File - Amazigh Cultural Association in America
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File - Amazigh Cultural Association in America
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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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. Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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”. Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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”. Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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. Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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; Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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- Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e (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 tiallamin igay-aktent uzayi b- erd i win n Bugargur d Tiγbula c- Xu tetta abexxan, ecc exs azegwaγ iγezdisan Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e 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 Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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 tejalt (to corrupt) 6 Sfiẓzew = rnu-yas azal; sbucce(speak in praise of) 7 Tamanegt = Ccia = (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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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) Iricen 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 Tirbain 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 T h e A ma z ig h V o i c e Vo lu me 16, I ssu e 2 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/
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