Kabyle people

The word 'Kabyle' (Kabyle: Iqbayliyen) is an exonym, and a distortion of the Arabic word qaba'il (قبائل), which means 'tribes', or 'to accept', which after the Muslim conquest was used for people who accepted the word of the Quran.{{Cite book |last=Benrabah |first=Mohamed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8j-jWxC7Y0C&q=Kabyle&pg=PA27 |title=Language Conflict in Algeria: From Colonialism to Post-Independence |date=2013-05-16 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-965-7 |language=en}} The term qaba'il was used, and is still somewhat used by various peoples in Algeria to refer to various mountain dwelling tribes, including the Kabyle people.{{Cite book |last=Lowi |first=Miriam R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqAgAwAAQBAJ&dq=qba'il+mountain&pg=PA53 |title=Oil Wealth and the Poverty of Politics: Algeria Compared |date=2009-11-12 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-48175-5 |language=en}}

The term used for Kabyles specifically was 'Zwawa' ('Izwawen' in Kabyle, 'زواوة' in Arabic). This appellation has been used since the medieval era for the tribes of Greater Kabylia, and is featured in important medieval ethnographic works like Ibn Khaldun's.{{Cite book |last=Chachoua |first=Kamel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPQRAQAAIAAJ&q=Zwawa+ibn+Khaldoun |title=Zwawa et zawaya: l'islam "la question kabyle" et l'État en Algérie. Autour de la Rissala, épître, "Les plus clairs arguments qui nécessitent la réforme des zawaya kabyles", d'Ibnou Zakri (1853–1914), clerc officiel dans l'Algérie coloniale, publiée à Alger, aux Editions Fontana en 1903 |date=2000 |publisher=Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales |language=fr}}{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGMDwAAQBAJ&dq=Ibn+Khaldoun+Zwawa&pg=PA148 |title=Berber Government: The Kabyle Polity in Pre-colonial Algeria |date=2014-08-19 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85772-420-5 |language=en}} After the French conquest, the French often confused the term "Arabs" and "Kabyle" thanks to the widespread usage of Kabyle all over the country. Although initially the French used the term Kabyle to refer to all Berbers, it was later specified to mean only the modern Kabyle people during the colonial era, however, Zwawa is still the most used term for Kabyles in areas such as western Algeria.{{Cite book |last=Mustapha |first=Tidjet |url=http://www.hcamazighite.dz/docs/document/hca/lexiques/dictionnaireI%20Mustapha%20TIDJET%20mise%20en%20page%20de%20garde.pdf |title=Dictionnaires des patronymes Algériens |publisher=Office des publications universitaires |location=Algiers |pages=64 |language=fr, ber |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121034843/http://www.hcamazighite.dz/docs/document/hca/lexiques/dictionnaireI%20Mustapha%20TIDJET%20mise%20en%20page%20de%20garde.pdf |archive-date=21 November 2024}}

The Kabyles were one of the few peoples in North Africa who remained independent during successive rule by the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Byzantines, and the Ottoman Turks.{{cite book |author1=Eur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA156 |title=The Middle East and North Africa: Pg 156 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9781857431322}}{{cite web |last1=Walmsley |first1=Hugh Mulleneux |year=1858 |title=Sketches of Algeria During the Kabyle War By Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley: Pg 118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83koAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA118}}{{cite book |last1=Wysner |first1=Glora M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqF8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT167 |title=The Kabyle People By Glora M. Wysner |date=30 January 2013 |publisher=Read Books |isbn=9781447483526}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pv80AQAAMAAJ&q=Kabylia |title=The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 1: Pg 568 |publisher=Grolier |year=1990 |isbn=9780717201211}}{{Cite news |date=1859-04-08 |title=The Conquest of Kabylia. |work=Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2931445 |access-date=2023-10-06}} Even after the Arab conquest of North Africa, the Kabyle people still maintained possession of their mountains.{{cite web |year=1865 |title=The art journal London, Volume 4: Pg 45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GI5CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA45}}{{cite web |last1=Field |first1=Henry Martyn |year=1893 |title=The Barbary Coast By Henry Martyn Field: Pg 93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JU5CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93}}

File:Fall of the Aghlabid Emirate.svg

Between 902 and 909, after being converted to Isma'ilism and won over by Abu Abdallah's propaganda,{{Cite book |last=Africa |first=Unesco International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDFcD0BuekQC&pg=PA164 |title=Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century |date=1992 |publisher=J. Currey |isbn=978-0-85255-093-9 |pages=164 |language=en}} the Kutama Berbers from Little Kabylie helped contribute to the founding of the Fatimid Caliphate, whose support in the conquest of Ifriqiya{{Cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdLeEkAUoGIC&pg=PA3 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Ismailis |date=2012 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6164-0 |pages=3 |language=en}} resulted in the creation of the Caliphate,[https://books.google.com/books?id=zaOmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT103 The Shi'i World: Pathways in Tradition and Modernity]{{Cite book|last=Nanjira|first=Daniel Don|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZuxGsXVPoMC&pg=PA92|title=African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37982-6|pages=92|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Fage|first=J. D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MN4EAQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+kutama+berbers+from+little+kabylia,+conquered+ifriqiya%22|title=An Atlas of African History|date=1958|publisher=E. Arnold|pages=11|language=en}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=654rAAAAIAAJ&q=Kabylie+intitle:International+intitle:Journal+intitle:of+intitle:Economic+intitle:and+intitle:Social+intitle:History International Journal of Economic and Social History, Volume 8][https://books.google.com/books?id=cm-6wAEACAAJ&q=-+Chroniques+des+années+algériennes Chroniques des années algériennes] although the ruling Fatimid dynasty was Arab. After the conquest of Ifriqiya the Fatimids conquered the realm of the Rustamids on the way to Sijilmasa which they also then briefly conquered and where Abdullāh al-Mahdī Billah, who at the time was imprisoned, was then freed and then accepted as the Imam of the movement and installed as the Caliph, becoming the first Caliph and the founder of the ruling dynasty.{{Cite book|last1=Gall|first1=Timothy L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07dZAAAAYAAJ|title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Africa|last2=Hobby|first2=Jeneen|date=2009|publisher=Gale|isbn=978-1-4144-4883-1|pages=329|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Studies|first=American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Area|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALHjoSJm-PsC&pg=PA15|title=Algeria, a Country Study|date=1979|publisher=[Department of Defense], Department of the Army|pages=15|language=en}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=YDlZAAAAMAAJ&q=al+mahdi+prison+sijilmasa Orientalia, Volumes 54–55] The historian Heinz Halm describes the early Fatimid state as being "a hegemony of the Kutama and Sanhaja Berbers over the eastern and central Maghrib" and Prof. Dr. Loimeier states that rebellions against the Fatimids were also expressed through protest and opposition to Kutama rule.Halm, Heinz (2014). "Fāṭimids". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/*-COM_27045 Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE]. Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.[https://books.google.com/books?id=dR5yCmUejWEC&pg=PA45 Muslim Societies in Africa: A Historical Anthropology] – Roman Loimeier

Indiana University Press, The weakening of the Abbasids allowed Fatimid-Kutama power to quickly expand and in 959 Ziri ibn Manad, Jawhar the Sicilian and a Kutama army conquered Fez and Sijilmasa in Morocco.{{cite book|author=Heinz Halm|title=Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usUjj9OV9l0C&pg=PA399|year=1996|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10056-3|page=399}}

During the reign of al-Aziz Billah, the role of the Kutama in the Fatimid army was greatly weakened as he significantly reduced their size in the army and included new socio-military groups.{{Cite book |last=Lev |first=Ya'acov |url= |title=War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th–15th Centuries |date=2022-02-22 |isbn=978-90-04-47447-5 |pages=145 |publisher=BRILL |language=en}} In 969 under the command of Jawhar, the Fatimid Kutama troops conquered Egypt from the Ikhsidids, the general Ja'far ibn Fallah was instrumental in this success: he led the troops that crossed the river Nile and according to al-Maqrizi, captured the boats used to do this from a fleet sent by Ikhshidid loyalists from Lower Egypt.Lev, Yaacov (1979). [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85151798 "The Fāṭimid Conquest of Egypt — Military Political and Social Aspects"]. Israel Oriental Studies. 9: 315–328. ISSN 0334-4401. The general Ja’far then invaded Palestine and conquered Ramla, the capital, he then conquered Damascus and made himself the master of the city and then he moved north and conquered Tripoli.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HVdoAAAAMAAJ&q=jafar+fallah+%22ramla%22 First Crusader: Byzantium's Holy Wars]

[https://books.google.com/books?id=RDo9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA294 The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies, Volume 24]

Black, Parbury, & Allen, It was around this time period that the Fatimid Caliphate reached its territorial peak of 4,100,000 km².Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). [http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381 "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires"]. Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 222. ISSN 1076-156X

File:Fatimid Caliphate.jpg

The Zirid Dynasty was a family of Sanhadja Berbers with origins in the Kabyle mountains.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ePhxAAAAMAAJ A History of Africa] – J.D. Fage: Pg 166 During their reign they established their rule over the entire Maghreb and also established rule in parts of Andalusia. They also had suzerainty over the Emirate of Sicily through the Kalbite emirs and later assassinated the ruler and took over the island.[https://books.google.com/books?id=GWjxR61xAe0C&pg=PA15 The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3] – J.D. Fage: Pg 16 When the Emirate of Sicily was split into separate taifas, Ayyub Ibn Tamim entered Sicily and united all of the taifas under his rule until he left the island.

The Hammadids came to power after declaring their independence from the Zirids. They managed to conquer land in all of the Maghreb region, capturing and possessing significant territories such as: Algiers, Béjaïa, Tripoli, Sfax, Susa, Fez, Ouargla and Sijilmasa.[https://books.google.com/books?id=BvTjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 Saladin, the Almohads and the Banū Ghāniya: The Contest for North Africa: Pg 42][https://books.google.co.uk/books/content?id=huOBwihhwyQC&pg=PA614 Islam: Art and Architecture: Pg 614][https://books.google.com/books?id=0E8qp_k515oC&pg=PA55 Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen): Pg 55 & 56] South of Tunisia, they also possessed a number of oases that were the termini of trans-Saharan trade routes.

[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4u9iIr-q1gC&pg=PA41 Nomads and Crusaders, A.D. 1000–1368 By Archibald Ross Lewis]

These two Kabyle Kingdoms managed to maintain their independence and participated in notable battles alongside the Regency of Algiers, such as the campaign of Tlemcen and the conquest of Fez. In the early 16th century Sultan Abdelaziz of the Beni Abbes managed to defeat the Ottomans several times, notably in the First Battle of Kalaa of the Beni Abbes.

File:Martinus Rørbye - A seated Kabyla.jpg: A seated Kabyle.]]

The Kabyle were relatively independent of outside control during the period of Ottoman Empire rule in North Africa. They lived primarily in three different kingdoms: the Kingdom of Kuku, the Kingdom of Ait Abbas, and the principality of Aït Jubar.[https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA600 E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936], Volume 4, publié par M. Th. Houtsma, Page: 600 Kabylia was the last part of northern Algeria to be colonised by the French during the years 1854–1857, despite vigorous resistance.Laidani, Amar. (2019). [https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=804046 The recognition of the Tamazight Languages in the Algerian Law]. Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Iurisprudentia. Such leaders as Lalla Fatma N'Soumer continued the resistance as late as Mokrani's rebellion in 1871.

French colonists invented the Kabyle myth in the 19th century which asserted that the Kabyle people were more predisposed than Arabs to assimilate into "French civilization." Lacoste explained that "turning the Arabs into invaders was one way of legitimizing the French presence".{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Diana K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hwu3S5i-2QQC&dq=arab+conquest+of+kabyles&pg=PA57 |title=Resurrecting the Granary of Rome: Environmental History and French Colonial Expansion in North Africa |date=2007-09-11 |publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-1751-5 |language=en}}

File:Portrait-Fatma N'Soumer.jpg of Tariqa led the resistance against French colonization 1851–1857.]]

Kabyle villages were ruled through an indirect administration based on the preservation of Kabyle traditional political institutions such as the village’s assemblies djemaas, this institution played a central role in the Kabyle’s self-governing. The djemaas would resolve disputes between the village’s inhabitants and edict the customary law rules. French officials confiscated much land from the more recalcitrant tribes and granted it to colonists, who became known as pieds-noirs During this period, the French carried out many arrests and deported resisters, mainly to New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Due to French colonization, many Kabyle emigrated to other areas inside and outside Algeria.[https://books.google.com/books?id=b4Vryk6jQhgC&pg=PA74 Bélaïd Abane, L'Algérie en guerre: Abane Ramdane et les fusils de la rébellion, p. 74] Over time, immigrant workers also began to go to France.

In the 1920s, Algerian immigrant workers in France organized the first party promoting Algerians independence. Messali Hadj, Imache Amar, Si Djilani Mohammed, and Belkacem Radjef rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930s. They developed militants who became vital to the fighting for an independent Algeria. This became widespread after World War II.

Since Algeria gained independence in 1962, tensions have arisen between Kabylie and the central government on several occasions. In July 1962, the FLN (National Liberation Front) was split rather than united. Indeed, many actors who contributed to independence wanted a share of power but the ALN (National Liberation Army) directed by Houari Boumédiène, joined by Ahmed Ben Bella, had the upper hand because of their military forces.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

In 1963 the FFS party of Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the authority of the FLN, which had promoted itself as the only party in the nation. Aït Ahmed and others considered the central government led by Ben Bella authoritarian, and on September 3, 1963, the FFS (Socialist Forces front) was created by Hocine Aït Ahmed.{{Cite journal|last=Monbeig|first=Pierre|date=1992|title=Une opposition politique dans l'impasse. Le FFS de Hocine Aït-Ahmed|journal=Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée|volume=65|issue=1|pages=125–140|doi=10.3406/remmm.1992.1560|issn=0997-1327}} This party grouped opponents of the regime then in place, and a few days after its proclamation, Ben Bella sent the army into Kabylie to repress the insurrection. Colonel Mohand Oulhadj also took part in the FFS and in the Maquis (fr) because he considered that the mujahideen were not treated as they should be.{{Citation|last=Said Malik Cheurfa ⵣ|title=Révolte de Hocine Ait Ahmed et Mohand Oulhadj en 28 septembre 1963 par Malik Cheurfa.flv|date=2011-08-03|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esx2NFawWKM|access-date=2019-04-22}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}} In the beginning, the FFS wanted to negotiate with the government but since no agreement was reached, the maquis took up arms and swore not to give them up as long as democratic principles and justice were{{clarify|shouldn't the word "not" go right here?|date=April 2021}} a part of the system. But after Mohand Oulhadj's defection, Aït Ahmed could barely sustain the movement and after the FLN congress on April 16, 1964, which reinforced the government's legitimacy, he was arrested in October 1964. As a consequence, the insurrection was a failure in 1965 because it was hugely repressed by the forces of the ALN, under Houari Boumédiène. In 1965 Aït Ahmed was sentenced to death, but later pardoned by Ben Bella. Approximately 400 deaths were counted amongst the maquis.

In 1980, protesters mounted several months of demonstrations in Kabylie demanding the recognition of Berber as an official language; this period has been called the Berber Spring. In 1994–1995, the Kabyle conducted a school boycott, termed the "strike of the school bag". In June and July 1998, they protested, in events that turned violent, after the assassination of singer Matoub Lounès and passage of a law requiring use of the Arabic language in all fields.

In the months following April 2001 (called the Black Spring), major riots among the Kabyle took place following the killing of Masinissa Guermah, a young Kabyle, by gendarmes. At the same time, organized activism produced the Arouch, and neo-traditional local councils. The protests gradually decreased after the Kabyle won some concessions from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

On 6 January 2016, Tamazight was officially recognized in Algeria's constitution as a language equal to Arabic.{{cite web |url=http://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/algeria_french.pdf |title=AVANT PROJET DE REVISION DE LA CONSTITUTION |publisher=Algeria Press Service |date=6 January 2016 |access-date=28 May 2019}}

File:Kabyle-speaking-map.jpg

The geography of the Kabyle region played an important role in the people's history. The difficult mountainous landscape of the Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia provinces served as a refuge, to which most of the Kabyle people retreated when under pressure or occupation. They were able to preserve their cultural heritage in such isolation from other cultural influences.

The area supported local dynasties (Numidia, Fatimids in the Kutama periods, Zirids, Hammadids, and Hafsids of Bejaïa) or Algerian modern nationalism, and the war of independence. The region was repeatedly occupied by various conquerors. Romans and Byzantines controlled the main road and valley during the period of antiquity and avoided the mountains (Mont ferratus).{{Cite web|url=http://www.harmatheque.com/ebook/la-kabylie-orientale-dans-l-histoire-pays-des-kutuma-et-guerre-coloniale-39716|title=Ebook LA KABYLIE ORIENTALE DANS L'HISTOIRE – Pays des Kutuma et guerre coloniale de Hosni Kitouni|website=www.harmatheque.com|access-date=2016-11-29}} During the spread of Islam, Arabs controlled plains but not all the countryside (they were called el aadua: enemy by the Kabyle).{{Cite journal|last=Abdelfettah Lalmi|first=Nedjma|date=2004-01-01|title=Du mythe de l'isolat kabyle|journal=Cahiers d'Études Africaines|language=fr|volume=44|issue=175|pages=507–531|doi=10.4000/etudesafricaines.4710|issn=0008-0055|doi-access=free}}

The Regency of Algiers, under Ottoman influence, tried to have indirect influence over the people (makhzen tribes of Amraoua, and marabout).{{Cite web|url=http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/kabyles/|title=KABYLES|last=Universalis|first=Encyclopædia|website=Encyclopædia Universalis|access-date=2016-11-29}}

The French gradually and totally conquered the region and set up a direct administration. File:Djurdjura.JPG chain]]

File:Kabylie topographic map-fr.svg

Algerian provinces with significant Kabyle-speaking populations include Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa and Bouira, where they are a majority, as well as Boumerdes, Setif, Bordj Bou Arreridj, and Jijel. Algiers also has a significant Kabyle population, where they make up more than half of the capital's population.

The Kabyle region is referred to as Al Qabayel ("tribes") by the Arabic-speaking population and as Kabylie in French. Its indigenous inhabitants call it Tamurt Idurar ("Land of Mountains") or Tamurt n Iqbayliyen/Tamurt n Iqbayliyen ("Land of the Kabyle"). It is part of the Atlas Mountains and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean.

{{main|Kabyle language}}

The Kabyle ethnic group speak Kabyle, a Berber language of the Afro-Asiatic family. It is the largest Berber language in Algeria.{{cite book |author=Jane E. Goodman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=of6q6v5Lv7cC&pg=PA7 |title=Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to Video |date=3 November 2005 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-11145-5 |page=7}} It was spoken by 3 million people in 2004{{cite web |author=Leclerc, Jacques |date=5 April 2009 |title=Algérie: Situation géographique et démolinguistique |url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/AFRIQUE/algerie-1demo.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124150058/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/algerie-1demo.htm |archive-date=24 January 2010 |access-date=8 January 2010 |work=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde |publisher=Université Laval |language=fr}} and has significant Arabic, French, Latin, Greek, Phoenician and Punic substratum, with Arabic loanwords representing 22.7% to 46%{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Se-BAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |title=The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber |date=2013-07-18 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-25309-4 |pages=98 |language=en}} of the total Kabyle vocabulary, with many estimates putting it at about 35%.{{Cite book |last1=Baldauf |first1=Richard B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sabe8l9hox0C&pg=PA50 |title=Language Planning and Policy in Africa |last2=Kaplan |first2=Robert B. |date=2007-01-01 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-011-1 |language=en}} Many Kabyles also speak Algerian Arabic and French.

During the first centuries of their history, Kabyles used the Libyco-Berber writing system (ancestor of the modern Tifinagh). Since the beginning of the 19th century, and under French influence, Kabyle intellectuals began to use the Latin script. It is the basis for the modern Berber Latin alphabet.

After the independence of Algeria, some Kabyle activists tried to revive the Old Tifinagh alphabet. This new version of Tifinagh has been called Neo-Tifinagh, but its use remains limited. Kabyle literature has continued to be written in the Latin script.

The Kabyle people are mainly Muslim, with a small Christian minority.Abdelmadjid Hannoum, Violent Modernity: France in Algeria, Page 124, 2010, Harvard Center for Middle Eastern studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Amar Boulifa, Le Djurdjura à travers l'histoire depuis l'Antiquité jusqu'en 1830 : organisation et indépendance des Zouaoua (Grande Kabylie), Page 197, 1925, Algiers. Many Zawaya exist all over the region; the Rahmaniyya is the most prolific.

Catholics of Kabyle background generally live in France. Recently, the Protestant community has had significant growth, particularly among Evangelical denominations.Lucien Oulahbib, Le monde arabe existe-t-il ?, page 12, 2005, Editions de Paris, Paris.

The Kabyle people have a rich history of oral literature, such as asefru, performed by imusnawen.{{cite book |last=Mammeri |first=Mouloud |title=Poèmes kabyles anciens |year=1980 |url=https://archive.org/details/isefraiqburennleqbayelnmuludatmeemmer}}

The traditional economy of the area is based on arboriculture (orchards and olive trees) and on the craft industry (tapestry or pottery). Mountain and hill farming is gradually giving way to local industry (textile and agro-alimentary). In the middle of the 20th century, with the influence and funding by the Kabyle diaspora, many industries were developed in this region. It has become the second most important industrial region in the country after Algiers.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

File:Nuit Debout - Paris - Kabyles - 48 mars 02.jpg

The Kabyle have been fierce activists in promoting the cause of Berber (Amazigh) identity. The movement has three groups: those Kabyle who identify as part of a larger Berber nation (Berberists); those who identify as part of the Algerian nation (known as "Algerianists", some view Algeria as an essentially Berber nation); and those who consider the Kabyle to be a distinct nation separate from (but akin to) other Berber peoples (known as Kabylists).

• Two political parties dominate in Kabylie and have their principal support base there: the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), led by Ali Laskri who replaced Hocine Aït Ahmed,https://www.euronews.com/2012/05/12/election-hit-by-irregularities-says-algerian-opposition-leader {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217131651/https://www.euronews.com/2012/05/12/election-hit-by-irregularities-says-algerian-opposition-leader |date=2020-12-17 }}, Euronews, "Election hit by irregularities, says Algerian opposition leader", www.euronews.com, 12 May 2012, accessed 5 October 2020 and the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), led by Mohcine Belabbès who replaced Saïd Sadi.{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-09-29 |title=Mohcine Belabbès : "Si le tribunal me convoque, je répondrai présent" |url=https://www.algeriepatriotique.com/2020/09/29/mohcine-belabbes-si-le-tribunal-me-convoque-je-repondrai-present/ |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Algérie Patriotique |language=fr-FR}} Both parties are secularist, Berberist and Algerianist.
• The Arouch emerged during the Black Spring of 2001 as a revival of the village assembly, a traditional Kabyle form of democratic organization. The Arouch share roughly the same political views as the FFS and the RCD.
• The Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK) also emerged during the Black Spring, It claimed the right for a regional autonomy of Kabylie. On 21 April 2010, MAK proclaimed a Provisional Government of Kabylie in exile (ANAVAD). Ferhat Mehenni was elected president by the National Council of the MAK.[http://www.kabylia-gov.org/ www. kabylia-gov.org], Kabylia Government website In 2013, MAK officially became an independentist movement and changed its name to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie.

For historical and economic reasons, many Kabyles have emigrated to France, both for work and to escape political persecution. They now number around 1 million people.Salem Chaker, [http://www.langues-de-france.org/chaker.html "Pour une histoire sociale du berbère en France"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112151506/http://www.langues-de-france.org/chaker.html |date=2012-11-12 }}, Les Actes du Colloque Paris – Inalco, Octobre 2004[https://books.google.com/books?id=d2WcCIm6WaQC&pg=PA863 James Minahan, Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: D-K], Good Publishing Group, 2002, p.863. Quote: "Outside North Africa, the largest Kabyle community, numbering around 1 million, is in France." Some notable French people are of full or partial Kabyle descent.

{{main|List of Kabyle people}}

File:Zinedine Zidane by Tasnim 02.jpg]]

• Samir Aït Saïd
• Mohamed Allek
• Yacine Adli
• Hakim Arezki
• Larbi Benboudaoud
• Mustapha Dahleb
• Soraya Haddad
• Mohand Chérif Hannachi
• Cherif Hamia
• Kheira Hamraoui
• Salah Larbes
• Rabah Madjer
• Kylian Mbappé (through mother)
• Sarah Ourahmoune
• Moussa Saïb
• Hocine Soltani
• Mehdi Tahrat
• Zinedine Zidane

• Ali Haddad
• Meziane Idjerouidene (through father)
• Issad Rebrab

• Isabelle Adjani (through father)
• Karim Aïnouz (through father)
• Mhamed Arezki
• Habiba Djahnine
• Fellag
• Mohamed Hilmi
• Jalil Lespert (through mother)
• Rouiched
• Erika Sawajiri (through mother)

• Abderrahmane Abdelli
• Lounis Aït Menguellet
• Slimane Azem
• Chérifa
• Malika Domrane
• Idir
• Mohamed Iguerbouchène
• Marina Kaye (through mother)
• Souad Massi
• Matoub Lounès
• Kamel Messaoudi
• Emma Saïd Ben Mohamed (through father)
• Marcel Mouloudji (through father)
• El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka
• Nâdiya
• Kamel Ouali
• Rilès
• Takfarinas

• M'hamed Issiakhem
• Hamid Tibouchi
• Rezki Zerarti

• Abane Ramdane
• Ferhat Abbas
• Belaïd Abrika
• Hocine Aït Ahmed
• Ali Yahia Abdennour
• Fadela Amara
• Cheikh Mokrani
• Belkacem Lounes
• Mohand Arav Bessaoud
• Malek Boutih
• Lalla Fatma N'Soumer
• Ferhat Imazighen Imula
• Firmus
• Salima Ghezali
• Krim Belkacem
• Kasdi Merbah
• Mohamed Mediène
• Mouloud Kacem Naît Belkacem
• Ahmed Ouyahia
• Saïd Sadi

• Si Amar
• Mohammed Arkoun
• Maǧid At Buttmer
• Mouloud Mammeri
• Salem Chaker
• Mustapha Ishak Boushaki
• Noureddine Melikechi
• Rachid Ouyed
• Si Saïd
• Yousef Saad
• Abdelmalek Sayad
• Mohand Tazerout
• Tassadit Yacine

• Arezki Aït Larbi
• Taos Amrouche
• Kahina Bahloul (through father)
• Tahar Djaout
• Nabile Farès
• Mouloud Feraoun
• Mustapha Ourrad
• Si Mohand
• Salem Zenia

• List of Kabyle people
• Ain Taya Forest

{{Reflist}}

{{wikiquote}}

{{Commons category|Kabyle people}}

{{EB1911 poster|Kabyles}}

• [http://www.kabylia-gov.org/?lang=en/ Provisional Government of Kabylie (ANAVAD)]
• [http://mak.makabylia.info/?lang=en Kabyle Movement of Autonomy]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [http://www.tamurt.info/ Kabyle centric news site] {{in lang|kab}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060615135402/http://kabylia.info/index.php/Main_Page Social web site]
• [http://www.kabyles.com/ Kabyle centric news site] {{in lang|fr}}
• [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kab Ethnologue.com about Kabyle language]
• [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/algerie-4Berberes_ling.htm Algerian linguistic policy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428181424/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/algerie-4Berberes_ling.htm |date=2006-04-28 }} {{in lang|fr}}
• [http://www.kabyle.com/ Cultural site] {{in lang|fr}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100113151627/http://www.north-of-africa.com/ Analysis]

{{Ethnic groups in Algeria}}

{{Berber}}

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Category:Ethnic groups in Algeria

Category:Indigenous peoples of North Africa

Category:Berber peoples and tribes