Intersections:Amazigh(Berber)LiterarySpace

26 Pages·2014·0.16 MB·English

chapter3
Intersections: Amazigh (Berber) Literary Space
DanielaMerolla
Theinteractionofartisticproductionswithseverallanguages,literarymarketsand
media is crucial in the Amazigh literary space. Focusing on writers who use the
Amazigh(Berber)language,thisstudyaddressescontemporarydirectionsinMo-
roccanAmazigh(Berber)artisticworkssetagainstthehistoricalandliteraryback-
groundoftheMaghrebaswellastheAmazighdiasporainEurope.Italsodiscusses
AmazighelementsinDutchnovelsandshortstoriespublishedbywritersofRiffian
heritage.Theterm“Berber”willbeusedthroughoutthisessaytoindicatethehis-
toricalcontinuityofthefieldofstudy.
Amazigh(Berber)LiterarySpace
Asinthepast,manifoldgenres,languages,andmediaconstitutetheAmazigh(Ber-
ber)literaryspaceoftoday.WriterssincethebeginningofthetwentiethcenturyCE
havecontributedtoacontemporaryliteraturewritteninoneoftheAmazighlan-
guagevariants,whileotherauthorsofAmazighheritagehavepublishednovelsin
FrenchandArabic.1NovelsandplayspublishedinDutchbywritersoriginatingfrom
theRifhavereceivedpublicacclaim,whilesomeBerberauthorshavestartedtowrite
inSpanish.Newwavesofmigrationandmigrationpatternshaveproducedworksby
BerbersinItalianandEnglishaswell.
Thisisnottosaythatliteracywasunknowninthepast.Thecontemporaryde-
velopmentsinwrittenliteraturearenotisolatedfrombroaderinnovationsinthelit-
erarymarket;someAmazighwriters,storytellersandsingerswereandareinvolved
inmultiplecircuitsofwrittenandoralliteraryproduction.Ifmostnarrativesand
poetryuntilthelastcenturywereorallycreatedandtransmitted,Amazighspeakers
sinceantiquityhaveknownformsofscript(Lybian,Tifinagh)whiletradersandreli-
giousleaderswerewellversedinthearea’sdominantlanguages.2Collectionsoftales
andpoemsallowreaderstoenjoyelaborateoralliterarytraditions.Thoughsomeoral
48 | merolla
genresseemtodisappearalongwiththeircontextsofproduction,newformshave
alsoarisen.Increasingly,theoverwhelminglyvariedandenormouslypopulargenre
of“modernsongs”incorporates“classical”musicalstyleswithinspirationandin-
strumentsfromaroundtheworld.Forexample,thesongsofHindiZahra,whosings
inEnglish,andChleuhBerberincorporateChleuhsoundswithblues,jazz,Ameri-
canfolk,Egyptianmusic,andtheinfluenceofAfricansingerssuchasAliFarkaTouré
and Youssou N’Dour.3 Another example is the music of the Tuareg band Tinari-
wenwhosemembersplayteherdent(lute),imzad(violin),tinde(drum)andelectric
guitar. Morgan4 argues that they merge the Tuareg style of assouf (“solitude” or
“nostalgia”)withinfluencesfromKabyleBerbercontemporarysongs,Malianblues,
AlgerianurbanraïandMoroccanchaabi,pop,rockandIndianmusic.5
Anotherexamplemaybeseenintherevitalizationoffolktalesinfamilysettings
andschoolsthroughfilms,novels,children’sbooks,andcartoons.Notonlyarefolk-
talesdocumentedinpastcollections,buttheyalsorepresentastillvigorousoral
heritagerespondingtothenewcontextsofschooleducationandexposuretovar-
iousmedia.6Thankstointernationalattention,storytellersagainnarratefolktales
andperformcomicpiecesintownplazas.Forexample,Djamaael-FnaSquareinMar-
rakesh,wherestorytellersgather,wasaddedtotheUNESCOWorldHeritageListin
2001,whileresearchers,journalists,photographersandtouragencieshavedrawnat-
tentiontoArabicandBerberMoroccanstorytellinginpublicsquaresandmarkets.7
Told,sung,written,video-recorded,andspreadonline,8Amazighoralliteratureis
takingonanewlife.
Thenotionof“literaryspace”canhelpustounderstandlong-termaswellas
morerecentdevelopments,whichincludemultilingual,multimediaproductions
thatintersectandinteractwithliteraturesproducedinoneofthevernacularforms
ofAmazigh(theBerberlanguage).9Acrosslanguagesofcreationandvariationsinin-
dividualpositions,weseenumerousoralandwrittenworksmarkedbytheirauthors’
familylanguageandbyscenesandcharacters(partially)setinAmazighenviron-
ments.ThenationalistcritiqueinMoroccoandAlgeria10andthedebateoverthe
literaryuseoflanguagesotherthantheauthor’s“mothertongue”11notwithstand-
ing,weseethatthenewpoliticalandintellectualclimateoftheMaghrebisleading
toacceptanceofthemultilingualismthathasresultedfromlong-termprocesses
ofexpansionandmigration.Byrecognizingthecreativeprocessthathasresulted
frominteractionwithotherliteraturesand“literaryspaces,”theumbrellanotionof
“Amazigh(Berber)literaryspace”transcendsthedistinctionbetween“Amazighlit-
erature”–i.e.createdinoneoftheAmazighvernaculars–andliteraryworksinother
languages.
intersections:amazigh(berber)literaryspace | 49
Tamazigh/Amazigh/ImazighenintheMaghreb
SomenotesonthedenominationandgeographicalspreadoftheAmazigh(Berber)
languagemaybeusefulatthispoint.Sincethe1990s,theterm“Amazigh”(orAma-
zighlanguage)hasseenwidespreaduse.12Ithasgraduallyreplaced“Berber”indaily
use; and it is accepted in academic discourse.13 Amazigh is used in the names of
theinstitutescreatedtostudytheAmazighlanguageandcultureinAlgeria(Haut
Commissariatàl’Amazighité,1995)andinMorocco(InstituteRoyaldelaCulture
Amazighe,2001).OthertermssuchasTarifit,Tachelhiyt,TakbaylitandTamashekde-
scribesomeofthelanguagevariationsspokenlocallyfromMoroccototheEgyptian
oasisofSiwa,alongtheLibyanborder,andfromtheMediterraneancoasttoMaurita-
nia,Mali,Niger,BurkinaFasoandnorthernNigeria.InMoroccopeoplespeakTarifit
intheRifmountains,TamazightintheMiddleAtlas,andTachelhiyt(orChleuh)fur-
thersouthintheSoussregion.Amazighpeopleareestimatedtonumberbetween
12and25million,whichmakesAmazighthesecondlanguageoftheMaghrebaf-
terArabic.14Asaconsequenceofmigration,thereareAmazigh(Berber)communities
inFrance,Belgium,Spain,Italy,theNetherlands,CanadaandtheUnitedStates.An
estimatedtwo-thirdsofMoroccanimmigrantsintheNetherlandsspeakTarifitor
comefromaBerber-speakingregion.15
WecanspeakofrelatedBerber“languages”onaccountofthescatterednatureof
AmazighlinguisticcommunitiesintheMaghreb,thepeculiaritiesoflocalvariants,
andbecauseonlyafewspeakersinthepastwereconsciousofthelinguisticunityof
Amazigh.Atthesametime,scholarsusethetermBerber“language”todenoteits
unityatthemeta-linguisticlevelandtoindicateextendedinter-comprehension.16
Today,thetermsAmazighandImazighenindicateanewawarenessamongAmazigh
speakersoftheirlinguisticunityandculturalspecificity.
ThepresentpositionoftheAmazighlanguageintheMaghrebvarieswidely.
ThoughtheirlanguageisrecognizedasanationallanguageinMaliandNiger,the
oncenomadicTuaregshavebornethebruntofthecreationofmodernnation-states
andtheirinsurmountableborders.17The2012Tuareg-ledrebellionanddeclaration
oftheindependentstateofAzawadinNorthMaliarelinkedtolong-standingsocio-
economicmarginalization.18InKadafi’sLibya,therewasnoroomforlanguagemi-
norities, and the current situation remains far from clear.19 More open attitudes
haveprevailedinMoroccoandAlgeria,whereacademicinstituteshavebeenfounded
committedtothestudyofAmazighandAmazighcoursesofstudyhavebeenopenat
majoruniversities.InMorocco,thepilotprojectsofalphabetizationinAmazighhave
beenlaunchedbytheMoroccanRoyalInstituteforAmazighity,andtheAmazigh
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languagegainedofficialstatusinthenewMoroccanconstitutionof2011.Never-
theless,Amazighisnotyetfullyintegratedintomasseducation,andcontradictory
policiesaffectgovernmentrecognitionofmultilingualism.20Recentdemonstrations
intheMoroccanRifinfavorofeconomic,democraticandlanguagerightshavebeen
metbymilitaryforce.21Althoughthedemonstrationswerepartofabroadernational
movementfordemocratization,theyalsorevealedtheenduringdifficultiesexperi-
encedbyregionalminoritieswithincentralizedstates.
AmazighLiterarySpaceinMoroccoandtheNetherlands:
NovelsandShortStories
ReferencestoAmazighlanguagesandcommunitiesappearintheFrenchandArabic
worksofrenownedMoroccanwriterssuchasMohamedKhair-Eddine,Mohamed
ChoukriandAhmedToufiq.22MostknownforitsChleuhsettingisKhair-Eddine’s
Légendeetvied’Agoun’chich.23 In the first part of this novel, the narrator discovers
anddescribesanimpoverishedregionanditsinhabitantswhoseminoritycultureis
threatenedbycolonialandpost-colonialeconomicandpoliticalsystems.24Thenar-
rator’sdeepattachmenttotheChleuhlanguageandlandtakesforminanarrative
thatreconstructsaforgottenpastfromtheperspectiveofaChleuhoutlawvillager.
Therecreationoftalesandmythsinapoeticandoneiricstylequestionsthehomog-
enizingandmanipulativevisionofculturalidentitypromotedbycentralizedpower
andpolitics.25Theinitialnarrator’svoicerecollectslong-termcontinuityand“métis-
sage”inAfrica,whilethenarrativeismarkedbyviolence,localandinternational
conflicts,andlossofpersonalandsocialidentity.26
ThetalesofstorytellerandpainterMohamedMrabetpresentaparticularform
oforal-writteninteractionandtakeonaninternational,multilingual,andurban
forminPaulBowles’Englishtranslationand“recreation”.27Mrabet’smemoriesof
theRifandhisattachmenttohisheritagearenarratedinthefirstchapterofhisau-
tobiographicalworkwithEricValentin.28Morerecently,wefindelementsofKhair-
Eddine’s oneiric approach in Mohamed Nadrani’s visual representation of social
andhistoricalthemesinthecartoons“TheSarcophagusoftheComplex:Enforced
Disappearances,”29 on political repression in Morocco under King Hassan II, and
“EmirAbdelkrim,”30ontheRepublicoftheRif,claimingindependencefromSpain
andtheMoroccanSultanin1921.
AnumberofauthorsfromtheRifhaveachievedpublicandcriticalacclaimfor
theirworksinDutch,includingAbdelkaderBenali,KhalidBoudou,SaidElHaji,
intersections:amazigh(berber)literaryspace | 51
andMustafaStitou.BenalireceivedmajorliteraryawardsincludingtheGeertjan
LubberhuizenAwardin1997,theLibrisPrizein2003,andtheBestForeignNovel
in 1999 for the French translation of Bruiloftaanzee(WeddingbytheSea).31 Khalid
BoudouwontheGoudenEzelsoorPrizein2002forHetschnitzelparadijs(TheSchnitzel
Paradise),32whileMustafaStitoureceivedtheprestigiousVSBPoëzieprijsin2004for
hispoemsVarkensrozeansichten(PinkPigsPostcards).33
ThewrittenproductioninAmazighhasgrowninrecentyearsthankstoChleuh
andRiffianwriters.Althoughacademicinstitutionsdonotyetconsistentlysupport
them,culturalassociationsacrosstheterritoryhavesupportedthepublicationof
poemsandnovelsinAmazigh.34Twooftheoldestassociations,AMREC(Association
MarocainedeRecherchesetÉchangesCulturels)andANCAP–Tamaynut(Associ-
ationNouvellepourlaCultureetlesArtsPopulaires–TheNewOne),aswellas
theAgadirSummerUniversity(AUEA),haveplayedkeyrolesinorganizingcultural
meetingsforartists,activists,andscholarstodiscusslinguisticandliterarythemes.
Since the 1970s, both AMREC and Tamaynut have published periodicals such as
Amud(Seeds),Anaruz(Hope),Arraten(Documents),Tamunt(Togetherness),andTasa-
fut(Torch).35Nevertheless,contemporarywrittenliteratureinvolvesacuteproblems
ofmarketinggiventhesizeofthereadingpublic.Whereastheaterandstand-upco-
mediansareabletobridgethecommunicationgapandattractlargeraudiences,36
Amazighnovelsandshortstoriesareoftenself-financedandscatteredacrossthe
smallorephemeralperiodicalsofculturalassociations.
Chleuh
ThefirstcontemporarynovelwritteninChleuhwasMohammedAkunad’sTawargit
dimik(ADreamandaLittleMore)publishedin2002.37Itaddressesa“classical”dilemma
ofIslamicpreachingintheChleuharea:theneedtousethelanguageofthevillagers
tocommunicatereligiousideasandvalues.38Butunforeseenconsequencesexplode
whentheclericSiBrahimbeginstopreachinChleuh.Thevillagerswanthimto
speakaboutgovernmentland-grabbingandcorruption.Understandingthesermon,
womendonotrecognizethemselvesinthefeminineimagesderivedfromclassical
textsandaskhimtopreachabouttheiractuallivesandpresentneeds.SiBrahim,
underpressurefrompoliticalandreligiousauthorities,facesanewdilemma:give
uphisinitiativeandpreachinArabicorabandonhispositionasfqihofthevillage.39
Byfocusingonindividualexperienceandavoidingdidacticdiscussionsoflanguage
rights,thenoveljoinsastreamofMaghrebianworksthatexploretheruralworld.In
52 | merolla
contrasttotheworksofKhair-EddineandAhmedToufiq,Tawargitdimikfocuseson
thecontemporarytimeandworld.
BeforeAkunad,MohamedMoustaoui,HassanIdBelqasmandAliSedki-Azayku
and others had published collections of poems in Chleuh in the 1970s, while Ali
MimounEssafipublishedthefirstChleuhplayinthe1980s.40Accordingtoseveral
membersofthewriters’associationTirra(Writing),41therearediscerniblediffer-
encesbetweenolderandyoungergenerationsofwriters.Earlierauthors,whousually
beganwritinginArabicandlaterswitchedtoChleuh,wereinfluencedbyChleuh
manuscriptsandtraditionalpoetryandrhythms.Youngergenerationstendtowrite
in“standard”Amazigh,ofteninLatinorinTifinaghcharacters,andmakeuseofne-
ologismsaswellastheotherAmazighlanguagevariantsofMoroccoandAlgeria.As
therewasnoschoolcurriculuminAmazigh,theacquisitionofa“standard”written
languageisoneoftheeffectsoftheremarkableactivismofculturalassociationsthat
offeredcoursesandinformationacrossthecountry.Theseyoungergenerationsdo
notnecessarilyfollowChleuhstylesandrhythms,eventhoughthelanguageques-
tioniscentralintheirwork.Thechoicetowriteprosecanalsobeseenasasignificant
departurefrompreviouspublications.Oneofthelong-termdebatesonAmazighhas
concernedthekindoflanguagethatcouldorshouldbeusedforliterary,academic,
andfactualwriting:aunified(non-existentinthespokenform)Amazigh,astan-
dardizedvernacular“purified”ofloanwordsfromArabicandFrench(replacedby
neologismsandoutmodedterms),orarelativelystandardizedliteraryformcloseto
thespokenlanguage.Thediscussionbecomesevenmorecomplexinthecaseofartis-
ticexpressionsince“workingonthelanguage”andinnovationarethemselvespart
oftheliteraryproject.Akunad’sADreamandaLittleMoreseeksadifficultbalancebe-
tweenvernacularandstandardizedliteraryforms.42
Currentlytherearesomefiftynovelsandcollectionsofshortstoriespublished
in Chleuh, including Muzya43 and Amussu numalu44 by Lahacem Zaheur, Ijjigen n
tidibyMohamedAkunad,45IjawwanntayribyBrahimLasriAmazigh,46andIgdadn
WihranbyLahoucineBouyaakoubi.47Someofthetitlesseemtoexpress,consciouslyor
unconsciously,apositioninthelanguagedebatesincethewriterschooseneologisms
andobsoleteterms.48Bouyaakoubisuggeststhatthetitlesoftheyoungergeneration
moregenerallysignalliteraryinterventionastheyinnovateondailylanguageuse.49
Ifthelanguagedebatecontinuestoinformchosentitlesandthemes,asinAku-
nad’sfirstnovel,newwriters,undertheinfluenceofinternationalpoetryandphi-
losophy,focusonurbanlifeandtopics.50Forexample,BrahimLasriAmazigh’s“The
SiroccosofLove”treatsthesocialcensureofsexualrelationshipsoutofwedlockand
theconsequencesforayoungwoman,symbolicallynamedTilelli(Freedom),when
intersections:amazigh(berber)literaryspace | 53
shegetspregnantandlooksforsomeonetoshelterherinthemonthspreceding
childbirth.51Bouyaakoubiexplainsthatthissubject,whenspokenofopenly,isusu-
allyofflimitsinAmazighliterature.Moreover,thelanguageofsexualityandthe
bodyusedbyLasriisbothupsettingandarenewal;insteadofusingclassicalArabic
orFrench,heusesChleuhtermsforthebodythatareonlyusedinprivate.52
Tarifit
Migration,travel,andmemoryarecentralthemesinRiffiannovels.Thereissignif-
icantcontinuitybetweentheRifandthediasporainFrance,Belgium,Spain,and
theNetherlands,withthefirstnovelsandshortstorieswritteninTarifitappearing
inMorocco,theNetherlands,andSpain.IntheNetherlands,writersfromtheRif
whopublishinDutchhavewonpublicrecognition,whilethosewhochoosetoor
areabletowriteinTarifitareknownamongtheactivistcircuitorinthelargerMo-
roccanmigrantcommunitywhentheycombinewritingwiththeaterandmusic.A
numberofshortstoriesandcollectionsofsongshaveappearedinSpanishthanks
toMohamedToufali.53ManyRiffianartists,inparticularsingersandmusicians,are
activeinMelilla,themultilingualandmulticulturalSpanishoutpostinMorocco.54
InstitutionalsupportforAmazighlanguage,literature,andmusicishoweverlack-
inginSpain,whichseemstoindicateignoranceof,ordisinterestfor,thehistorical
richnessofreciprocalinfluencesandthemorerecentcolonialpast.55
WhileFouadAzeroual,theater-makerfromNador,wrotesevenplaysandanovel
inthemid-1990s,thefirstnovelpublishedinTarifitwasMohamedChacha’sRez.
t.t.abuaddteffeghtfukt.56Chachaalsopublishedanothernovelandfourcollections
of short stories and poems.57 Mustafa Ayned, musician, singer, actor, and writer,
brought out ironic and tender short stories in Reh.riqntiri.58 Other writers have
producedbothnovelsandtheaterpieces,includingMohamedBouzaggou, Jarujar,59
andSaidBelgharbi,As.wad.yebuyebh.en!.60Severalcollectionsofshortstorieshavealso
beenpublishedinArabicscriptbyBouzianMoussaouiandMohammedOuachikh.61
Amongwomenwriters,FatimaBouzianehaspublishedseveralshortstoriesin
Arabic,62whileTasritnwez.rubySamiraYedjis63isthefirstnovelinTarifitwrittenby
awoman.64Itstitlereferstoanoraltale,thestoryofayoungbridekidnappedby
thejinnsandtransformedintoarock.Thisislargelyastoryseenthroughwomen’s
eyesthoughitalsocontainselementsofafamilysagaspanningthreegenerations.
ThefirstpartconcernsthevillagelifeanddifficultmarriageofHniyya,theyoungfe-
maleprotagonist.Theseconddescribesthefightingspiritandmilitaryresistanceof
54 | merolla
HniyyaandherfamilyduringthewaragainstSpain.Thethirdpartclosesonamore
optimisticnote,followingthedifficultiesexperiencedbytheprotagonistinadapt-
ingtourbanlifeandherpainofseparationfromherchildrenandgrandchildrendue
tomigration.65
Dutch
Asmentionedabove,authorsofRiffianheritagehavewoncriticalacclaiminthe
Netherlands. Tarifit is present as a literary element in some of the works of au-
thorssuchasAbdelkaderBenali,KhalidBoudou,SaidElHaji,andMustafaStitou.
Forexample,“TheDaysofSatan”bySaidElHajiaddressesthelackofhistoricalcon-
sciousnessintheRif.66InasatiricaldialoguebetweenSatan,thevillageimamand
elderlyimmigrantsfromtheRif,thereaderismadetounderstandthattheyhave
neverheardoftheBerberKingJubaIIorotherfiguresofancienthistoryandthat
theyhavealsoforgottenAbdelkrimEl-Khattabi,67thefounderoftheRepublicofthe
Rif.“Nobodyknewthesenames–andthatsaidenough”,concludesthescene.68
AbdelkaderBenali’sfirstnovelWeddingsatSeatakesonRifmigrantswhotryto
cementtheirtiestotheirlandoforiginthroughmarriage.69Themaincharacter,
Lamarat,isayoungmanwhogoestotheRiffortheweddingofhissisteranduncle.70
Hisyoungunclefleestoanearbytown,andLamaratissentbyhisfathertobring
thebridegroomback,butthebridegroom’stemporaryrefugeinthelocalbordello
irreparablywoundstheprideofthebride,Rebekka,leadingtoaparadoxicalend.
Thestoryiswovenaroundanintricatesequenceofevents,pastandpresent,narrated
duringLamarat’staxiridefromthehousebytheseatothetown.Theinter-related
themesthatorganizethenarrativeareintroducedatthebeginningofthenovel:mi-
grationandthereturntothe“landoforigin,”71men’sfearofmarriage,impoverished
anddegradingvillages,andtheculturaldistanceofreturningmigrantsfromtheir
nativevillagesrepresentedbyLamarat’stourist-likegaze.72Thefamilyhousebuilt
byLamarat’sfatherdeterioratesoverthecourseofthenarrative;itsfinalcollapseco-
incideswiththefailureoftheweddingandtheimpossibilityofrecoveryfromthe
consumingconsequencesofemigration/immigration.73Differentliterarystyles–
childlikeinsomeepisodesandastream-of-consciousnessmodeinothers–submit
theDutchlanguagetovariousformsofdeterritorialization.
InBenali’snovel,thestereotypeoftheRif’sbackwardnessisarecurrenttheme
treatedwithlightirony.Lamarat’sbirthandthelovestorybetweenhisfatherand
motherarereminiscentofruralfolktales.74WhenLamaratgoestoMorocco,hedis-
intersections:amazigh(berber)literaryspace | 55
coversthatheistheonlyonewhodoesnotunderstandhisTarifit-speakinggrand-
mother,andisthereforetheignorant(“illiterate”)oneinthefamily.Thenarrator
playfullyrecollectsameetingbetweenLamaratandaDutchsalesmanwhowants
tosellhimplasticchairs.ThevendoraddressesLamaratinaratheroffensivemixof
Berber,ArabicandDutch,becausehe“knows”thathemustaddressBerberhigh-
landersina“rustic”way.WithLamaratspeakingstandardDutchandtheDutch
salesmanspeakingcoarseArabicandBerber,thesceneoffersanotherironicsubver-
sionoftheexpectedignoranceofRiffiancharacters.75
As these examples show, the references to the Rif and the Amazigh language
arenotpartoffolkloricpresentation,regionalism,ordidacticteaching.Theseele-
mentsareinvolvedinthenarrativeofcontradictorypullingforcesthroughplayson
words,irony,andanoftenphantasmagoricalstyle,whilethecharactersconstruct,
de-construct,andre-constructtheirsocialandpersonallivesintheNetherlandsas
wellastheirmemoriesfromanelusive“homecountry”.Ifdeep“horseradish”roots76
countertheestrangementofmigration,inthesetextsMoroccotendstobecomea
placeforsummerholidays.
Conclusion
Therichanddiversifiedliteraryproductionincludedundertheumbrellanotionof
“Amazighliteraryspace”givesusaglimpseofaworldintransformation.Thanks
to cultural baggage developed in the multiple languages learnt at home, school
orinemigration,Amazighwritersdeveloptheirartisticcreativityandgivepoetic
formtothedifficultyofdailylivinginruralandurbancontexts;theyportray,mix,
andreconstructsociallyandindividuallyscathingissues.Acommontraitisthat,
whether the setting of the works is an Amazigh region or not, the reference to
the Amazigh language is not ethnographic or didactic, but rather integrated in
thecharacterizationandthenarrative.Themaindifferenceoccurswhenmigrant
writers,suchasthosewritinginDutch,adoptatouristgaze.WithintheAmazigh
literary space, there is a definite effort to create a written literature in Amazigh.
Writersbuildontheexperienceoftheirpredecessors,whethertheyusedAmazigh,
French, or Arabic. As the production of novels in Amazigh becomes increasingly
“normal,”thelanguagequestionislessandlessexplicitlytreated.Wealsoseethat
artisticeffervescence–themyriadofcultural,journalistic,andacademicactivities
togetherwiththepersonaleffortofdiffusion–encountersdifficultiesknowntoall
literarywritinginMorocco.77However,thesedifficultiesaremademoreacuteby
56 | merolla
theextremelimitationofaudienceandthescarcefundsforAmazighpublishing
houses.Inthisrespect,thesituationdoesnotappeartohavechangedoverthelast
decade:songsandtheaterinTarifitarewidespreadatthepopularlevels,andwhile
the increasing use of new media – whether radio, television or the Internet – is
certainlyimportant,itdoesnotyetfullysupportthepublicationofartisticwriting
inAmazigh.
Notes
1 Amongothers,MouloudFeraoun,theAmrouchefamily,MouloudMammeri,Nabile
Farès(inFrench)andBelaïdAliAit,Aliche,SiAmar-ou-SaïdBoulifa,SaïdSaidandAmer
Mezdad(inKabyle)fromAlgeria;thepoetHawad(inTouaregandFrench)fromNiger;
andthenovelistIbrahimAl-Koni(Arabic)fromLibya.
2 Bilingualstelae(Libyan/PuniqueorLatin)datefromthesixthcenturyBCE.Thefa-
mouswriterApuleiuswroteinLatinbutwasbornintheBerbertownofMadaura
(M’daourouchinAlgeriatoday)about123–125CE.ThethemesofBerberfolktaleshave
alsobeenfoundinmanuscriptswritteninArabicandinBerbertracedbacktothesix-
teenthcenturyCE(HenriBasset,EssaisurlalittératuredesBerbères,Carbonel,Algiers,
1920.Repr.Awal–IbisPress2001,55note3;AbdellahBounfour,Manuscriptsberbères
encaractèresarabes,EncyclopédieBerbère,30,2010:4554–4563;GabrielCamps,Avertisse-
ment.Etreberbère,EncyclopédieBerbère,Vol.I,1984:7–48;SalemChaker,Libyque:écrit-
ureetlangue,EncyclopèdieBerbère28–29,2008:4395–4409;EmileDermenghen,Lemythe
dePsychédanslefolklorenord-africain,RevueAfricaine,1945:41–81;LionelGaland,Les
alphabetslibyques,AntiquitésAfricaines25(1989):69–81;PauletteGaland-Pernette,Lit-
tératuresberbères,desvoix,deslettres,Paris:PUF,1998,26–27;Jean-PierreLaporte,
Manuscriptslatinsd’Afrique,EncyclopédieBerbère,30,2010:4563–4568;TadeuszLewicki,
Quelquestextesinéditsenvieuxberbère,RevuedesétudesIslamiques,1934,3:275–296,282,
288;OuahmiOuld-Braham,Lecturedes24textesberbèresmédiévauxextraitsd’une
chroniqueibaditeparT.Lewicki,Littératureoralearabo-berbère,1987:87–125).Historical
overviewinMichaelBrettandElizabethFentress,TheBerbers,Blackwell,Oxford,1996.
OtherlanguagesknownamongAmazighspeakersinMoroccotodayaredialectalAra-
bic,French,andSpanish.FrenchandSpanishspreadintheMaghrebthroughEuropean
expansionismandcolonization.
3 SeetheinterviewwithHindiZahrapublishedonAujourd’huileMaroc:“Jem’intéresse
àtouteslesculturesetj’aienviequemamusiquesoituniverselleetréunissedesgens
dedivershorizons.Jevoudraisqu’elles’inscrivedanslapluralité[Allculturesinterest