Yennayer begins in Algeria

2011-01-13

The rich and varied patrimony of Algeria's Amazigh population is on display across the country, as people mark one of the community's most cherished holidays.

By Mohand Ouali for Magharebia in Algiers – 13/01/11

[Mohand Ouali] The Amazigh community in Algeria hopes Yennayer will become a national holiday.

Algerians on Wednesday (January 12th) welcomed the advent of Amazigh New Year 2961. Even though Yennayer is traditionally celebrated by people all over the country, it is only recently that official festivities have been organised.

The festival is "cultural landmark shared by all Algerians", according to the event commissary, Si El Hachemi Assad.

"By celebrating Yennayer, the High Commission for Amazigh (HCA) has broken the taboo surrounding this festival, which is steadily returning to its rightful place in our country," commission chief Youcef Merah said at the official opening of the festivities, explaining that many Algerians still do not understand the meaning of this festival, which they confuse with pagan practices.

Every year, HCA picks a host town for the official celebrations. This year, it is Ghardaia, home to a tightly knit Mozabite community. The town is famous for its crafts as well as people's deep attachment to their cultural heritage.

The programme of festivities includes culinary exhibitions, round table discussions on the symbolism of the festival, workshops on the Amazigh language, as well as a tribute to the pioneering champions of Amazigh culture in the region.

Unlike elsewhere in the country, the people of the M'zab valley, where Ghardaia is located along with four other Mozabite villages, welcome Yennayer on January 7th. The first day of the Amazigh calendar marks the start of the agricultural year, which varies from one climatic region to another.

Despite the differences, Yennayer remains a time for celebration throughout the country, providing an opportunity for families to come together and build a unique community spirit.

"This festival, whatever it may be called, reunites Algerians, and indeed Maghreb residents. In Bourguiba, they joke that the Maghreb stops where the couscous stops. I could paraphrase that by saying that the border is also marked out by Yennayer, which is without a doubt the most ancient thing that we still have," musicologist Amor Bouzid told Horizons newspaper.

He added that the Yennayer festivities help Algeria to "reconcile itself".

Of course, there is no festival without a range of special dishes. Housewives prepare by completely replacing their kitchen utensils with shiny new ones. In accordance with tradition, there is also a major spring-clean of the house, with walls repainted or whitewashed.

For many days, shops offer a rich variety of treats, sweets, chocolates, dried fruits, almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios, which families enjoy with their tea after the traditional dinner. In Bab El Oued, Trez or Drez (the pronunciation varies), an assortment of dried fruit and sweets, is on sale for around 400 dinars.

"Yennayer! It's good for morale, and it's good for business. People aren't going to stop living life just because of a few riots!" one trader cheerfully said.

Traditional dishes vary from one region to another.

"This evening, we're having Chakhchoukha!" hardworking mother Souhila announced, as if delivering a verdict. She explained that she does not come from the Biskra region, where this dish originates. The dish consists in tearing small pieces of thin round flatbread and mixing them with Marqa, a stew.

Idir, in his fifties, comes originally from Sidi Aich, Lesser Kabylie. For his family, dinner will include "couscous with chicken cooked in avissar, which is a puree of little beans or peas". Still, he admitted that, beyond this, he knows little about the traditions surrounding this celebration.

"Perhaps I'm too much of a townie," he explained.

The variety of rich foods is a hallmark of Yennayer festivities. Every region features its own peculiar dishes. In Ghardaia, these are Arfis, a flat cake made of semolina, sugar, milk and eggs and decorated with raisins, and Cherchem, made of durum wheat with butter and mountain honey. In Tipasa, celebrants prepare sardine galettes and vegetable croquettes. Chakhchoukha is made exclusively by women in the Aurès region, while in Tlemcen, people cook Msemmen, a crepe served with honey and mint tea.

The region of Beni Snouss, located in Tlemcen mountains, is famous for its unique carnival known as Ayrad ("Lion" in Tamazight), the origins of which, according to anthropologist Saridj Mohamed, date back to the victory of King Chachnak over King Juba I of Mauritania. Some historians, however, talk of a victory over Egyptian Ramses III and the enthronement of Chachnak as pharaoh.

The customs and traditions of Yennayer are alive and kicking across the entire Maghreb. Poorly understood for many years, its cultural history is now in the spotlight, with official recognition of this distinctive heritage. Yennayer is taken as a public holiday in Kabylie. Since the Amazigh spring of April 1980, the Amazigh Cultural Movement (MCA) has been asking for it to become a paid holiday in Algeria.

"We need to turn this event into a national holiday, enthroned in law, just like Muharram (Muslim New Year) and the Gregorian New Year. It's not right that the Gregorian New Year should be celebrated with great pomp while Muharram and Yennayer are brushed aside," Merah said.