Ouled Naïl
M'Sila, Djelfa, | |
Languages | |
---|---|
Djelfaoui (Naïli) dialect of Arabic | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam |
The Ouled Naïl (.
Origins
The
Traditional lifestyle
The Ouled Naïl are seminomadic or
The Ouled Naïl have traditionally reared cattle as nomads in their mountain grasslands, as well in the northern Hodna region and the Dayas in the south. When they are nomadic they live in black-and-red striped tents, but they also used to live in dechra, or non fortified villages, or in ksour, fortified ones. Cereal cultivation is possible in the mountain heights, although with rather irregular results. They rarely were able to cultivate date palms in the heights but obtained dates from other areas by trading, especially in Bou Saâda located at the feet of the northern end of the mountain range.[6]
Despite the harsh conditions of the dry and cold highlands where they live, this ethnic group has managed to fare fairly well in their traditional environment along the centuries. However, the odd years of drought and years with prolonged, cold winters are disastrous for the Ouled Nail; in 1944, and again in 1947, when weather conditions were especially rough, about 50% of their livestock died and famines followed.[4]
Dances and songs
The Ouled Naïl tribe originated a style of music, sometimes known as
Although their primary roles and activities in their rural milieu were connected with animal farming, most women trained in the art of dance and song from childhood. Thus for Ouled Naïl females the practice of leaving their ancestral home and settling in a nearby desert town as entertainers was common. This was especially so in times of disaster and famine, when a woman had relative freedom to fend for herself in order to survive, save money and improve her future economic status.
"Exotic" representations
The 1956 edition of the
Auguste Maure, an orientalist photographer that lived in Biskra was active from 1860 to 1907 and took many photographs of landscapes and cities of south Algeria (El Kantara, Sidi Okba, Chetma, Tilatou, Tolga, Touggourt). The female members of the Ouled Naïl tribe, wearing the traditional colorful costumes and covered by jewels, were often represented on Maure photographs which were appreciated by tourists.
In the 1930s, painter Juanita Guccione lived among the Ouled Naïl people, and she used the experience as inspiration for some of her work.[15]
See also
- Bou Saâda
- Djelfa
- Auguste Maure
- Nasreddine Dinet
- The Finale of the orchestral Suite Beni Mora by Gustav Holst is titled In the Street of the Ouled Naïls.
References
- ^ "le pays des ouled-nail,algerie,documents algeriens,venis;alger-roi.fr". alger-roi.fr. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- Elisée Reclus(1830-1905), p.552
- ^ "A Different Perspective of Algeria - English blog - By Algeria Channel". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "geographie de l'afrique du nord,le titteri des francais,atlas saharien;alger-roi.fr". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "Djelfa : Une wilaya steppique en pleine mutation". L'ALGERIE, SES COUTUMES, SA CULTURE, ET SES TRADITIONS. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "le pays des ouled-nail,algerie,documents algeriens,venis;alger-roi.fr". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ YouTube. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "Ouled Nail". Belly-dance.org. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
- ^ ""The Ouled Nail of Algeria", by Jasmin Jahal, June 1999". Jasminjahal.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
- ^ "Enshrouded by Mystery- Tribes of Algeria (Part 2)". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "Gilded Serpent, Belly Dance News & Events , » Dancing for Dowries, Part 2". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ Marnia Lazreg, The Eloquence of Silence: Algerian Women in Question. p. 30-31
- ^ a b "Algérie 1830-1962 - le musée de l'Histoire vivante". Museehistoirevivante.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
- ^ title= Flute of Sand, by Lawrence Morgan, publisher=Odhams Press, London, 1956.
- ISBN 978-0-19-977378-7. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
External links
- Media related to Ouled Nails at Wikimedia Commons
- A Brief Encounter with the Historical Ouled Nail
- Images of the Ouled Nail
- Etienne Dinet and the Ouled Naïl
- FAO country reports: Algeria