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ALGERIA FROM WITHIN
ALGERIA FROM WITHIN
BY R. V. C. BODLEY ILLUSTRATED INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1927, by The Bobbs-Merrill Company Printed in the United States of America PRINTED AND BOUND BY BRAUNWORTH & CO., INC. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK To MY MANY FRIENDS OF ALL NATIONALITIES WHO INHABIT ALGERIA...
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
This is not a preface but merely a few words to state that in writing these pages I have in no way tried to criticize the French administration or to discuss the Arab from any point of view but that of a spectator. I have no political feelings, few ambitions beyond living simply and far away from the world, and if this work exists at all, it is because I have wished that people should know Algeria as it really is. Once upon a time I had great ideas about worldly position and the sound of long ti
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CHAPTER I THE OBJECT OF THE BOOK
CHAPTER I THE OBJECT OF THE BOOK
A writer who sets out to study a foreign country such as Algeria is faced with two difficulties: the first, the natural suspicion of the Mohammedan population; the second, the little information obtainable from the French inhabitants of the country. It has been possible to overcome the first difficulty by making the Arab realize that there was no intention to interfere with his interior life or to obtain information in order to denounce family secrets. The second difficulty has remained. This is
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CHAPTER II A LITTLE GEOGRAPHY
CHAPTER II A LITTLE GEOGRAPHY
Algeria is situated some fifteen hundred miles due south of London, and is accessible via Paris and Marseilles in fifty hours, or by sea from Southhampton in four days. The country is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean, on the east by Tunisia, and on the west by Morocco. Its southern boundary is difficult to define, as, though in reality Algeria extends right across the desert to Senegal, Algeria proper does not go farther than the northerly tracts of the Sahara. Moreover, although consid
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CHAPTER III A LITTLE HISTORY
CHAPTER III A LITTLE HISTORY
The original inhabitants of Algeria were Berbers. The present native inhabitant of Algeria is the Berber, and yet ask any one who the natives are and they will reply “Arabs”; some of the more intelligent will perhaps say “Arabs with a sprinkling of Berbers.” But this is wrong. When history first threw light on North Africa the Berbers were there, and they have not yet departed. It is true that many invasions and upheavals have passed through Algeria during the past three thousand years, but, tho
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CHAPTER IV THE FRENCH CONQUEST OF ALGERIA
CHAPTER IV THE FRENCH CONQUEST OF ALGERIA
It will be easily understood that this undisputed mastery of the Mediterranean basin had given the Turks of Algeria a very great impression of their importance, and had left them with little respect for the European powers. Consideration, therefore, for representatives of those powers was on the same scale, and when one day the French Consul, Deval, paid an official visit to the Dey Hussein to protest about the non-payment of a debt to a French subject, Hussein summarily sent him about his busin
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CHAPTER V THE INHABITANTS TO-DAY
CHAPTER V THE INHABITANTS TO-DAY
North Africa has been very aptly described as a melting-pot of the Mediterranean races, and, though all trace of invaders such as the Vandals and the Byzantines have vanished, the other peoples who came and conquered and were in turn defeated have left their mark on the inhabitants of to-day. The Phœnician, the Roman, the Arab, the Spaniard, the Turk, can be seen in all parts of North Africa, and, though it requires perhaps a little study and experience to place one’s hand on the actual features
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1. Civilian
1. Civilian
The administration of any country to a foreigner is always rather incomprehensible, but the manner in which Algeria is administered by the French is more than a surprise. It is not our duty to criticize the method of government of this country, and let it be said at once that, strange as the method may seem, the results are admirable. To the uninitiated, Algeria is a colony such as Kenya or the Gold Coast, with a Governor and all the general system of working dominions beyond the seas. But, thou
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2. Military
2. Military
All this seems complicated enough, but the mystery is not over—it deepens as we leave the northern districts of Algeria and move south. We have now seen the rôles of the various functionaries in the three departments of Constantine, Alger and Oranie, and we must turn to the area known as the Territoires du Sud. The actual boundary between the departments and these southern territories varies somewhat, but it can be said roughly that anywhere two hundred miles from the coast one has passed out of
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1. Through the Arab Chiefs
1. Through the Arab Chiefs
It can be said that in the northern districts of Algeria, where civilian rule is supreme, the Arab chief’s position is more honorary than anything else. It is true that he holds the same titles as his brethren in the south and that he is responsible for an area comprising many douars , but his authority is very limited owing to his constant contact with the local administrateurs . In the south it is very different. Here we are among the nomad tribes, who, though they have certain fixed limits of
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2. Through the Arab Functionaries
2. Through the Arab Functionaries
Quite apart from the official chiefs appointed to assist the Bureau Arabe in the enforcement of the law, there are a number of functionaries who have nothing whatever to do with the French civil or military government of the country. These functionaries exercise their duties in the north as well as in the south, wherever there are believing Mohammedans. They are appointed, of course, with the approval of the Governor-General, but they are chosen chiefly for their knowledge of Moslem laws and rit
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CHAPTER VIII MARABOUTS
CHAPTER VIII MARABOUTS
Standing alone and quite apart from the native officials just mentioned are the marabouts . The name is derived from the Arab word marabet , which originally meant one who served as a soldier in a rebat or fortress built on the frontier of Mohammedan countries as defense against the infidel, and which became a base of attack against Christian neighbors. In the forts the moslem soldiers gave themselves over to acts of piety. When the days of holy war had passed the rebats were converted into reli
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CHAPTER X LIFE AMONG THE ARABS
CHAPTER X LIFE AMONG THE ARABS
We must now turn our attention to the inner life among the Arabs, to their customs, to their religious observances; and though it is always difficult for a foreigner, and especially a foreigner in a Mohammedan country, really to see the life as lived by its people, it is believed that sufficient intimacy has been developed between the author and the Arabs to give a very accurate picture of what goes on among them. The word “Arab” will be used, as it is not intended in this chapter to touch again
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CHAPTER XI ARAB WOMEN
CHAPTER XI ARAB WOMEN
Having now cast a cursory glance over the life of the Arab man, let us look into the inner life of the homestead—that is to say, the life of the women, of the children, and of the servants. Placing them in the same category does not in the least suggest that the Arab woman is in any way a slave. Far from it. This is quite a fallacy, which must be added to the list of legends to be dispelled in this book. With the exception of the Kabyles, the women in Algeria have almost as many rights as the me
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CHAPTER XII ARAB LOVE AND THE WOMEN OF THE RESERVED QUARTER
CHAPTER XII ARAB LOVE AND THE WOMEN OF THE RESERVED QUARTER
By bracketing these two subjects together I do not wish it to be supposed that in Algeria the two are synonymous, though curiously enough there is none of that sordid atmosphere which is associated with women of easy morals in Europe. It is generally believed that the Arab man is a brute who uses women only for his pleasure, and that the Arab woman is a piece of furniture and accepts the situation. It is another legend. There are few men in the world who are such ardent lovers as the Arabs, and
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CHAPTER XIII ARAB MUSIC AND DANCING
CHAPTER XIII ARAB MUSIC AND DANCING
I have talked a great deal about music and dancing in Algeria without describing their characteristics. There are three very distinct classes of music: that for dancing, that for ballads about war or love, and that for religious chants. These various forms of music have their respective instruments, which, though few in number, differ considerably one from the other. The first is the raïta : in shape it resembles a short trumpet bored with holes, on which rest the fingers, and with a bell-shaped
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CHAPTER XIV RELIGION
CHAPTER XIV RELIGION
With sudden contrast, we turn our attention to the most important problem in the daily life of the Arab— religion. Now, it is a curious thing that in practically all European countries religion has not much sway over the general masses, and that frequently it is subject-matter for controversy and discord. Even among those members of the community who are still faithful believers, the church is not really interwoven in the hum of daily life. Not so in Algeria. Every Arab who has not been degenera
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CHAPTER XV RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
CHAPTER XV RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
Apart from the daily prayers there are various feasts which are celebrated regularly by all good Mohammedans. They do not come at regular dates as, owing to the fact that the Moslem year is lunar, all the months begin ten days earlier each year. In order of rotation these feasts are as follows: Race el Ame, new year; Aschana, the tenth day of the first month, sometimes known as the Feast of Moses; those who observe it are promised ten times of all they have; Makante, or Mouloud, the birth of Moh
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CHAPTER XVI “MEKTOUB” AND OTHER SUPERSTITIONS
CHAPTER XVI “MEKTOUB” AND OTHER SUPERSTITIONS
Having now seen the principles of the faith as set out by the Koran, we must turn our attention to the more superstitious side, which, as in all faiths, has grown up with the course of time. As stated before, the first great fundamental point which dominates the whole of Islam and makes it unlike other beliefs is summed up in that word mektoub —“It is written.” Generally speaking, every Mohammedan is a fatalist, and believes that nothing can occur which is not ordained; there is no free will and
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CHAPTER XVII ABD-EL-KADER
CHAPTER XVII ABD-EL-KADER
It would take too long to cast even a cursory glance over the many holy men venerated in Algeria, and it will suffice merely to touch on the two most important. Some confusion appears to exist in the minds of many as to who Abd-el-Kader really is. The name is spoken of all over North Africa, and is often discussed at cross-purposes. The fact is that there are two Abd-el-Kaders, both of great importance to the Arabs, but as different one from the other as possible. The first, whose kouba , or shr
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CHAPTER XVIII ARAB EDUCATION
CHAPTER XVIII ARAB EDUCATION
Generally speaking the Arab of Algeria is uneducated, and though he is lazy, this lack of education is not fundamentally his fault. In the first place, the instruction he obtains from his own people is singularly primitive. The Koran decrees that all children shall be taught their religion; at the time of its compilation this involved reading and writing of Arabic, but as in Algeria the original pure language has disappeared, and its place has been taken by this mixture of Berber and other tongu
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CHAPTER XIX SPORT AMONG THE ARABS
CHAPTER XIX SPORT AMONG THE ARABS
The Arab who has not become softened by life in European towns thinks more of sport than of anything else. His greatest ambition is to own a horse, and the possession of a breech-loading gun is a dream he rarely realizes. With his old muzzle-loading blunderbuss, however, he does wonderful shooting, and rams down the charge with amazing rapidity. Game of all kinds abounds in Algeria—partridge, hares, woodcock, bustard, pigeons, quail, wild boar, gazelle, moufflon, and occasional panthers in the m
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CHAPTER XX THE NOMADS
CHAPTER XX THE NOMADS
The nomads are the descendants of the original Arabs who invaded North Africa in the seventh and twelfth centuries. Here and there they have been slightly Berberized, but generally speaking they are quite a separate type from the inhabitants of the rest of Algeria. Tall, and tanned by the sun, they look fearlessly before them as they move with that easy gait of men born and bred in the open plain. Their feet and hands are shapely, and though not actually good-looking they have very fine faces, w
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CHAPTER XXI SHEEP-BREEDING
CHAPTER XXI SHEEP-BREEDING
Having talked about the nomads we must now cast a glance at their occupation. Of all the many industries in Algeria, sheep-breeding is the oldest, as perhaps it is in all countries where pastures are unlimited and where lack of communication makes it difficult to set up big commercial towns. Moreover, the Arab is essentially a shepherd by instinct, and living a wandering life with no fixed abode but his camel’s hair tent, it is immaterial to him where his sheep pasture, and it is amazing to note
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CHAPTER XXII OTHER PRODUCTS
CHAPTER XXII OTHER PRODUCTS
Apart from the breeding of sheep on the Hauts Plateaux and in the Sahara, we also find cattle-raising in the Tell and in the coast hills of the department of Oran, while horse-breeding is carried on all along the southern slopes of the Atlas. The cattle are not very big, and would compare sadly with any European breed, but they bring in a comfortable little revenue to the breeder and suffice for the needs of the country. Horses are more in the hands of the Europeans, who have created some quite
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CHAPTER XXIII ALGIERS
CHAPTER XXIII ALGIERS
Now that we have before us an outline of the history, geography, administration and customs of the country under examination, it seems opportune to say a few words about Algeria from the point of view of the tourist. The traveler visiting this country will either journey direct by sea to Algiers or else will take the overland route via Paris and Marseilles, which is the more rapid. In either case he will arrive by sea. His first impressions of Algiers, rising out of the Mediterranean like a whit
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CHAPTER XXIV TWO EXCURSIONS
CHAPTER XXIV TWO EXCURSIONS
Before setting out on the long journey through Algeria, two short excursions from Algiers seem worthy of mention. The first is an afternoon drive to the easterly point of the bay of Algiers. The distance is barely twenty miles, and though there is nothing in particular to see there, the drive along the coast from Maison Carrée is delightful, and the view from Cape Matifou of Algiers, shimmering white in the distance, is enchanting. Practically no tourists ever go there, and though in the summer
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CHAPTER XXVI BOU SAADA
CHAPTER XXVI BOU SAADA
Leaving the ugly suburbs of Algiers, the car turns on to a broad, straight road bordered with plane-trees. On either side stretch interminable vineyards, while ahead the blue slopes of the Atlas rise up from this great plain of the Mitidja. Little French villages are passed and long, white buildings, now closed and silent, which will be in a whirl of activity in August and September when the grapes are being pressed. In an hour or so l’Arba has been reached and the steep slopes covered with roug
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CHAPTER XXVII THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE SAHARA
CHAPTER XXVII THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE SAHARA
Leaving Bou Saada by the same road taken the day before to visit El Hamel, though without turning off down the track which passes the holy city, the car climbs up into a rolling country of alfa—that tall alfa or esparto grass which grows so abundantly all over the Sersou and the Hauts Plateaux, and which is used extensively by British firms to make paper. Large concessions are leased for lengthy periods, the grass is cut and collected by Arabs between November and March, and brought to convenien
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CHAPTER XXVIII THE OASIS OF LAGHOUAT
CHAPTER XXVIII THE OASIS OF LAGHOUAT
The first view of the Sahara is perhaps one of the most amazing things in the world. The northern part of the oasis is divided from the southern by a barrier of rocks, and, as one tops the cliff, a sense of awe fills one as one contemplates the immensity of the vision spread out. The mind, unaccustomed to such spectacles, rushes back and tries to compare the scene with anything it has ever seen before, but it fails hopelessly, and remains in wonderment before this wide panorama. And yet, as one
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CHAPTER XXIX THE MZAB
CHAPTER XXIX THE MZAB
The journey south to Ghardaïa is very desolate; even the tufts of alfa have practically disappeared. The road runs straight across the flat plain, with nothing to relieve the eye except occasional groups of dreary trees known as pistachiers . Flocks of sheep graze by the roadside. The nomads’ tents stand out like black patches on the stony ground. Sometimes a herd of gazelles will be seen in the distance, bustards rise and flap languidly away, hares abound. It is a great country for hawking. If
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CHAPTER XXX GHARDAIA AND ADJOINING TOWNS
CHAPTER XXX GHARDAIA AND ADJOINING TOWNS
During the journey south we have passed Berriane, the outpost of the Mzab, and of later foundation than the other towns. Guerrera is on the journey to Touggourt; the remaining five towns of the confederation are before us in this kind of desolate rock crater. The most important and the largest of them is Ghardaïa, lying at the foot of the military bordj , where it is necessary to pass the night. On a rocky eminence to the east is Melika, further on, the holy city of Beni Sgen, and out of sight,
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CHAPTER XXXI GUERRERA AND THE SAND DESERT
CHAPTER XXXI GUERRERA AND THE SAND DESERT
To cross over from the rock desert of the Mzab to the sand of Touggourt it is advisable to be very certain of the reliability of the car, and, if possible, to go accompanied by another vehicle. The country to be traversed is terribly desolate, and, except when the mail bus runs, once a week, it is very seldom that one meets any traffic; if one has a serious breakdown one must wait in the desert for the passage of the diligence , which may be some days. Water—plenty of water—and some food should
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CHAPTER XXXII BISKRA
CHAPTER XXXII BISKRA
With the aid of a railway an English novelist inadvertently made of Biskra what it is to-day. I say inadvertently because there is not the least reference to Biskra in the whole book, and I am sure that Mr. Hichens was the last person to wish to create of a Sahara oasis a kind of Dieppe-on-sand. Neither would this town have been so thronged with trippers had it been miles away in the desert without a railway, but it is so easy to get into the train at Algiers one night and detrain the next day i
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CHAPTER XXXIII TIMGAD
CHAPTER XXXIII TIMGAD
The road, on leaving Biskra, runs due north over a land which usually looks barren, but which in periods of rain produces a plentiful crop of cereals. Very soon a ridge is topped, and Biskra and the Sahara are lost to sight. Some people will heave a sigh of relief at leaving for the last time these desolate expanses; others will look back longingly, and these will return sooner or later. Once the Sahara has gripped the heart there is nothing in the world which will free it from its hold. Just ov
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CHAPTER XXXIV DJEMILA THE DESOLATE
CHAPTER XXXIV DJEMILA THE DESOLATE
If Roman ruins are of interest to the traveler there is a second edition of Timgad, to my mind finer and more complete than the subject of the last chapter, but unfortunately not on any main road. I refer to the town of Cuicul, now called Djemila, situated on the barren hills to the northeast of Sétif. There are two means of access: from Algiers via Sétif, or from Constantine via the road to Djidjelli, described in the next chapter. From Sétif the main road to Constantine is followed for thirty
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CHAPTER XXXV CONSTANTINE TO THE COAST
CHAPTER XXXV CONSTANTINE TO THE COAST
The scenery along the road to Constantine by either route differs little from that just passed. It is a land of cereals, once upon a time properly irrigated by the people of a great empire, now sadly dependent on the rainfall. The approach to the city is impressive. It seems to stand out on a rocky pinnacle, and as one crosses the bridge and looks down into the depths of the Gorges of the Rhummel, one suddenly wonders if it is not all a stage setting: chasms, perpendicular cliffs, natural rock b
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CHAPTER XXXVI KABYLIE
CHAPTER XXXVI KABYLIE
The Kabyle country lies to the northeastern extremity of the department of Algiers, with a small portion lapping over into the department of Constantine as far as Bougie. It begins at Palestro, runs down to the sea, and is bounded on the south by the road from El Kseur to Bouira. It seems curious to speak of a country in the middle of a French department, and yet its physical boundaries are as defined as its people. Like the wild men of the Aurès, the Kabyles are hardy mountaineers of the same r
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CHAPTER XXXVII TRAVELING OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
CHAPTER XXXVII TRAVELING OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Having now followed in the paths of the tourist and the official tours of the Compagnie Transatlantique, it will perhaps be interesting to cast a glance at the less-frequented routes. There is no doubt that once one leaves the beaten track in Algeria one travels in comparative discomfort, and that the accommodation is, to say the least of it, primitive. Neither is it necessary to go far from the main center to find these discomforts. On the other hand, unless one has these experiences one does n
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1. Summer in the Sahara
1. Summer in the Sahara
Having now endeavored to give the reader a general idea of Algeria from all points of view, I propose to close this book with a few sketches of my life among the Arabs. There is nothing particularly striking about these experiences, but I feel they will lift a further veil on the inner life of these people whose privacy it is so difficult to penetrate. Only years of contact have opened the innermost doors of their homes, only the word of some intimate friend telling of the fellowship between the
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2. Staying in a Country House in the Tell
2. Staying in a Country House in the Tell
Staying in an Arab country house is as different from staying in a country house in Europe as it is possible to imagine. (I am speaking, of course, from the point of view of intimate friends who are treated as the Arabs.) In the first place there is no specific invitation; one is asked to come and stay, say in the summer, and when one feels inclined, one arrives. If one is polite one wires beforehand, but it is not expected. Secondly, one goes always with some specific object—to shoot, to visit
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3. A Week-end with a Marabout
3. A Week-end with a Marabout
The Marabout of Kourdane asked me to spend a week-end with him to discuss the possibilities of organizing a moufflon shoot in the Djbel Amour. I was interested in the prospects of getting a moufflon, but still more interested to see Kourdane. Situated in the Sahara some fifty kilometers from Laghouat, at the foot of the Djebel Amour Range, this country home of marabouts was created by a Frenchwoman known as Madame Aurélie, whose maiden name was Aurélie Picard, the daughter of a gendarme. She had
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4. A Day’s Fishing in Southern Algeria
4. A Day’s Fishing in Southern Algeria
Jelloul ben Lahkdar, bash agha of the Larba tribe about the oasis of Laghouat, is a man with the presence of an emperor, and when I meet him I feel that I ought to kneel down and kiss his hand. I do not do this, however, partly because it would be misconstrued, and partly because the bash agha is a charming old gentleman with a sense of humor, and one whose soul is simplicity itself. He is rather a tyrant with the younger members of his family, and I know that they are very frightened of him, an
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5. The Turkish Bath in Algeria
5. The Turkish Bath in Algeria
We have heard a great deal in this book about religion; let us turn our attention for a brief moment to its great adjunct, especially in the Moslem faith— cleanliness. To the average Englishman the words “Turkish bath” suggest tiled chambers, whiteness, great heat, much water and complete exhaustion. This is what he has seen in Jermyn Street. In his imagination he may have conjured up a vision of the hammam of the East with its marble halls and multi-colored tiles, its splashing fountains and ex
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6. The Keef Smoker
6. The Keef Smoker
Before closing these sketches of Arab life a word must be said on a vice which is luckily not very prevalent, but which nevertheless exists in many centers. I speak of keef-smoking. Keef is the dried flower of the hemp-plant chopped up and smoked like tobacco, rolled in a cigarette, or in the bowl of a small pipe. In a different form it is the basis of the hashish sweets, rarely seen in Algeria, but very common in the Near East. The effect of keef on the smoker is to make him practically indepen
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CHAPTER XXXIX A LAST GLANCE AT THE ARAB
CHAPTER XXXIX A LAST GLANCE AT THE ARAB
The preface of a book should always be written at the end; this insures it being read. In this particular work the first chapter rather takes the place of the preface, but at the same time there are certain things which rather need explaining. In the first place, the necessity to compress the matter into a limited number of pages. On practically every subject mentioned, there is material in my mind to write a book, and it is difficult to realize where to stop. It is equally difficult to know whe
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