African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 455
Mention should be made of the other Berberophone communities of lesser numerical
importance scattered throughout the national terrritory and living in often mountainous
(Chenoua, Beni-Snous) or desert (the Zenetes of Gourara) isolation. Despite some
relatively significant variants, they all present a certain number of common cultural traits
which Pierre Bourdieu summarizes as follows: “a certain independence toward Islam
(with the exception of the Mzab), especially noticeable in the legal system; a peasant love
for the earth and for the relentless work which fertilizes it and the predominance of direct
farming, an apparently egalitarian social structure that involves the territorial concept.”
(1958, 7)
Care must be taken not to minimize the role of the Arabo-Muslim culture, and the
significance of its models, in every milieu and in every region of the country. Whether
one defines oneself as or feels oneself to be a Amazigh, an “Arabized Berber,” an
“Arab,” an “African” or simply a “Muslim,” an Algerian always positions him or
herself—partly or completely, implicitly or explicitly—in relationship to a linguistic
heritage (Arabic), a faith (Islam), values (pride, courage, generosity, etc.), and a political
ideal (Umma), assumed to be from the Orient.
Whatever the claimed, ethnic origin, it is clear that the lived culture is a synthesis of
East and West, of Africa and the Mediterranean. This syncretism is obvious in most
sociocultural areas. It is manifest, for example, in the cult of the saints, which combines
an Arabo-Muslim-inspired liturgy and extactic practices (often of African origin) with
clearly indigenous magico-religious rituals.
Likewise, in the culinary realm, if couscous—prepared according to numerous
variants—seems to belong to an indigenous tradition, pastries and certain urban dishes
clearly bear the mark of the Middle East (Turkey, Iraq, Syria). Architecture is also a good
example of this historic synthesis of which the Maghreb has been the stage over the
centuries. Examples include the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, with its simple-shaped
minaret and typically angular Andalusian silhouette, and the Ketchaoua Mosque of
Algiers, with its imposing proportions, its Byzantine cupola, and its clearly oriental
ornate style.
As for music, we know that Eastern, Western (Andalusian), Mediterranean, and
African (sub-Saharan) have combined with indigenous Berber repertories. This stylistic
plurality is expressed in the various occasions and celebrations that mark profane and
sacred life: Andalusian Spain (Gharnata, Çan’a), West Africa (Fundu, Diwân), Turkey
(Zorna), medieval Orient (Muwashshah) or contemporay Egypt (repertories of Mohamed
Abdelwâhab or of Oum Kalthoum). One of the most significant popular examples of the
métissage (a combination of cultural features within one sociohistorical field) of
Maghribian musical genres and forms is Rai music, which displays both the influence of
a secular tradition and a wide-ranging syncretic development.
Many of the endogenous sociocultural traits noted by Bourdieu in the 1960s have
changed or simply disappeared under the weight of the socioeconomic and cultural
changes that have occurred since independence. One factor contributing to this trend is
the phenomenon of rural exodus and mass schooling. Thus, the relationship to the oral
tradition, religion, the family (in its broadened understanding), the land, work, and
marriage has changed considerably.
Urban children no longer play on swings or with marbles, but instead watch Japanese
programs on TV. Young couples more frequently indulge in weddings that combine a