissa was a Hellenophile, that his court had
always enjoyed the services of Greek artists and
musicians. On their side of the Mediterranean Sea, the
Athenians built a statue of the King and writer Juba II
near a library in the city center. (Gsell, VIII, 251).
On the other
hand, it is
difficult
to
precisely
determine the
periods of the
antiquity
w h e n
Imazighen
and
Jews
started
to
coexist and to
influence
each
other.
Portrait of Apuleius
Covering this
subject, Gsell
wrote the following: "We must still mention other
foreigners, whose establishment in Berberia was not the
consequence of a conquest... They [ Jews ] were already
rather numerous during the Roman era. In addition, it is
plausible that the majority of them were true Hebrews "(Gsell, I, pp. 280,281). H. Zafrani notes that
" North African Judaism - (meaning the historical
Judaism) - is also a local product of the North African
region where it was fertilized, where it lived during
nearly two millennia, cultivating with the environment
and in the intimacy of the language and the analogy of
the mental structures, an active solidarity and a
considerable amount of symbiosis... ". (Zafrani,
Thousand years..., pp. 9 and 10).
That is to say, the Jewish religion became, through the
centuries, acclimated in North Africa, without harming
anyone. The existence of a Berber version of Haggadah
de Pessah (Zafrani, Litt.) seems to prove that, without
active proselytism, the small Hebraic colonies of
Berberia were used as centers for an important
Judaisation of the autochthones. One is somewhat
convinced by the observation, here and there, of a
certain number of indices related to cultural anthropology, such as the tendency to use first names with
Jewish origin or to regard Saturdays as being day of
rest. However, it is impossible to show that Imazighen
contributed to enrich the Hebraic thought or literature.
Conversely, it is by “Pleiades” that one can quote
Numidian, Libyan or African names, that is to say
Berber, having given a particular radiance to the Latin
P ag e 1 3
literature. According to his biography, Terence, the play
writer already mentioned before, “left six comedies...
played between 166 and 160 B.C." In his "comedy, he
constantly had in mind to adapt the smoothness and the
elegance of the Greek genius to the taste of an educated
Roman public" (the Robert 2, Terence).
French historian Charles-André Julien wrote that "the
most famous of the African writers (before Christianization) was “Apuleius” and added that the character was
simultaneously "unbearable and seducing” (Julien, p.
182). As mentioned by Charles-André Julien (p. 183),
Apuleius (125-170) wrote “Ass of gold," a type of
novel, which is one of the rare Latin books that can be
read without bore.” The Italian writer Pietro Citati, who
usually does not negotiate his praise, wrote “the golden
Ass is probably the most original novel ever written…”
Surprisingly today, Moroccan and Libyan Amazigh
families still carry the family name “Apuleius” in the
authentic form of “Afulay.”
Gabriel Camps noted that “ ... Three giants dominate the
Christian thought of Roman Africa: Tertullian, Cyprian
and Augustine. These three Africans who, with their
different personalities, contributed to the establishment
of the Christian dogma, are regarded, with due merit, as
“Fathers of the Church "(Camps, p. 251). It was
Tertullian (155-225) who made Christianity a tool in his
resistance against the Roman occupation because,
despite his conversion to Christianity, he had kept “all
the passions, all the intransigence, all the indiscipline of
a Berber.” He forbade his fellow Africans the military
service and encouraged the soldiers to desert. His
principal work was the Apologetic (Apologeticum). As
for Cyprian, he conducted research and underwent
martyrdom. Among his books were AD Demitrianum,
AD Fortunatum, De Mortalitate... (CH- A. Julien, pp.
206-207).
As for Saint-Augustin (354-430), it does not seem
necessary to give the details of his life and his work
because, in theory, Europeans, as Christians, know it
better than anyone else.
ADAM André, CASABLANCA, thèse de doctorat, 2 volumes,
Editions du CNRS, Paris, 1968.
ARISTOTE, en grec : Aristotelês, RHÉTORIQE, 2 volumes,
Ed. Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1991.
BAILLY M.A., dictionnaire grec-francais, 11ème édition,
Edit. Hachette, Paris, 1894 (Bailly cite ses sources).
BRUNNEL Pierre et JOUANNY Robert, les Grands
Ecrivains du monde, Edit. F. Nathan, Paris, 1976.
CALLIMAQUE, en grec : KALLIMAKHOS, Epigrammes
Hymmes, Edit. les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1972.
ELBAZ Shlomo, article dans « ARIEL » revue israélienne
des Arts et des Lettres, n° 105, Jérusalem, 1998.
ELMELIANI Idriss, Recueil de poèmes « Tannirt » en arabe
classique, Edit. IRCAM, Rabat, 2004.
ENCYCLOPÉDIE de L’ISLAM, version française, Nouvelle
Edition, Edit. Maisonneuve, 1960 (Tome I).
GAFFIOT Félix, Dictionnaire latin-français, Edit. Hachette,
Paris, 1934 (Gaffiot cite ses sources).
GSELL Stéphane, Histoire Ancienne de l’Afrique du Nord, 8
tomes, Edit. Hachette, Paris, 1920.
HÉRODOTE, en grec : Hêrodotos, l’Enquête, 2 volumes,
Livres I à IV et Livres V à IX, Edit. Gallimard, collection
« Folio Classique », Paris, 1964, 1985.
JULIEN Charles-André, Histoire de l’Afrique du Nord, 2
volumes, Edit. Payot, Paris, 1986.
MALHERBE Michel, Les Langages de l’Humanité, Edit.
Séghers, Paris, 1983.
MARCY Georges, Les Inscriptions Libyques Bilingues de
l’Afrique du Nord, Imprimerie Nationale, Paris, 1936.
OUSGANE Elhoussaïn, thèse de doctorat soutenue à Fès en
2001, sous presse ; article dans le périodique « Amadal
Amazighe », mai 2005, page 7. (Le tout en arabe)
PLINE L’ANCIEN, en latin : Caius Plinius Secundus,
Histoire Naturelle, Livre V, 1-46, 1ère partie (l’Afrique du
Nord), Edition Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1980.
RACHET Marguerite, Rome et Les Berbères, Edit. Latomus,
Revue d’Etudes Latines, Bruxelles, 1970.
Authors mentioned in this article
RIVET Daniel, Le Maroc de Lyautey à Mohammed V, Edit.
Porte d’Anfa, Nouvelles Editions Latines, Paris, 2004. •
ABROUS Dahbia, Université de Béjaïa et CLAUDOTHAWAD Hélène, CNRS-IREMAM, Article dans l’Annuaire
de l’Afrique du Nord, 1999, 91-113 (Paris CNRS Editions)
sous le titre : « Imazighen du nord au sud… ».
ROSSI Pierre, La Cité d’Isis, Nouvelles Editions Latines,
Paris, 1976.
Page 14
SCHRADER Fred E., professeur d’histoire et d’études
germaniques à Paris, article publié dans le journal le Monde,
p. 12, le 02.06.2000.
SERVIER Jean, Tradition et Civilisation Berbères, Editions
du Rocher, Monaco, 1985.
SILIUS ITALICUS Tiberius Catius, La Guerre Punique,
Livres I à IV, Edit. Les Belles Lettres, Paris 1979.
TERRASSE Henri, Histoire du Maroc, 2 volumes, Editions
Atlantides, Casablanca, 1949.
TITE-LIVE, en latin Titus Livius, Histoire Romaine, 2
volumes, Livres XXI à XXV, et Livre XXVI à XXX, Edit. GF
Flammarion, Paris, 1993,94.
ZAFRANI Haïm, Mille ans de vie juive au Maroc, Edit.
Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris, 1998
Mediterranean Sea, an organism whose mission is to
initiate and develop a dialogue between the E.U. and
the other European countries, initiate studies on
Mediterranean societies, enhance Euro-Mediterranean
relations, promote cooperation among other goals.
2-The Berber authors whose works were in Latin
carried Latin names. In the text of the conference, they
were mentioned by their French names. The following
are their Latin versions:
Apuleius Lucius Theseus, for Apulée (125-170)
Augustinus Aurelus, for Saint-Augustin (354-430)
Cyprianus Thascius Caecilius, for St Cyprien (200-258)
Terentius Publius Afer, for Térence (185-159 AD)
Tertullianus Septimius Florens, for Tertullien (155-225)
Let’s also mention that the Greek name of the poet
Eschyle (525-456AD) was Aiskhulos.
Notes about this article
1-This article is Mr Chafik’s contribution to a
conference held by the European Institute for the
Note about the author
Source: Wikipedia
Mohamed Chafik is an Amazigh Moroccan intellectual
and writer, especially interested in the Amazigh heritage of his country. He was born on September 17th,
1926, in Ayt Saden (close to Fes). He is the author of a
Berber-Arabic dictionary in three volumes. He is also
considered as one of the major figures in the Moroccan
Amazigh Movement. He taught at the university, participated in many conferences about the Amazigh cause
and wrote many books (below, see the list of his
works). He received the Palmes Academiques Françaises (chevalier) in 1972 and he is a member of the
Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco since 1980. He
received in 2002 the prestigious Prince Claus Award for
his academic achievements.
He is also known as the writer and first signer of the
Amazigh Manifesto in the year 2000 in which he and
thousands of Amazigh activists demanded, from the
Moroccan state, the official recognition of the Amazigh
language as a national and official language of the kingdom.
In 2001, Mohamed Chafik was appointed by the king
Mohammed VI to be the first Chairman of the newborn
IRCAM, the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture. Mr.
Chafik is also member of the Moroccan advisory council on human rights.
Bibliography:
* The Arabic-Amazigh dictionary / 3 volumes: vol. 1
(1990), vol. 2 (1996), vol. 3 (1999) / published by the
Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco.
* Chafik, M, Trente trois siècle de l’histoire des
imazighen (33 centuries of Amazigh History), Ed. Boukili, 2000 (3rd ed.).
* La poésie amazighe et la résistance armée dans le
Moyen Atlas et l’Est du Haut Atlas (Amazigh Poetry
and the armed resitance in the Middle Atlas and Estern
High Atlas, review the Morrocan Academy, 1987 No 4,.
* The Amazigh Language's Linguistic Structure.
* Diggings in the Amazigh Language.
* 44 lessons of the Amazigh Language.
P ag e 1 5
The History of the Armed Resistance in the Atlas
Mountains (Morocco)" Told by Poetry "
By Ali Khadaoui
(Part I)
Translated from French by Arezki Boudif
contribution is to draw the attention of historians on the
fact that the oral tradition may represent an additional
source of information, abundant and not yet exploited.
In the collective memory of the populations of this region, not a single day passed without "fighting", and the
narratives of the battles, like dramas in multiple dimensions, are preserved in a surprising way, especially in
poetry.
Through some fragments of poems selected for the occasion, studied in their cultural and social context, I will
try to show how the Amazigh poetry restores, not only
impressions, feelings, striking echoes, but also images
similar to some “instant pictures”, alive and talking, of
events for which occurrence has been verified.
Ali Khadaoui
For historians accustomed to consider written
documents as the only reliable tool for their work, the
title of this article may sound a bit provocative.
However, even if " oral document " raise the question
of authenticity, which require methods other than the
simple verification of texts. They represent a precious
testimony, especially when one is facing either the lack
of written sources, or when dealing with history that is
written exclusively by invaders, or manipulated for reasons other than the reconstruction of the truth of past
events .
The Atlas region in Morocco (especially the Middle and
the High Atlas) conducted a relentless and bloody armed
resistance against the French colonialism. This resistance, which lasted more than 25 years (1908-1936) is
only known through the chronicles of famous battles
such as that of Elhri (1914), Tazizaout (1930), Saghro
(1934), etc. But for various reasons, the
Moroccan historiography has not given this resistance
the attention and the importance it truly deserves.
The French literature remains almost the only source of
information on this essential epic for our country’s
history (i.e. Morocco). Therefore, the objective of this
This attempt is somewhat easy as the studied period is
recent (1908-1934) and the region (Middle and High
Atlas) culturally homogeneous. In addition, it was fortunate that a number of direct actors of some of these
events were interviewed before they passed away, and
the information contained in the poems has been confirmed and authenticated. Finally, this information can
easily be compared to the colonial literature, the only
written source, concerning the same events.
However, before presenting and commenting on these "
oral documents ", I would like to introduce you to the
character of amdiaz ( the poet) who is going to speak to
us about the roles and the multiple functions he is exercising in the traditional Amazigh society throughout
History.
I- Roles and functions of the poet in the traditional Amazigh society.
1- Mohammed Ajana ( from Ait Mguild, Azrou):
a- Nekkint amdiaz a yimazipen ur neshillil
b- Purrx izerf ad siwlx adday naf afrrup
2- Anonymous poet from Ait Sgher Uchen :
c- Tswayax d ettelba pas awal ennx agg bdan
d- Emk isiwl umdiaz issen mas icfa Rabbi
e- Adda yamz anepmis ig ami purs lms;af
3-Lhoussain Ouâarfa, from Ait Mguild, Azrou
f- Gixd anepmis n timizar eg tjridat
g-Amzat awal ad puri iga amazigh
h-Amzat awal inw a midden l;aqq agga
4- Lahcen Ahinach, from Ait Yussi, Sefrou
i- Mer mmutx a yimazipen assenna awdx acal
j- Mapa yhdun assun uyussi zeg uccan
5-Bouazza N Moussa, from Ait Bouhaddou, Izayane,
Khénifra
k- Ad awn inix ussar tuhilx ayenn ikkan xf Lmuprib
ellig ittwarru
l- Ellig da teggat a rrsas anzar exf unna ur ilin mas
eknid ittrara
m- Pas tekkerm a ait umur dar ettinim tililli nep d ad
ur nelli
n- Max iss da tuyattun willi ipewwepn adax rin ajbir
enna egg iqqen u,ar ?
Translation:
a - I am a poet, ô Imazighen, what forbids me to lie
b - I have the right (and the duty) to speak as soon as a
deviation appears to me
c- We are as knowledgeable as scholars, different is
only our language
d- If the poet speaks it is that he knows what God gave
him
e- When he begins talking it is as if he is reciting the
Qur’an
f- I included the information of (other) countries in
newspapers
g- Take my word, it is Amazigh
h- Take my word, ô people, it is the truth.
i- If I had passed away that day and now in the grave
j- Who would protect the people of Ait Yussi from
wolves? …
k- I shall tell you without tiring
What Morocco endured when it was defeated,
l- When bullets were like the rain
On those who had nothing to riposte with
m-You simply said to yourselves,
Ô patriots: freedom or we shall not be!
n- Should we forget those who passed on honors
P ag e 1 6
to those who did not have any?
The above verses belong to five traditional poets of
Middle Atlas of different tribes. They contain the substance of the present contribution . They summarize the
problems of the discourse and its art (" we are like
scholars, God has gifted us with the Word and we are
conscious of it "), of the power and the duties inherent
to this art (" I have the right to speak "…; " Who would
protect Ait Yussi "? "), of history and its memory " I
shall tell you without tiring, " " Should we forget those
who passed on honor … "
Before exercising the power of the word, the poet justifies this power. This word is oral, Amazigh, a word different from that of the scholars. Theirs is written but
exogenous, thus inaccessible to the common people
" Take my word, it is Amazigh ".
Unlike an aâlem (amusnaw, scholar) who will refer to
books (written material), or an academic scholar who
will refer to a theory to justify his (or her) competence,
the Amazigh poet, every time he speaks, will remind the
audience of his right for his speech, considered as sacred
in the Amazigh cultural and social context. Moreover,
the poet status is rather a privileged one. Reaching this
status requires a long learning process along with an
initiatory path. Indeed, in the Amazigh society as in
other societies with oral tradition (the griots in SubSaharan Africa for example), the speech is seen as a
“breath” (a spirit) of god, that is sworn by ( my word!)
even in societies with scriptural dominant cultures. Furthermore, for instance we find the sacred character of
the verb (i.e. speech) acknowledged in all monotheistic
religions through the formula: at first was the verb
(word).
Until recent times, in the traditional Amazigh societies,
whoever felt the need or the necessity of becoming a
poet, had to spend whole nights in the sanctuary of one
of those numerous renowned saints who have the power
to obtain the favors of the muse of poetry. Some obtained this favor, others not, in spite of their burning
desire. Many authors saw in this initiative only an aspect of the witchcraft or else a naïve spirit of these people. The important function and the role of these saints
in the collective memory of the populations in question
as well as their faiths are not to be underestimated. That
would prevent someone from admitting simplistic assumptions. Indeed, the saint ( agurram ) in North Africa
is at first a man or a woman who, in his (her) life, gave
proofs of wisdom, served his (her) community so much
that he (she) reached already, in his (her) lifetime, a
particularly important status. He (she) is either an (t)
amghar(t) (a leader of a community ), or an aâlem
(amusnaw or scholar), or a poet, or both or all three at
P ag e 1 7
the same time. When he (she) dies, and by eternal recognition for his (her) merit and services, a bigger than ordinary grave will be built for him (her) to distinguish
him (her) from the common people. This way of honoring the outstanding members of the Amazigh communities is not different from funeral traditions in other civilizations, such as France where the pantheon is reserved
for the most illustrious citizens.
In the traditional Amazigh culture, the concept of death
does not establish a solid border between the living and
the next world (the visible and the invisible) so, the
most illustrious among the dead continue to advise, to
help living individuals to resolve their daily difficulties,
to cure their diseases, to help them reach important
status such as that of poets, weavers or other prestigious
professions.
In fact, what the “trainee-poet” is seeking from the saint
is a sort of legitimacy, that only the ancestors can grant.
Consequently, every poet has his own mentor-saint,
whom he would invoke at the beginning of his (or her)
performance in order to seek blessing and help from
him, and from God as well, the saint being the intermediate.
However, if the blessing of a saint is an important prerequisite to become a poet, this blessing is insufficient
because training with a confirmed poet is necessary, just
as it is for students from qualified professors. To enter
the circles of poets, the curriculum is quite heavy, with
frequent examinations, where the public has his say:
because the Amazigh poetry until today is declaimed
with the public all around, especially during the poetic
jousts where the improvisation is the most difficult examination challenge. Little by little, the young poet
takes his place in the hierarchy of poets, because there
is one! The audience of certain poets is larger than the
tribe, the region and sometimes even the country.
As a result of the advent of writing within the Amazigh
society whose tradition had thus far been exclusively
oral, the Amazigh poet has become aware of the fact
that two ways of expression are competing: the oral one,
which is his own, and the written one, which is that of
scholars.
These two ways of expression are in fact reflections of
two distinct social structures: the society of oral tradition and that of written tradition. However, these terms
raise some definition issues. In societies where writing
has been introduced by outsiders , the notions of
"illiterate" and “uneducated” have negative meanings.
On one side, they emphasize the existence of knowledge
(from books), on the other side, lack of the former is
seen as absolute ignorance. Even worse, the concept of
illiteracy has slipped far away from its true meaning,
which originally meant “not to know how to write…and
read” , and eventually became synonymous of lack of
education, savagery… In other words, knowing the alphabet is now established as a prerequisite in any knowledge!
Thus, in a society without a scriptural tradition, such as
the Amazigh society which lost the use of its own alphabet (tifinagh ) longtime ago (except for the Tuareg), the
notion of illiteracy is an exogenous notion, deprived of
meaning in the local context. That explains why Amazigh
poets compare themselves to other scholars (with literary
background) without complex, whatsoever " we are like
scholars, only our language is different ".
The notion of oral tradition is thus used here without any
negative connotation. Orality is considered as " the property of a communication achieved on the basis of an auditive perception of the message, while the scripturality is
the property of a communication achieved on the basis of
a visual perception of the message "1.
In the Amazigh culture, orality wraps around poetry with
ethics that every true poet cannot afford to infringe. This
ethics lays in the deep belief that the speech (the word) is
a divine gift, which is granted only to certain chosen individuals, that comes as a package of contingencies and
duties. The poet is thus conscious (he knows what God
granted him) that his authority imposes upon him (or her),
at the same time, duties towards God, towards his (or her)
community, towards the humanity at large. Among these
duties, the following duty of:
- Tell the truth (it is forbidden to me to lie); (it is the
truth);
- Make sure that the moral values are respected and denounce any deviation (I have to speak as soon as deviation is noticed);
- Defend the group against any danger (who would protect Ait Yussi from wolves?);
- Promote wisdom and knowledge (as if he recited the
Qur’an);
- Inform the group in its language (Take my word, it is
Amazigh; I included the information of other countries
in newspapers) on the local, regional, national and international events;
- Preserve the information in his (or her) memory and
pass them on to the next generations (I shall tell you
without tiring, what Morocco endured when it was defeated)
- Remain faithful to the duty of memory (should we forget those who fought…);
From these obligations ensue several functions for amdiaz
in the Amazigh society: He is, at the same time, the living
consciousness of the group, the guardian of its moral and
P ag e 1 8
spiritual values, its defender, its journalist, its "library"
where the most important information is preserved, especially the one related to events which marked the group
positively or negatively. It is these functions that brought
the Amazigh poets to favor the truth when they compose
their poems rather than a lack or insufficiency of imagination, as it has been suggested.
This is what we are going to see through the verses hereafter, which illustrate clearly the armed resistance against
the French penetration. Collection of these poems started
in early eighties (1980s), either directly from their authors, or indirectly from older persons who lived at the
time of the events, or using audio tapes but rarely through
poems transcribed by local residents or foreigners.
I-Atlas regions and the armed resistance: some historic milestones:
-1906: The agreements of Algésiras recognize to Spain
and France specific rights on Morocco;
-1907: Invasion and occupation of Casablanca and Oujda;
-1908: Battle of Médiouna where contingents of the Middle Atlas, sent by Moha Ouhammou Azayi who declared
the jihad against the French, came in support of their
brothers of the Chawiya region;
-1911: Contingents from the Middle Atlas attacked the
French in their movement towards Fes;
-30 Mars 1912: Proclamation of the protectorate;
-1913: Occupation of the plains, engagement of the fighters from different Atlas regions of Colonel Mangin at
Oued Zem and the Commander Aubert at Tadla.
-1914: Fall of Khénifra;
In November 13th: battle of Elhri;
-1921: Death of Moha Ouhammou;
-1932: Battle of Tazizawt;
-1933: Battle of Bougafer and Saghro;
The Amazigh poets, men or women, witnessed the painful
events of that period, they were active participants, immortalized them through epic poems passed on orally
through generations. For more convenience, we can distinguish three types of poems dedicated to that period:
1- Poems that call up to fight by emphasizing the courage
and the bravery of the Amazigh fighters, by reminding
them of their duty towards the homeland and towards
freedom. They often include the first information on the
progress of the French troops in the plains and towards
the Atlas;
2- Poems that show the bitterness of the first defeats of
some tribes and the social fracture that ensued;
3- Poems that evoke the big victories such as that of Elhri;
4- Poems that tell the pain of the defeat and the sufferings
caused by the devastations such as the one at Tazizawt;
5- Poems that speak about the disappointment of the (or
Imazighen after the independence.
1- Poems related to the beginning of the French penetration:
The poets are aware of the seriousness of the situation
caused by the presence of the enemy on the Moroccan
soil. Aided by their sense of duty along with their pride,
they succeeded in arousing the patriotic and religious
feelings of their fellow countrymen, pushing them to fulfill their duties towards their homeland and their people.
The following verses, attributed to one of the poets from
Imhiouach (plural of Amhaouch), evoke the intervention
of the Middle-Atlassians against the French in their
movement towards Fes ( 1911 ).
a-Igad Fas aâban eg tizi ella ispuyyu
b-Awi ella ispuyyu
c-Ahiwt ay Ait Lparb ad ur ra;n wuccan
Fes is calling for help
Yes, “she” is calling for help
Go people of the Gharb, don’t let wolves escape.
Here the poet is acting as the spokesperson of the tribes’
leaders pushing the inhabitants of the Gharb to take part
in the fight for the success of their strategy aiming at trapping the French troops. What was at stake is the national
sovereignty which was seriously threatened by the French
occupation, and which the tribes’ leaders are aware of.
At other end of the High Atlas mountains, Taougrat Oult
Aïssa ( Ait Skhman) promises to the French a fierce resistance:
a-Tamazirt ennex ed ujjan imuyas s uburz
b-Ur asn i telli iwid itzallan exf iblis
c-Emk inghan es wass eggid atten tezzâa tawukt inw
a- Our homeland that our ancestors bequeathed us
with pride
b - will never belong to those who worship Satan
c - If they kill me in the daytime, at night my spirit
will chase them away
2-The first defeats:
We know that French crossed the plains without finding a
serious resistance. Curiously, the Amazigh poets do not
seem to hold anything against non-Amazigh population as
shown by these verses telling defeat of Ait Ndir:
a-Ait Ndir mani tizzurt ennk assa texsim
b-Ur teqqimem am elli eg ar tsenaâtm eccnaât
P ag e 1 9
a- Ait Ndir, where is your legendary strengh
b– The time of your glory has passed
The fall of Khénifra is also illustrated by these verses:
a- Han Mohamed Ouhammou bu wfala nna tezrit
b- Iffep Khnifra ur yad iqqimi exs irumin
a– Here he is, Mohamed Ouhammou the warrior you
know
b– He has left Khénifra, and irumin 2 (the French)
took his place
A big victory, the battle of Elhri:
The French themselves admitted that the battle of Elhri
(in November 13th, 1914) was the worst defeat they ever
had since the beginning of their operations in North Africa3 . While the number of casualties and wounded from
the French side are well known, Amazigh losses are still
unknown. The testimonies directly collected from the survivors speak of tens of fighters killed in almost every
tribe involved. And given that the number of tribes that
had participated in this battle may be counted in tens, we
can have an idea on the number killed: hundreds, let alone
the wounded. As a matter of fact, the battle of Elhri took
place in two phases: the first one was where Moha Ouhammou and his extended family were taken by surprise,
therefore disorganized. Their possessions were plundered
and two of his wives were taken as prisoners. The second
began with the arrival of the fighters from all parts of the
country and ended up with the hurtful defeat of the
French.
On the first phase, the poetry retained the names of Moha
Ouhammou’s three wives in these terms:
a-An ammer iwprib en Mahjouba oula Tihihit
b-Ed idammen en Mimouna N Hmad innpall i tissi
a- Let us cry (mourn ) on the suffering of Mahjouba
and Tihihit
b- Let us cry (mourn ) Mimouna N Hmad's blood
shed
These two verses contain very important information.
First of all, we can notice the presence of the poet through
a collective "I" (an.., we will..) as an indication of a personal involvement and thus a direct testimony. Then, this
testimony gives us the names of three Moha Ouhammou’s
wives two of which were captured by the French
(Mahjouba and Tihihit), while the third was killed that
day ( Mimouna N Hmad).
On the other hand, if we consider the socio-cultural fac-
tor, these verses bring us the other important information.
First of all, in the Amazigh society of that period, little
girls are advised that staying in bed after the first day
lights is only tolerated to women who just gave birth or
are sick, otherwise they are labeled as lazy (tafrrust).
That would decrease their chances of a marriage with
someone from " a big tent ". These women killed in their
beds is an indication of the approximate time of the attack: very early in the morning.
Other testimonies confirm this indication, which situates
in time the French attack to have happened right after
Alfajr prayer, keeping in mind that we are in November.
The French sources mention "around half past six in the
morning "4 . This means that the attack took place while
the whole camp was sleeping, and the surprise was total.
The attack was brutal and did not respect any rule of war.
The aggressors fired without any distinction, so that children, women and old men were killed in their sleep.
The patronymic “Tihihhit” gives us another information.
This term informs us about the origin (from Hahha) of
this woman, which was confirmed by Moha Ouhammou’s
sons and grand sons. Moreover, Moha Ouhammou had
contracted marriages in almost every important tribe. He
even had married a fassia (from Fes), a marriage that had
been arranged by Moulay Slimane as a sign of their alliance. Was Tihihit the object of an alliance by marriage as
it is the case of almost all his other wives as it has been
suggested? If this is true, it gives us a good indication on
the influence and the political ambitions of this man.
Knowing perfectly his power and influence, the French
wanted to capture him, especially having tried by all the
means to buy him! In addition, he was practicing some
sort of guerrilla warfare that, every day, had a heavy toll
on the French troops.
Despite the effect of surprise, Moha Ouhammou managed
to escape and to give the alert, so that few hours later,
fighters from the tribes of izayane confederation, as well
as the neighboring tribes, converged towards Elhri. They
attacked the French who already had begun their retreat
along a river called Bouzeqqur, halfway between Elhri
and the city of Khénifra. The fighting then resumed like a
second half of a match, with the bodies of Imazighen
casualties still laying on the battle ground, the destructions caused by the French savagery was still fresh. The
testimonies collected from tens of participants to this battle all agree on the essentials of the event: the battle was
merciless and weapons were too uneven. Among these
testimonies, that of Said N Hmad5 who was translated by
the author as follows: " What caused us most of losses
were the heavy machine guns installed on the top of
small surrounding hills of Elhri. I remember that one of
them was installed in the middle of a bundle of jujube
P ag e 2 0
(azeggwar), which struck down anything that moved in
the surroundings. We were few tens Horsemen to examine the situation. Suddenly, one of my companions exclaimed by pointing his finger towards the machine gun: "
Horsemen of izayane, shame will be on the one who will
avoid this bundle of jujube ". We put ourselves on a start
line, as for the fantasia, we spurred on our horses very
hard to arouse them and we went all in one piece straight
to the fires of this machine gun. The operators of the machine gun saw us and began to fire on us. Many of us
were struck down; nevertheless we could reach that bundle of jujube. When we passed it, I looked behind me,
there was no more bundle nor machine gun or irumin (the
French): our horses had grounded everything. From that
moment, the battle began to turn in our favor, especially
with the steady arrival of reinforcements. At about noontime, Bouzeqqur River has already started to carry the red
color of irumin’s blood". Of this massacre of the French,
which is still very present in the collective memory of the
region, a poet left us these images:
a- Ekker-d a yuccen n Lehri hayak tiallamin igay-aktent uzayi
b- erd i win n Bugargur d Tiγbula
c- Xu tetta abexxan, ecc exs azegwaγ iγezdisan
For he who knows well the Amazigh language and culture, these verses represent a picture full of information.
First of all, we see there are bodies all over the battle
ground, but they are from the enemy side, which delights
the poet (feasts). Then, we learn that these bodies are
black (do not eat the blacks) and with "red", the allusion
is to those we call here " lalijou " or the legion”. On the
other hand, we learn the name of the hero who signed this
memorable victory and “prepared this feast”: Azayi, allusion to Moha Ouhammou Azayi.
Footnotes:
1
Maurice Houis in “Oralite and Spiritualite”, AGECOOP,
1980,p.12.
2
Plural of arumi (roman). This term in itself summarizes
the painful memory of Roman occupation. Imazighen use
this word to designate merciless and inhumane individuals.
It refers to all European occupants, and often alludes to
Christians.
3
S. Gennoun, in “La montagne berbere”, 1993, p.222.
4
Jean Le Prevot, mentioned by Mohamed ben Lahcen in
“La bataille d’Elhri, Info Print, p.104.
5
Interviewed by the author in 1980. Died in 1984 at approximately 96
a- Wolf of Elhri, azayi has prepared for you a feast
b- Call those of Bougargour and Tighboula
c- Do not eat the blacks, eat only the
Map of Morrocco
red.
P ag e 2 1
Ṭṭrad n Y ugurten
(aḥric w is sin)
Sɤur Karim Achab
Wagi d aḥric wis sin si tsuqilt n Ṭṭrad n Yugurten. Ṭṭrad n Yugurten d yiwen n wedlis i yura Salust di leǧwahi n
useggwass - 40 (weqbel Aaysa) ɣef lgirra i yedṛan ger Ṛṛum d Yugurten deg iseggwassen -111 d -105
(weqbel aaysa). Maca Salust d ajininiṛ n laaskeṛ n Ṛṛum, ittekka di lgirra-nni. Amezruy n lgirra-agi yura-t akken yebɣa ad t-walin medden. Nekkwni m’ar a nɣeṛ ayen yura, ilaq ad nerr di lbal-nneɣ belli tamacahutt-a tettunefk-aɣ-d kan si yiwet n lǧiha. D win i tt-ixedmen, i tt-irebḥen, i tt-yuran.
Tasuqilt-a yerra-tt-id K. Achab si tefṛensist La Guerre de Jugurtha, akken i tt-id-yerra François Richard, si
tlaṭinit, di GF-Flammarion, Paris, 1968.
Adlis akken i t-yura Salust s tlaṭinit isem-is Bellum Jugurthinum
G. T.: Dagi mazal acetki n Uderbal ittkemmil
yelhin d temsal i yaanan imdanen mačči d imennan!
Assma ar a d-yass wass-nni, aterras-agi i yuɣ lḥal
“Nekk d acu i yugadeɣ aṭas d tamusni-yagi ta-
ass-a d bu-yiɣil, ɣas ittberneni1 s wayen yexdem, ad
maynutt i d-yennulfan ger kra n imeqranen-nwen d
ixelleṣ.
Yugurten. Ugadeɣ ad ten-teɣdeṛ tmusni-ya alamma
“Acu ar a k-iniɣ a gma [da-gi yelha-d
ula d tamsalt-agi ur tt-ttwalin ara akken iwulem. Sliɣ
Ḥemṣal]! Acḥal i yaazizeḍ fell-i, d win akken ur
belli llan wid i kwen-id-iḥeṛsen, i tt-id-yeddan fella-
nessaweḍ a k-innal ula d anali i yessufgen taṛwiḥt-ik
wen i wakken ur treṣṣmem ara ɣef taluft-a menqelt
qbel lawan; ɣas akken, nnejm-ik2 iban-iyi-d d asaadi
ma yusa-d Yugurten s yiman-is ɣer da, mebla ma
mačči d amedṛur. Axateṛ mačči d tagelda kan i k-
teslam i wayen ar a d-yini; llan ula d wid i s-iqqaren
yemnaan imi i temmuteḍ, ula d kečč temnaaḍ si tre-
belli d axeṛṛef kan a kwen-ttxeṛṛifeɣ, belli
wla
annect-a meṛṛa i wen-d-qqareɣ ur d-yelli
timmuɣbent yecban ta-gi i deg i d-
ara, belli d lekdeb ur d-ttunejleɣ ara si
gwriɣ. Γef nekk ur nsiε zheṛ yedṛa yid
tmurt-iw, d asnaamel kan i snaamleɣ
-i wakteṛ, ɣliɣ si tgelda n baba s ifri n
rewleɣ-d, belli lemmer bɣiɣ ad qqimeɣ di
ddel war lqaa, cbiɣ bu-lfetna, ur zṛiɣ
tgelda-inu yiwen ur yi-ikkis. A w’ufan ula
acu n webrid ar a yaɣeɣ: amek ar a k
d nekk ad ḥedṛeɣ i bu-tmegraḍ-nni i yi-d
-d-rreɣ ttaṛ nekk s-yiman-iw ur sεiɣ
-yessewḍen ɣer liḥala-ya i deg lliɣ ad d-
Sipyu
d
unejli
d
tigullelt
akwed
ara imsellek? Amek ar a ḥarbeɣ ɣef
yesskiddeb amur-is ula d netta! A w’ufan lemmer d
tgelda-ynu nekk tameddurt d tmettant-iw gwrant-ed
kwenwi s yiman-nwen neɣ d ṣṣellaḥ n tmurt-a ar a d-
deg ufus n ubeṛṛani? La ssutureɣ di ṣṣellaḥ ad iyi-d-
P ag e 2 2
aznen tamettant d tamsukkest i wakken ur d-
Ma yella d amur ameẓyan, widen yessenyafen lḥeq
ttegwrayeɣ ara di ddel, ur ttidireɣ ara alamma
ɣef wedrim, deɣren8 i wakken ad d-tili temεiwent i
yessaweḍ-iyi facal d lemḥayen ad qebleɣ ad yekk
Uderbal, yerna ssutren daɣen i wakken ad ttuḥasben
fell-i lbaṭel. Ass-agi ur yi-d-tegwri tumert n tudert,
wid yenɣan Ḥemṣal, amezwaru deg-sen d Emilius
waqila irad-iyi ad mmteɣ di lεaṛ.
“A syadi imeqwranen, di laanaya-nwen am
laanaya n imawlan d tin n tarwa-nwen, di laanaya n
wegdud n Ṛṛum akken ma yella, ssukkest-iyi-d si
cceṛ-agi i deg i d-gwriɣ, wwtet i wakken ad yekkes
lbaṭel, ur ttaǧǧat ara tagelda n Numidya, d tagelda-
Scaurus9, yiwen akken seg Iḥeṛṛiyen ideḥwilen10, d
aqerru n ukabar, ssem-is ddaw tmurt, a yettnadi ala
ɣef leḥkem d cciεa d yedrimen. Armi i ywala adrim
ad iserru si tgelda n Yugurten mebla cceḥa mebla
leḥya, iwala ɛaddan tilas, d wamek i yuɣal yerra
nwen, ad texnunes deg idamen n twacult-nneɣ.”
adaṛ, iwexxeṛ cwiṭ, axateṛ yugad wid-enni i yɣaḍ lḥal
XV. Asmi i yekfa ugellid [Aderbal] ameslay, d nnuba
men di teswiɛiyin am ti, wamma di lfayet11 meqqwer
n imazanen n Yugurten ad d-mmeslayen, maca nitni
sswezlen awal acku mačči ɣef lḥeq d lqanun i ɣef
tteklen ad sen-d-yawi lḥeq-nsen, tteklen ɣef yedrimen-nni i zuzren i lɣaci. A-ten-a imeslayen i d-nnan:
“Ḥemṣal d Imaziɣen (Inumidyen) i t-yenɣan imi ala
lebɣeḍ d leǧhel i yessen; Aderbal d netta i d-yebdan
amennuɣ walla ur illi win t-iwwḍen. Tura mi i ywala
yexseṛ, ur yezmir ara ad yessek lbaṭel d ddel ɣef
wiyaḍ, a yettcetki! Yugurten a yessutur deg-wen a
yimeqwranen n wegraw i wakken a t-caṛaam akken i
t-tessnem di Numance, w’ad t-tḥasbem s wayen
yexdem mačči akken i wen-d-immeslay fell-as waadaw-is.”
S-yenna ixṣimen-a i taana temsalt wexxṛen-d
seg wexxam n unejmaa. Din din kan, imeqeranen n
wegraw n Ṛṛum ṭeyyben3 ɣef taluft. Imneḥlen4 n imazanen n Yugurten, rnu amur ameqwran seg wegraw
n Ṛṛum, widen akken i sfeḥtellin5, wwten-d aṭas deg
imeslayen i d-yenna Uderbal; ma d Yugurten ṛṛwan
deg-s acekkeṛ. Fkan-as lḥeq yerna ssugten ameslay, akken ufan wwten awi-d kan ad i sfiẓẓwen6
imenɣi d lεaṛ, ad as-tiniḍ fell-asen i tuγal tmanegt7.
kkren-d ad d-inin acimi, akken uɣen tannumi xeddwaabbuḍ-is.
XVI. Yerna deg wegraw n Ṛṛum imiren, akabar-nni i
yrebḥen ttugar i yemmal s adrim wala ɣer lḥeq. Qesden ad aznen mraw n iwkilen i wakken ad asenferqen tagelda n Massibsen i Yugurten d Uderbal.
Xtaṛen-d L. Opimius12, yiwen akken uɣerman13 i yettwassnen aṭas yerna ɣures lhiba deg wexxam n wegraw acku zik, m’akken kan yemmut C. Graccus akwed M. Fulvius Flaccus, yuɣal d lkunsul, rnu daɣen
akabar n imsuyaɛ (icrifen) yugar-it ukabar n
iẓawaliyen deg wegraw n Ṛṛum, d ayenni i t-yeǧǧan
yesserked lḥekm-is akken yebɣa. Γas akken ɣer tazwara, yettuneḥsab seg icenga n Yugurten, asmi i
yṛuḥ ɣer-s ɣer Tmazɣa yessteṛḥeb yi-s Yugurten d
ayen ur tettamneḍ, yerna ikkellex-as s wedrim d wawal, yuɣal Opimius iteddu-yas di lebɣi, yefka lqedṛis, nnif-s akkwed ṣṣfawa14-yis d asfel. Rnan aarḍen
ad xedmen daɣen akkan i yewkilen-nni i yeddan yids, meḥsab bɣan ad ten-aɣen am netta, tuggta degsen qeblen din din, ala kra kan deg-sen I yesmenyafen nnif-nsen anawlu adrim. Asmi I d-yeḥdeṛ beṭṭu,
P ag e 2 3
tamnaḍt n Numidya armi d tilas n Muriṭania, i deg
inaṣliyen d wid i d-yusan? Tamuɣli-w nekk s isteq-
yenhel lxiṛ d lɣaci ffkan-tt i Yugurten; ma d tamnaḍt i
siyen-a temgal (neɣ temxallaf) nettat d tin n tuggta n
fkan i Uderbal ugar zzin-is nnfaa-s, ala ccbaḥa n
imyura i d-yuran fell-asen. Mmeslayen-iyi-d ɣef kra n
lmerṣa-s d yiṣuken15-is kan i yes i temɛan.
yedlisen n Qerṭaj
la qqaren yura-ten
ugellid
Ḥemṣal : ayen i d-nnan iṣewweb d wayen ad d23
XVII. I wakken ad awen-d-kemleɣ ameslay-agi i d-
ttɛawaden lɣaci n dinna. Ihi ad d-iniɣ da-gi ayen sliɣ,
bdiɣ ilaq-iyi ad d-sfehmeɣ qbel cwiṭ amḍiq-nni deg i
akken i yi-d-ssfehmen wid n dinna, ma yella wayen
d-tezga Tferka16(Tafriqt), w’ad d-iniɣ daɣen kra n wa-
ur nṣṣeḥa ara cfut d nitni i yɣelṭen mačči d nekk.
walen ɣef tmura tibeṛṛaniyin ama d tid akwid naadel
ama d tid akwid nezga d amennuɣ. Ad sswezleɣ
XVIII. Гer tazwara, Taferka zedɣen deg-s Ilibiyen
sal
(libyans) d Igettulen (Getules); xecnen, ddehimen
imi yeḥma lḥal aṭas dinna, neɣ imi gwten deg-sent
kan, tetten aksum uɣilas, tetten ula d leḥcic am lmal.
yigna18, neɣ axateṛ d tanezṛuft. Ma d ayen yaanan
Ur ṭṭafaṛen lqanun, ur ɣursen tifaskiwin, ur ttaɣen
timnaḍin tiyaḍ, yella wayen ar a d-sfehmeɣ cwiṭ fell-
awal i wemṛay. Mzerwaɛen akkw, a hemmlen kan d
asent.
ahmal alamma d iḍ ma yḥebs-iten-id. Maca asmi i
awal ɣef temnaḍin ur d-nudan ara yemsukkal
17
Ma ar a d-ttmeslayen yemyura ɣef beṭṭu n
yemmut Herkulus (Herculus)24 di tmurt n Ṣpenyul,
ddunit, llan wid i ɣ-d-iseddayen Taferka (Tafriqt) d
laaskeṛ-is _ ɣef akken i d-qqaren yal lǧens yella deg-
tamnaḍt tis kṛad; wiyaḍ daɣen ḥettben-d kan snat n
s _ yemxerwaa yakkw deg yiwen n umecwaṛ mi wa-
temnaḍin, Asia akwed Yuruppa, ma yella d Taferka
lan ttnaɣen imenzayen25 ɣef anwa ar a yḥekmen mi
(Tafriqt) qqaren-d kan di Yuruppa i -d-tezga. Tilas n
yemmut wemṛay-nsen, lḥasun akka i d-ḥekkun di
Tferka (Tafriqt) si lǧiha n utaram (neɣ taɣerbit) d
Tferka. S-yenna usan-d Imdiyen (Mèdes), Ifeṛsiyen
amḍiq19 i yssemlalen illel-nneɣ s agaraw20; ma yella
(Persians), Iṛemniyen (Armenians); kecmen ɣer Tfer-
si lǧiha n ugmuḍ (neɣ tacerqit) tilas-is d yiwen n
ka di teflugin, aanan akkw imukan-nni i d-yezzgan
wegwni i wumi qqaren inezdaɣ-is Catabathmus. Illel
rrif n Yill Agrakal26. Ifeṛsiyen ɣesṛen27 rrif n ugaraw28,
n dinna d taẓyaḍt21, ičuqar22-is ur sεin ara lmeṛsat;
snegwdamen tiflugin-nsen rran-tent d taacciwin,
akal-is ittṣab aṭas, iwehha i tnekkra n lmal, ur isɛa
zedɣen deg-sent acku ur ufin ara dinna s wacu ar a
isekla, ur isɛa tiliwa, ur ttɣimin deg-s waman n leh-
ssalin ixxamen, yerna imiren ur yeshil ara i wakken
wa. Irgazen-nsen d lefḥul, ceṭṭren yerna xecnen s
ad d-aɣen neɣ ad d-awin sselɛa si tmurt n Ṣpenyul
axeddim; tudert-nsen alamma d tewwser, tamettant
acku tamezwarut yekka-d yill gar-asen, yerna ur ssi-
texḍa-ten di temẓi alamma d win kan yenɣa wactal
nen ara tameslayt-nsen. Uɣalen mzawaǧen nitni d
neɣ win yemmuten deg umennuɣ, wamma wid yett-
Igettulen, dinna skedd amḍiq ur wwiḍen acku imiren
mettaten s waṭṭan d imexḍa. Dinna actalen-agi imeε
m’ur asen-taaǧib ara temnaḍt ad beddlen tayeḍ, ɣer
wuṛa ala nitni.
tagara ula d nitni uɣalen amzun n dinna. Ar ass-a
Anwi i d inezdaɣ imezwura n Tmazɣa? Anwi
wussan, mazal ifellaḥen imaziɣen (inumidiyen)
wid i d-yusan seg wanda nniḍen? Amek i xelḍen
zedɣen deg yexxammen i ycuban ɣer teflugin, ṛuḥen
P ag e 2 4
kan akka d ijaabuben, ɣezzifit maca ur aalayit ara,
-sen d iẓawaliyen, wiyaḍ yewwi-ten kan ṭṭmaɛ n
qqaren-asen mapalia.
umaynut; d nitni i yesserselen31 timdinin yecban Hip-
Ilibiyen i yzeden ɣer rrif n yill dduklen d Imdyen ak-
pone (Bizerte), Hadrumète (Sousse), Leptis (Lemta)
wed Iṛemniyen wamma Igettulen baɛden-ten, qeṛben
akkwed d temdinin nniḍen i d-yezgan ɣef rrif n yillel.
timura-nni i deg yesseḥseḥ yiṭij, amecwaṛ kan bnan
Amecwaṛ kan timdinin-a uɣalent iεum deg-sent lxir,
kra n yemḍiqen (Armenians) lebni-nni i yṣeḥan;
ta teqqel d cciεa n tmurt ɣas ad ttzux yiss, ta terra-d
bdan ttjaṛen nitni d tmurt n Ṣpenyul acku tqerb-iten.
yiss nnefs. Ma d ayen yaanan Qerṭaj, ssemyafeɣ ad
Cwiṭ cwiṭ kan uɣalen igduden-agi i d-yekkan si beṛṛa
tt-ǧǧeɣ ur d-ttmeslayeɣ ara akkw fell-as anawlu ad
beddlen-asen Ilibiyen ismawen seg wakken taawej
sswezleɣ fell-as awal, acku iḍul ubrid s asentel32-nni
tmeslayt-nsen, ur ssinen ara ad ten-id-inin, armi ula
i ɣef riɣ ad d-mmeslayeɣ.
d isem n Imdiyen yuɣal d Imuṛiyen (Maures).
Akken i d-nniɣ yagi, m’ar a d-tekkeḍ rrif rrif n yillel si
Aḥernuk29 n Ifeṛsiyen yennerna dinna deg
temnaḍt i wumi qqaren Catabatmus, ansi i d-uɣalent
umecwaṛ; tarwa-nsen tefṛurex armi ur ten-yewwi ara
tilas n Tferka qbel tamurt n Maseṛ, tamdint tamezwa-
wemḍiq i deg llan. S-yenna ilmeẓyen-nsen, yuɣ lḥal
rut ar a d-temmagreḍ d Syrin33 (Cyrène), yiwet n te-
beddlen-asen isem ssawalen-asen kan Inumidiyen
hrest34 n Thera35, mi taaddaḍ i Syrin ad d-temlileḍ d
(Numides), gguǧen ɣer temnaḍt nniḍen i wumi qqa-
Sirta tataramt36 (taceṛqit) akwed Sirta tagmuḍt37
ren Numidya, ɣer tama n Qerṭaj, ǧǧan ula d imawlan
(taɣerbit), gara-sent tezga-d Leptis. S-yenna d iε
-nsen. Uɣalen Ifersiyen-a wwḍen armi i ḥekkmen
ricen n Filin38, ansi i d-uɣalent tilas n umenkud39 n
timnaṭin-nni i d-yezzin i Numidya, ta ḥekkmen-tt s
Qertaj si lǧiha n Maseṛ, akwed d timdinin tifniqin
leslaḥ ta s lhiba-nsen kan, maca i wakken ad awḍen
tiyaḍ. S-yinna alamma d Muriṭanya d tamurt n Inumi-
ad
n
dyen yakkw. Igduden i yqerben aṭas tamurt n
Tmazɣa. Yuɣal yisem-nsen immucaaɛ ladɣa wid i
Ṣpenyul d wid i wumi qqaren Imuriten40. Ddaw n Nu-
yuẓan armi d amazul n Yill Agrakal, acku Ilibiyen ur
midya a qqaren llan Igettulen, kra deg-sen zedɣen
ḥemlen ara aṭas amennuɣ am Igettulen. Гer tagara,
aacwan, wiyaḍ, d imeqsaḥ41nezzeh, s anda i yufan
Inumidyen uɣalen ḥekkmen yakkw timura-nni ufella
ad ṛuḥen. Kemmel akken d akwessar ad tafeḍ Ityu-
(i d-yezgan ɣer tama n yillel) di Tferka n Ugafa;
byen, ma terniḍ tkemmleḍ d akwessar dinna ad
imezdaɣ-nni iqdimen n dinna i yettwaɣelben xelḍen
tafeḍ timura-nni n iberkanen i yesserɣ yiṭij.
ḥekkmen
εawnen-ten
imezdaɣ
iqdimen
d wid i ten-iɣelben, uɣalen ula d nitni ṭṭfen isem-agi n
Inumidiyen.
XIX. S-yen akkin, Ifniqen daɣen ssumṛen lɣaci-nsen i
wakken ad ṛuḥen ad aanun timura anda nniḍen,
axateṛ wid I yḥekkmen dinna bɣan ad yenqes lɣaci di
Qerṭaj acku ur ten-tewwi ara yakkw tmurt-nni, llan
daɣen wid yebɣan kan ad smeɣwren amenkud30nsen. Ahdum i yṛuḥen s yenna, amur ameqwran deg
Di lweqt-nni n lgirra n Yugurten amur ameqwran si temnaḍin tifniqin akwed wakal n Qerṭaj i ɣ-diṣaḥen yufa-d lḥal ḥekkmen-tent ineflas42 Iṛumyen
maca si melmi kan. Igettulen akwed Inumidyen ε
awed akken llan alamma d asif n Muluca43 d ifedsan44 n Yugurten. Ma yella d Imuṛiyen (Maures), nitni
P ag e 2 5
llan ddaw leḥkem n ugellid Bukus. Nekkni d Bukus
ad berrin sseg-s ɣef wayen akkw i s-yettwaxdmen. Γ
ur aɣ-yecrik wacemma, yessla kan llan Iṛumyen ak-
as akken s tin n leqbaḥa i ten-id-qublen, Aderbal
ka deg yisem, wamma ur t-nessin ur aɣ-issin, ma d
yesmenyaf ad yebru i taluft w’ad isemmeḥ di kullec
nekkwni ur t-neḥsib d aεdaw-nneɣ, ur t-neḥsib d
wala lgirra tayeḍ, imi tin akken yaaddan teǧǧa-yas-d
ameddakkwel-nneɣ. Ihi aql-i tura nniɣ-d ayen akken i
axessaṛ. Maca Yugurten, netta, mazal yewwi-t ṭṭma
riɣ ad t-id-iniɣ ɣef ayen yaanan Taferka d inezdaɣ-is.
ε: deg uqerru-yis tagelda n Uderbal akkw ines. Yerna daɣen abrid-a mačči s iḥeggwasen46 i d-yebges s
XX. Asmi i feṛqen imeqwranen n Wergraw n Ṛṛum
amennuɣ am webrid-nni amezwaru, abrid-a ibegges-
tagelda i warraw n Massibsen uɣalen ɣer tmurt-
d s yigen47-nni n tidett i wakken ad d-iḥelli48 yakkw
nsen. Imiren Yugurten yufa iman-is, ayen akken
Numidya, yerna ulac tuffra. Ansi yekka yeṣḥa49 kra
akkw qqal yugad agraw n Ṛṛum, yuɣal tezga-yas-d
yellan, ama d timdinin ama d igran, ur yelli i yeǧǧa,
tedhen tesqqa, am akken tamgerṭ-nni i yenɣa tegg-
ayen yufa yewwi-t, wid yeddan yid-es ttḥencen, ma
wra-yas-d d cciεa; yeḍmaε ayen akken i yes i
d ixṣimen-is yesseɣli-d fell-asen arebrab.
tḍemmnen yemddukkal-is di Numance d tidett, iɣil di
Ṛṛum kulci yezmer ad t-id-yawi s usuṛdi. Suffeɣnt-as
laεqel lemεahdat-nni i s-ffkan widenni i wumi i
yesseṛwa tijuεal, yuɣal yerra kan ddehn-is ɣer tgelda
n Uderbal, iḥar melmi ar a tt-yawi. Netta d abeɣḍi,
iḥemmel amennuɣ, ma d win akkwed i yebɣa ad
innaɣ d bu-laεqel, d bu-lεafya, ur iḥemmel ara ccwal;
am akken yufa win i ysehlen i wesxaḍ, ugar a yettagwad ar a yessagwad.
Yugurten yessemɣwer tarbaat n laaskeṛ-is,
izḍem yaana akkw tamurt n Uderbal din din kan,
yeṭṭef-d ahdum n imeḥbas, ayen akkw yufa iḥewṣ-it,
ama d tiqṛay n lmal, ama d ayen nniḍen, isserɣ
ixammen, s imnayen45-is skedd amkan ur yeǧǧi; syenna yuɣal ɣer tgelda-s, netta yezwar ma d laaskeṛ
-is a t-ṭṭafaṛen zdeffir. Akka, yenwa ad yebɣu Uderbal ad d-yerr ttaṛ-is, akken ad tekker lgirra gar-asen.
Maca Aderbal, netta, yezṛa belli ur as-tqaεd ara teswaεt n umennuɣ akken tqaad i wexṣim-is, yerna ur
ittkil ara ɣef wegdud-is akken yettkel ɣef Iṛumyen ad
t-selken. Ihi yuzen imazanen ɣer Yugurten i wakken
XXI. Aderbal yeḥṣa belli yewweḍ ɣer teswiεt anda
sal ad isemmeḥ di tgelda-s neɣ ad innaɣ fella-s s
leslaḥ; da-gi yettuḥettem fell-as ad yebges i yigen-is
ula d netta, w’ad iṛuḥ ad iqabel Yugurten. Ignan n
Yugurten akwed Uderbal mqabalen di leǧwahi n Sirta50, ɣer tama n yillel, yal wa yaana amḍiq-is; ass-nni
deg wass ur nnuɣen ara, maca azekka-nni kan di
tafrara, akken i sen-d-yendeh wemṛay-nsen, laaskeṛ
n Yugurten ɣlin imiren ɣef yexṣimen-nsen anda akken llan ttṛaǧun, nitni ittaɣ lḥal iɣdeṛ-iten yiḍes, mi dukin sferfuden anda ar a yafen leslaḥ-nsen, win i
yrewlen yerwel, wayeḍ smmurḍsen-t. Aderbal yerwel
ɣer Sirta netta d kra seg yemnayen-is, yerna lukan
mačči d tarbaεt n Iṛumyen i yuɣ lḥal a ttidiren dinna i
yḥebsen Inumidyen-nni i ten-id-iḍefṛen deg umnaṛ n
Sirta, tilli ass-nni kan deg i tebda i tefra. Yugurten
imiren yaana yakkw tamdint n Sirta, yezzi-yas-d
yakkw s tcariḍin, yal tiɣmert yessbedd deg-s taqacuct, timacinin skedd ṣṣenf ur iǧǧi, ttɣawalen ad
faṛsen taswiεt i wakken di Ṛṛum ad slen belli ifat lḥal,
meḥsab ad d-iban belli mačči d ayen ar a d-rren, ak-
Page 26
ka ur ittili wayen i zemren ad d-xedmen imazanennni i yuzen Uderbal ɣer din.
Asmi i yesla Wegraw n Ṛṛum s taluft-a, yu-
1
2
ittbernenni = ittzuxu s wayen n diri (to be aloof).
nnejm-ik = tawenza-k.
3
Teyyben = Serkeden awal (They Deliberated)
4
Imneḥlen = Arbaε n Wid yeddan d yiwen wexṣim
zen-d kṛad n iterrasen ɣer Tferka i wakken ad d-
(partisans)
siwḍen awal i Yugurten d Uderbal s wayen i d-
5
sfeḥtelli = aγ yiwen s tejalt (to corrupt)
6
Sfiẓzew = rnu-yas azal; sbucce(speak in praise of)
7
Tamanegt = Ccia = (Glory). Smineg (glorify)
8
Deɣren = Fkan awal-nsen; ddan deg ṣṣef n wid... (They
cerḍen imeqwranen: yewwi-yasen-d ad rren leslaḥnsen di ṭṭerf, ad ḥebsen imenɣi, w’ad tt-frun s wis
tlata, akka kan i yecbeḥ ama fell-asen, ama ɣef
Ṛṛum.
voted for...)
9
XXII. Din din kan imazanen ṭṭfen-tt d aqlaqal ɣer
Tferka, ma di Ṛṛum bdan ttmeslayen ɣef umennuɣ d
Emileus Scaurus (163-89 Uqbel Ɛisa) d ameqran n uka-
bar aristukratan yuɣ-it lḥal d lkunsul deg di ~ 115,
netta i yḥekmen agraw n Ṛṛum di ~ 114. Kra kan akka
Tuzya n Sirta; maca d awal kan acku mazal urεad i
uznen-t ɣer Tmazɣa (Numidya),
ten-id-yewwiḍ isal s wazal n wayen yedṛan. Yugur-
εal s twiztin i sen-d-yesseṛw a Y ugurten.
ten iḥesses i ymazanen i s-uznen yerna yenna-
10
51
maca sfeḥtellint-et tju-
Idehwilen = Imepnasen deg unnar n tsartit (Active mem-
yasen-d ur yelli ɣur-s wayen ar a d-yekken nnig wa-
bers, activists within a political party)
wal n Wegraw n Ṛṛum.
11
Di lfayet = di ṭtbiεa (usually)
12
Yup-it lḥal d lkunsul di ~ 121,
Seg wasmi yella meẓẓiy Yugurten ixeddem
kan ayen i yes ar a tcekkṛen d wayen ar a tqadṛen
wid-nni i wumi yeṣfa wul. Scipion, argaz ameqwran
yecban winna, iqudeṛ Yugurten aṭas acku iwala belli
yuklal, wamma mačči s txidas neɣ s tiḥeṛci i d-yewwi
leqdeṛ-nni. D laaqliya-agi akwed d leḥdaqa-agi i
d
ittekka deg umennuɣ i d
-yellan deg ugraw n Ṛṛum i w akken ad kksen C. G raccus d wid yeddan yid-s acku adabu-ines yaadda tilas.
Opimius yenɣa azal n 3.0 0 0 n iɣermanen (citoyens) n
Ṛṛum,
gar-asen Fulv ius Flaccus,
yerna yessaw eḍ
amḥami yekkaten ɣef izerfan n w egdud deg w egraw n
Ṛṛum armi i yenɣa iman-is.
yessawḍen Massibsen armi i s-iga leqrar ula d netta;
13
Aγerman = mmis n Tmurt (a Citizen)
ɣas akken ɣur-s dderya yerna-t ula d netta d mmi-s,
14
Ssfa = Loyalty
yerna yeqbel ad iwṛet ayla-s si tgelda-s am netta am
15
Iṣuken-is = Lbaṭimat-is
warraw-is. Yaani m’ar a tferzeḍ annect-a, ad tafeḍ
16
Taferka = Africa
belli imi i d-ibeggen akkw annect-a n yiseɣ d leqfaza,
17
Imsukkal = Wid yettnadin di timura nniḍen (explorers).
18
Igna = Asgwet n “agnu” neɣ uguren (problems).
19
Amḍiq ...n Ĝibraltar
20
Agaraw = ill ameqran (Ocean).
21
Taẓyaḍt = izga yeḥcer (Stormy)
22
Ičuqar = Anida yemlal yillel akwed lberr (The coasts)
23
Ḥemṣel wis sin, d mmi-s n Mastanabal, neɣ d mmi-s n
yuɣal ur iqebbel ara yiwen ad as-yini tḍelmeḍ. Yerna
ula d Aderbal yenwa ad ineɣ Yugurten s lexdaε lemmer yufa, asmi i s-ifaq Yugurten, yuɣal yezwar-it netta. Ṛṛum ur tezmir ara ad as-tekkes i Yugurten ad
iḥareb ɣef yiman-is, annect-a d lḥeq-is. Segmi ula d
netta yuzen imazanan ɣer din i wakken ad frun tamsal-agi. Da-gi nemxallaf. Iṛumyen ur ufin ara amek ar
a mtafaqen nitni d Uderbal.
mmi-s n Massensen.
24
Da-gi Saluste ur iferrez ara gar wayen yellan di tmucuha
(mythology) akwed wayen yellan di tilawt (reality).
P ag e 2 7
25
Amenzay = axṣim (a rival)
38
26
Ill agrakal = Ill yellan ger Uroppa akwed d Tferka
asen Salust ukessar, deg yixf wis LXXIX.
(mediterranean sea)
Iricen n Fillin (Alters of Philenea) = Yemmeslay-ed fell-
39
Empire
Imuriten = (The Maures)
Imeqsaḥ = D imdanen ur nefhim timsal n ddunit
27
Γser /Γesṛen = twekkṛen (they settled)
40
28
agaraw = ill ameqran (ocean)
41
29
Aḥernuk = Ipil, tazmert (power)
(Barbarians)
30
Amenkud =D yiwet n tmurt i-deg llant aṭas n tqeldiwin
42
Ineflas (fr. aneflus ) = (Magistrates)
43
Muluca = Asif i wumi qqaren ass-a Muluya, yezga-d deg
(Empire)
31
Yesserslen = I s-iggan llsas (Founded)
utaram n Lzzayer.
32
asentel = Tapawsa nep tikti i-pef ttmeslayen (Subject)
44
33
Syrin = Yiwet n temdint i serselen imnekcam i d-yekkan
si Thera. Thera d yiwet si les Cyclades n Igrigen.
34
Tahrest = D tamdint (nep Taddart) i serslen imnekcam
m’ar a bdun twekkiren (Colony)
35
Thera = Z ik Thera d tamurt weḥdes, tura d tamdint
tagrigit (Grèce).
Ifedsan = Imdanen yellan ddaw leḥkem n ugellid
(subjets)
45
Imnayen = D askṛiwen irekben ayyisen (Cavalry)
46
Iḥeggwasen = Imakaren (bandits)
47
Igen = D Tirbain n laaskeṛ (army)
48
Ad d-iḥelli = (He will Conquer)
49
Yeṣḥa = iṣedde (Devastate)
36
Sirta tataramt = Tura d axliǧ (Golf) n Sider di Libya.
50
Sirta = Qsenṭina n tura.
37
Sirta tagmuḍt = Tura isem-is Gabes, di Tunes
51
Tuzya = Siege/ zzi I tmedint = to besiege a city
(Continued from page 2)
A Department of Amazigh Studies within the School
of Literature and Humanities of the University of
Agadir has been opened.
The curriculum in this department is a basic training in
the field of the Amazigh language and literature. The sixsemester training qualifies of a degree of licentiate, which
is a certification for teaching in the middle and high
schooling system.
The Amazigh language is taught in some primary Moroccan schools since the year 2003-2004. However, this recent experience showed some serious difficulties such as
the lack of trained teachers and didactic tools in addition
to problems related to the standardization of the language.
Ayyuz/ Congratulations
I Karim Achab d Tme..ut-is ilmend n tlatit persen
n takniwin Numid akw d Tanit, ass n 29 di tuber
2007.
To Karim Achab and his wife at the occasion of the birth
of their twin daughters Numid and Tanit on October 29th,
2007.
Odds and Official Culture
You may think…
You may think that the Regional Theatre of Tizi-Ouzou
will be dedicated to promoting the culture of the region of
Kabylia, …No, No, No!
Directed by Fouzia Ait El Hadj, « El ashiq, Awisha wa el
Harraz » from Kateb Yacine Regional Theatre, TiziOuzou, was presented at the Mouloud Mammeri Cultural
Center of the same city. This piece of musical is an extract of the famous qaçida (long poem in Arabic) El harraz written by the Morrocan poet cheikh El Mekki Ben
Qorchi.
May Kateb Yacine and Mouloud Mammeri rest in peace.
You may think…
You may think that a local radio in Bgayet (Kabylia, Algeria) would be dedicated to promoting the culture and
the language of the region from where the radio is broadcasting. No, No, No ! Look the daily program of this radio : Two hours broadcasting of radio Kuran, one program of radio culture (which one ?), three editions of the
news bulletin of radio Channel 1 (in Arabic language).
P ag e 2 8
Tidak n Nna Fa
The first play in Tamazight (Taqbaylit)
produced in North America
Acu i d-tewwi tceqquft-a Tidak n Nna
Fa i umezgun Amazip
Summary
Nna Fadma, a Kabyle old woman is going to visit her
doctor. Casual day, isn’t-it? However, when particular
circumstances turn a physician into a confidant, Nna Fa
unwinds the thread of a whole life made up of a lot of
love and self-abnegation but also frustration and revolt.
She speaks her mind on issues that relate to the social
life in Kabylia, men’s but especially women’s lives, as
well as the "current times".
In a whirlwind of replies where laughter and tears are
mixed together, Nna Fa guides us on a whole range of
emotions. From affection to the nostalgia of those years
when respect was a value, from admiration to a little
regret for not having spend enough time with our moms
and grandmas, aunties and other old relatives. With an
irreproachable politeness, using an authentic and exquisite speech, Nna Fa makes us realize that our grandmothers have a much more lucid glance on life than we
think. She reconciles us with a generation whose wisdom and lucidity have not been valued enough.
Ur ;ettbet ara Tidak n Nna Fa d rwaya n ta,sa i yebnan pef wesmeger n yiwen wudem (Character) Nna Fa.
Xe\sum Arab Sekhi ur yeyli ara di tcerkett nni am
akken i t,erru atas di tceqqufin n umezgun. Udmawen
n tcequft-a d wid n tidett d wid n tillawt d igmawiyen
(natural characters) ttwasknen-d s udem n yisep akwed
d win n ddpel d zzel.. I tidett-nni i-deg llan zemren
ad d-rsen seg usayes ad xel,en d lpaci fi;el ma bedlen
kra deg iselsa nsen wa ad kecmen di tmeddurt n tidett.
Ihi taceqquft agi ad as-yegg wemdan am akken kan
You can expect a lot of laughter. Like a magic carpet,
the language used by Nna Fa takes us right in the heart
of Kabylia, but also, in a long journey…to the bottom of
our hearts as sons or daughters.
iqqim isell i yemma-s tameqrant (nep jida-s) azal n snat
n tsaotin. Am akken qqaren d acu i d amezgun? Tikwal
d anadi pef u;ulfu yeffren deg-nep. Seg Tidak n Nna
Fa yal wa d acu ar a yaf
illa win d-tecfa le;nana
illa win nni,en d kra n ndama.
Left to right : Hocine Toulaït (The Physician), Arab Sekhi (Nna Fa) To order a copy of the DVD, go to:
http://dvd-acaoh.no-ip.ca/

File - Amazigh Cultural Association in America

Transcription

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