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The Kabyle people (, or Leqbayel or Iqbayliyen, , ) are a Berbers ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber population of Algeria and the second largest in North Africa.
Many of the Kabyles have emigrated from Algeria, influenced by factors such as the Algerian Civil War, cultural repression by the central Algerian government, Amazigh-state relations in Morocco and Algeria and overall industrial decline. Their diaspora has resulted in Kabyle people living in numerous countries. Large populations of Kabyle people settled in France and, to a lesser extent, Canada (mainly Québec) and United States.
The Kabyle people speak Kabyle language, a Berber language. Since the Berber Spring of 1980, they have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of Berber languages in Algeria.
The term used for Kabyles specifically was 'Zwawa' ('Izwawen' in Kabyle, 'زواوة' in Arabic). This appellation has been used since the medieval era for the tribes of Greater Kabylia, and is featured in important medieval ethnographic works like Ibn Khaldun's. After the French conquest, the French often confused the term "Arabs" and "Kabyle" thanks to the widespread usage of Kabyle all over the country. Although initially the French used the term Kabyle to refer to all Berbers, it was later specified to mean only the modern Kabyle people during the colonial era, however, Zwawa is still the most used term for Kabyles in areas such as western Algeria.
Black, Parbury, & Allen,
It was around this time period that the Fatimid Caliphate reached its territorial peak of 4,100,000 km2.Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 222. ISSN 1076-156X
The Kabyles were relatively independent of outside control during the period of Ottoman Empire rule in North Africa. They lived primarily in three different kingdoms: the Kingdom of Kuku, the Kingdom of Ait Abbas, and the principality of Aït Jubar. E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 4, publié par M. Th. Houtsma, Page: 600 Kabylia was the last part of northern Algeria to be colonised by the French during the years 1854–1857, despite vigorous resistance.Laidani, Amar. (2019). The recognition of the Tamazight Languages in the Algerian Law. Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Iurisprudentia. Such leaders as Lalla Fatma N'Soumer continued the resistance as late as Mokrani's rebellion in 1871.
French colonists invented the Kabyle myth in the 19th century which asserted that the Kabyle people were more predisposed than Arabs to assimilate into "French civilization." Lacoste explained that "turning the Arabs into invaders was one way of legitimizing the French presence".
Kabyle villages were ruled through an indirect administration based on the preservation of Kabyle traditional political institutions such as the village’s assemblies djemaas, this institution played a central role in the Kabyle’s self-governing. The djemaas would resolve disputes between the village’s inhabitants and edict the customary law rules. French officials confiscated much land from the more recalcitrant tribes and granted it to colonists, who became known as pieds-noirs During this period, the French carried out many arrests and deportation resisters, mainly to New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Due to French colonization, many Kabyle emigrated to other areas inside and outside Algeria. Bélaïd Abane, L'Algérie en guerre: Abane Ramdane et les fusils de la rébellion, p. 74 Over time, immigrant workers also began to go to France.
In the 1920s, Algerian immigrant workers in France organized the first party promoting Algerians independence. Messali Hadj, Imache Amar, Si Djilani Mohammed, and Belkacem Radjef rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930s. They developed militants who became vital to the fighting for an independent Algeria. This became widespread after World War II.
Since Algeria gained independence in 1962, tensions have arisen between Kabylia and the central government on several occasions. In July 1962, the FLN (National Liberation Front) was split rather than united. Indeed, many actors who contributed to independence wanted a share of power but the ALN (National Liberation Army) directed by Houari Boumédiène, joined by Ahmed Ben Bella, had the upper hand because of their military forces.
In 1963 the FFS party of Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the authority of the FLN, which had promoted itself as the only party in the nation. Aït Ahmed and others considered the central government led by Ben Bella authoritarian, and on September 3, 1963, the FFS (Socialist Forces front) was created by Hocine Aït Ahmed. This party grouped opponents of the regime then in place, and a few days after its proclamation, Ben Bella sent the army into Kabylia to repress the insurrection. Colonel Mohand Oulhadj also took part in the FFS and in the Maquis (fr) because he considered that the mujahideen were not treated as they should be. In the beginning, the FFS wanted to negotiate with the government but since no agreement was reached, the maquis took up arms and swore not to give them up as long as democratic principles and justice were a part of the system. But after Mohand Oulhadj's defection, Aït Ahmed could barely sustain the movement and after the FLN congress on April 16, 1964, which reinforced the government's legitimacy, he was arrested in October 1964. As a consequence, the insurrection was a failure in 1965 because it was hugely repressed by the forces of the ALN, under Houari Boumédiène. In 1965 Aït Ahmed was sentenced to death, but later pardoned by Ben Bella. Approximately 400 deaths were counted amongst the maquis.
In 1980, protesters mounted several months of demonstrations in Kabylia demanding the recognition of Berber as an official language; this period has been called the Berber Spring. In 1994–1995, the Kabyles conducted a school boycott, termed the "strike of the school bag". In June and July 1998, they protested, in events that turned violent, after the assassination of singer Matoub Lounès and passage of a law requiring use of the Arabic language in all fields.
In the months following April 2001 (called the Black Spring), major riots among the Kabyles took place following the killing of Masinissa Guermah, a young Kabyle, by gendarmes. At the same time, organized activism produced the Arouch, and neo-traditional local councils. The protests gradually decreased after the Kabyles won some concessions from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
On 6 January 2016, Tamazight was officially recognized in Algeria's constitution as a language equal to Arabic.
The area supported local dynasties (Numidia, Fatimids in the Kutama periods, Zirids, Hammadids, and Hafsids of Bejaïa) or Algerian modern nationalism, and the war of independence. The region was repeatedly occupied by various conquerors. Romans and Byzantines controlled the main road and valley during the period of antiquity and avoided the mountains (Mont ferratus). During the spread of Islam, Arabs controlled plains but not all the countryside (they were called el aadua: enemy by the Kabyle).
The Regency of Algiers, under Ottoman influence, tried to have indirect influence over the people (makhzen tribes of Amraoua, and marabout).
The French gradually and totally conquered the region and set up a direct administration. chain]] Algerian provinces with significant Kabyle-speaking populations include Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa and Bouira, where they are a majority, as well as Boumerdes, Setif, Bordj Bou Arreridj, and Jijel. Algiers also has a significant Kabyle population, where they make up more than half of the capital's population.
The Kabyle region is referred to as Al Qabayel ("tribes") by the Arabic-speaking population and as Kabylie in French. Its indigenous inhabitants call it Tamurt Idurar ("Land of Mountains") or Tamurt n Iqbayliyen/ Tamurt n Iqbayliyen ("Land of the Kabyle"). It is part of the Atlas Mountains and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean.
During the first centuries of their history, Kabyles used the Libyco-Berber writing system (ancestor of the modern Tifinagh). Since the beginning of the 19th century, and under French influence, Kabyle intellectuals began to use the Latin script. It is the basis for the modern Berber Latin alphabet.
After the independence of Algeria, some Kabyle activists tried to revive the Old Tifinagh alphabet. This new version of Tifinagh has been called Neo-Tifinagh, but its use remains limited. Kabyle literature has continued to be written in the Latin script.
of Kabyle background generally live in France. Recently, the Protestant community has had significant growth, particularly among Evangelicalism denominations.Lucien Oulahbib, Le monde arabe existe-t-il ?, page 12, 2005, Editions de Paris, Paris.
, Euronews, "Election hit by irregularities, says Algerian opposition leader", www.euronews.com, 12 May 2012, accessed 5 October 2020 and the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), led by Mohcine Belabbès who replaced Saïd Sadi. Both parties are secularist, Berberist and Algerianist.
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