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Béchar Province
Béchar ( ar, ولاية بشار) is the second least-densely populated province (''wilaya'') in Algeria, named after its capital Béchar. History The greater part of the province is dry plains (hamadas) suitable for grazing but with insufficient surface water to support agriculture. Most settlements are therefore concentrated in oases along the Saoura valley and its tributaries. Natural resources include coal deposits in the north around Bechar and Kenadsa. The oases' traditional economic basis was agriculture, notably growing date palms and grain. The inhabitants of several oases, notably Ouakda, Lahmar and Boukais, speak Berber languages, while the rest speak Arabic. Many of the oases had significant populations of shurfa or Haratin peoples. There is a notable ''zaouia'' (traditional religious school) at Kenadsa. The region also supported a substantial mainly Arab pastoralist nomadic population, notably the Doui-Menia and Ouled Djerir; most or all have settled in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provinces Of Algeria
Algeria, since December 18, 2019, is divided into 58 wilaya, wilayas (province, provinces). Prior to December 18, 2019, there were 48 provinces. The 58 provinces are divided into 1,541 baladiyahs (Municipalities of Algeria, municipalities). The name of a province is always that of its capital city. According to the Algerian constitution, a wilaya is a territorial collectivity enjoying economic and diplomatic freedom, the APW, or ''"Popular Provincial Parliament/Provincial Popular Parliament"'' (the ''Assemblée Populaire Wilayale'', in French) is the political entity governing a province, directed by the "Wali (administrative title), Wali" (Governor), who is chosen by the Algerian President to handle the APW's decisions, the APW has also a president, who is elected by the members of the APW, which Algerians elect. List By 1984 the number of Algerian provinces were fixed at 48 and established the list of municipalities or "communes" attached to each province. In 2019, 10 new pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Date Palm
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, and is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. ''P. dactylifera'' is the type species of genus ''Phoenix'', which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms. Date trees reach up to in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100 years of age when maintained properly. Date fruits (dates) are oval-cylindrical, long, and about in diameter, with colour ranging from dark brown to bright red or yellow, depending on variety. Containing 61–68 percent sugar by mass when dried, dates are very sweet and are enjoyed as desserts on their own or within confections. Dates have been cultivated in the Middle East and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sub-Saharan African Music Traditions
In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the use of music is not limited to entertainment: it serves a purpose to the local community and helps in the conduct of daily routines. Traditional African music supplies appropriate music and dance for work and for religious ceremonies of birth, naming, rites of passage, marriage and funerals. The beats and sounds of the drum are used in communication as well as in cultural expression. African dances are largely participatory: there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers except with regard to spiritual, religious and initiation dances. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate. Dances help people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community, celebrate festivals and funerals, compete, recite history, proverbs and poetry and encounter gods. They inculcate social patterns and values. Many dances are performed by only males or females. Dances are often segregated by gender, reinforcing g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taghit
Taghit ( ar, ﺗﺎﻏﻴﺖ) is a town and commune in Taghit District, Béchar Province, in western Algeria. The town is an oasis watered by the underground Oued Zousfana, which runs along beside the dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental. According to the 2008 census its population is 6,317, up from 6,047 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.4%. The commune covers an area of . History The town was the site of the Battle of Taghit in 1903, in which 4000 Zayanes Berbers besieged the French in the town, whom they outnumbered by 10 to 1. The attackers were later forced to retreat. Geography Taghit lies on the left (eastern) bank of the Oued Zouzfana. The Grand Erg Occidental, a large area of continuous sand dunes, lies to the east, while the rocky Djebel Baroun lies to the west across the river. Climate Taghit has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification ''BWh''), with extremely hot summers and cool winters, and very little precipitation throughout the year. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trans-Saharan Trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century. The Sahara once had a very different environment. In Libya and Algeria, from at least 7000 BC, there was pastoralism, the herding of sheep, goats, large settlements, and pottery. Cattle were introduced to the Central Sahara ( Ahaggar) from 4000 to 3500 BC. Remarkable rock paintings (dated 3500 to 2500 BC) in places that are currently very dry, portray flora and fauna that are not present in the modern desert environment. As a desert, Sahara is now a hostile expanse that separates the Mediterranean economy from the economy of the Niger basin. As Fernand Braudel points out, crossing such a zone, especially without mechanized transport, is worthwhile only when exceptional circumstances cause the expected gain to outweigh the cost and the danger. Trade was conducted by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouled Djerir
The Ouled Djerir ( ar, أولاد جرير) are a small Arab tribe of the Bechar area in southwestern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig .... Their close alliance with the neighbouring Doui-Menia has led them to be counted as the "sixth fifth" of that tribe. Their economy was traditionally based on camel-herding along with a little agriculture.Ross E. Dunn, ''Resistance in the desert: Moroccan responses to French imperialism 1881-1912''. Taylor & Francis 1977, p. 39. References {{Ethnic groups in Algeria Arab tribes in Algeria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doui-Menia
The Doui-Menia or Dawi-Mani` (Arabic ذوي منيع, Maghrebi Arabic /dwi-mniʕ/) are an tribe of the Moroccan-Algerian border between Taghit and the Tafilalt region, centered on Abadla in the Guir valley. They became prominent in the area with their expansion eastwards around the 17th century, notably at the expense of the Ghenanma and Hamyan. Like several other tribes of the region, they are divided into "five fifths" (''khams khmas''), tracing their descent to a common ancestor, `Addi el-Meni`i; according to Dunn (1977:70), these are: * Ouled Djelloul. * Ouled Youssef. * Idersa. * Ouled Bou Anane. * Ouled bel Giz. To these a "sixth" was added by alliance in the 19th century: the neighbouring Ouled Djerir near Bechar. Traditionally mainly nomadic, agriculture became an essential part of their economy in the eighteenth century: each "fifth" cultivated a portion of the seasonally flooded lands along the Guir valley near Abadla, and stored the produce in fortified silos (''mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pastoralism
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal species involved include cattle, camels, goats, yaks, llamas, reindeer, horses and sheep. Pastoralism occurs in many variations throughout the world, generally where environmental characteristics such as aridity, poor soils, cold or hot temperatures, and lack of water make crop-growing difficult or impossible. Operating in more extreme environments with more marginal lands means that pastoral communities are very vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Pastoralism remains a way of life in many geographic areas, including Africa, the Tibetan plateau, the Eurasian steppes, the Andes, Patagonia, the Pampas, Australia and many other places. , between 200 million and 500 million people globally practised pastoralism, and 75% ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaouia
A ''zawiya'' or ''zaouia'' ( ar, زاوية, lit=corner, translit=zāwiyah; ; also spelled ''zawiyah'' or ''zawiyya'') is a building and institution associated with Sufism, Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum. In some regions the term is interchangeable with the term ''khanqah'', which serves a similar purpose. In the Maghreb, the term is often used for a place where the founder of a Sufi order or a local saint or holy man (e.g. a ''wali'') lived and was buried. In the Maghreb the word can also be used to refer to the wider ''tariqa'' (Sufi order or brotherhood) and its membership. Maghreb Religious and social functions In the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) the zawiya is primarily a place for religious activities and religious instruction. It is typically associated with a particular religious leader (''Sheikh, shaykh'') or a local Muslim saint (''wali''), who is housed her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haratin
Haratin (), also referred to as Haratine, Harratin (singular: Hartani), are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahara, and Algeria. In Tunisia and Libya, they are referred to as Shwashin, Chouachin, Chouachine (singular: Shwashin, Chouchan). The Haratin are both culturally and ethnically distinct from modern sub-Saharan Africans and speak Maghrebi Arabic dialects as well as various Berber languages.they are Arabic speakinHaratin Encyclopædia Britannica (2014) They have traditionally been characterised as the descendants of former Sub-Saharan slaves and as one of the original inhabitants of the Sahara. They form the single largest defined ethnolinguistic group in Mauritania where they account for 40% of the population (~1.5 million). In parts of Arab-Berber Maghreb, they are sometimes referred to as a "socially distinct class of workers". The Harati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharif
Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ( ). It may be used in three senses: #In the broadest sense, it refers to any descendant of Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim (the Banu Hashim or Hashimites, already in Muhammad's day an established clan within the Meccan tribe of the Quraysh), including all descendants of Muhammad's paternal uncles Abu Talib (the Talibids) and al-Abbas (the Abbasids).. #More often, it refers to a descendant of Ali, a son of Abu Talib and a paternal cousin of Muhammad (the Alids), especially but not exclusively through Ali's marriage with Muhammad's daughter Fatima (the Fatimids). In this sense, the most common one, the term effectively refers to all descendants of the prophet. #In its narrowest sens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Oran Berber
South Oran Berber, or Figuig Berber, is a cluster of the Zenati languages, which belong to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. It is spoken in a number of oases of southwestern Algeria and across the border in Morocco. These areas include most of the ksour (fortified villages) between Mecheria and Béni Abbès: Tiout, Ain Sfisifa, Boussemghoun, Moghrar, Chellala, Asla, Fendi, Mougheul, Lahmar, Boukais, Sfissifa, Ouakda, Barrbi near Taghit, Igli, Mazzer in Algeria, Iche, Ain Chair and the seven ksour of Figuig Figuig or Figig ( ar, فجيج; Figuig Berber: Ifeyyey) is an oasis town in eastern Morocco near the Atlas Mountains, on the border with Algeria. The town is built around an oasis of date palms, called ''Tazdayt'', meaning "palm tree" in the ... (Ait Wadday, Ait Amar, Ait Lamiz, Ait Sliman, Ait Anaj, Ait Addi and Iznayen) in Morocco. Of these towns, the only one whose dialect has been studied in any detail is Figuig ( Kossmann 1997). A curs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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