The Algerian revolution in Kabyle songs (1954- 1962): Between commitment and collective memory

Abstract

Kabyle music has always been a means of social, political, and cultural expression as it plays a central role during the Algerian Revolution (1954-1962) by flaming resistance and preserving collective memory. Accordingly, Kabyle artists cleverly used symbols and metaphors to encode messages about the struggle against French colonial rule, allowing them to bypass the strict censorship imposed by colonial authorities.

These songs covered a variety of themes, including the glorification of martyrs, the sacrifices of the Algerian people, the calls for national unity, and resistance in the face of oppression. Moreover, they recounted major revolutionary events as they have served a living testimony to the hardships endured and the aspirations for independence.

Despite the efforts to suppress Kabyle songs, they have continued to exacerbate the national consciousness and remained today as a symbol of resistance and an everlasting legacy of the liberation movements.

Kabyle songs dating from the days of the Revolutionary War period and even from the Post-War era have been incorporating the theme of the Algerian Revolution into their lyrics to describe the battlefields. Throughout these songs, all the tribute was paid to those who have sacrificed their lives to liberate the country and offer the future generations independence and peace.

This article analyzes a selection of Kabyle songs composed during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962). We focus on these songs due to their powerful role in spreading revolutionary ideals and the deep significance they held for Kabyle artists in commemorating the struggle.

Several scholars have explored this theme. Djellaoui, in his work Evolution of Kabyle Poetry: Between Tradition and Modernity, categorizes his study into three key phases: the pre-war era, the war itself, and the post-independence period. Similarly, Mhenna Mahfoufi, in Kabyle Songs and Poems in the Liberation Struggle, Algeria: 1954- 1962, provides bilingual transcriptions (French and Kabyle) of these songs alongside a detailed thematic analysis.

In this article, I have selected a few lyrics that have been sung by numerous singers, I will divide them according to the themes they address as well as presenting a personal initiative to explain them. Accordingly, I will also cite a few songs that describe the psychological state of the fighters during the war, even if they have not been addressing the subject of the Revolutionary War (1954-1962), such as "Rǧu-yi" (Wait for me in English) by Lounis Ait Menguellet and "Kenza" by Matoub Lounes.

In order to answer our research question, we opt for a thematic analysis of the songs’ corpus. A qualitative method that enables to study the recurring implicit or explicit messages of the themes, along with the social and cultural representations emanated through the lyrics of the songs.

We collected, for our work, a corpus of about ten songs from YouTube and from the book by Djellaoui Mohamed "Tatewwur chi’r el kabaili: bayna el teklid wa el hadata” (Evolution of Kabyle Poetry: Between Tradition and Modernity). We listened to those songs and transcribed them into Tamazight.

This corpus consists of lyrics sung by Kabyle artists such as Ait Menguellet (Rğu-yi (Wait for me), amjahed (the fighter)), Matoub Lounes (Afalku n uẓru n leγrib (The Falcon of Aghrib Stone), Kenza), Taleb Rabeh (Sliγ-d i ukerṭuc, (I heard the bullets) ma tecfam ay igudar (Do you remember Eagles, yekker-d umjahed (The Fighter Stands up), Slimane Azem (ffeγ ay ajrad tamurt-iw (Go Away Grasshoppers), yeḑher-d waggur (The Moon Appears), Farid Ali (A yemma εzizen ur ttru (Dearest Mother, Don’t Cry).

These songs are categorized according to the themes and the different situations they depict. Most of the songs deal with the psychological state of the fighters as well as their family members. They also point the glory of those heroes who, first, fought for their honour and dignity, then for their children to be able to avail from their sacrifices.