Ghardaïa : Communal Stakes and the Limits of the Societal

The events[1] that took place in the commune of Berriane (Ghardaïa Province) between March and July 2008 raise numerous questions regarding the underlying causes of the conflict’s development and recurrence (following the events of June 1990 and 1985) between the two local communities that make up the commune’s territory. An initial observation is that these events differ, in terms of their causes, from what is usually reported in the national press[2] regarding violent local protests in various cities and villages across Algeria.

Residents of the commune often took to the streets to express their rejection of the nominal lists for social housing allocation and to protest the logic behind the distribution, thereby attempting to expose the “manipulations and manifestations of local corruption” that affect such operations.

Similarly, numerous occasions have served as opportunities for street protests and violent confrontations with local authorities: the announcement of nominal lists for local recruitment competitions, the distribution of Ramadan food baskets by locally elected councils, the failure of local sports teams, or the phenomenon of smuggling in border provinces.

At first glance, it is evident that the streets are no longer solely spaces for violent protests of a social nature but also include local protests with an identity-based character (such as the Arouch movement in Kabylie) as well as local community-based protests, as in the case of Ghardaïa.

Journalistic interpretations of the events[3] in Berriane have taken different directions. Some used the term “sectarian fitna” to describe the intensity of the violence between the “Arabs” and the “Beni Mzab,” based on the differing ethnic classification of the two conflicting groups. Others attributed these events to the existence of two different religious doctrines[4] - Maliki and Ibadite - using the term “doctrinal fitna” in their analyses.

Still others framed these confrontations within the ongoing lack of official recognition of the “minority crisis” in Algeria, considering that the Mozabites represent an ethnic and religious minority. Some linked these events to the failure and weakness of the centralist state logic in addressing the local specificities of many Algerian regions, with Ghardaïa not being an exception due to the multiplicity of local particularities across the country. Finally, some suggested the influence of “conspiracy,” “external hands,” or the return of the Pieds-Noirs to the region.

What occurred in Berriane and its effects on the other communes of Ghardaïa represents a pressing issue that requires the construction of an anthropological problematique capable of approaching the complex local communal reality in Ghardaïa, beyond the influence of common-sense interpretations that often narrow the academic perspective and reproduce simplistic explanations.

The events in Berriane do not represent the primary field for approaching the local reality, but they constitute an important moment that drew our attention to the communal and societal stakes present in the Ghardaïa region, which often bring macro-sociological issues back into focus, albeit at a local scale.

If we consider that what happened -and what could happen- in the Ghardaïa region is simply a product of the “citizenship crisis in Algeria”[5] in general, this interpretive perspective raises once again the question of the “stalled” process of citizenship formation after independence, which was accompanied by the establishment of a system aiming to unify its form and content by excluding local particularities from the official framework. For example, it was not until 2002 that the Amazigh language was officially recognized as a national language.

From this standpoint, it is possible to pose the “communal and societal” problematic in Ghardaïa by examining the citizenship crisis locally within a context of communal differentiation (Arabs / Mozabites).

Similarly, the local crisis with a communal character in Ghardaïa invites us to question the obstacles to the formation of public space in Algeria, through the conflict manifested on the ground. What we observe in the Ghardaïa commune is the presence of spaces with a strong communal dimension (residential areas, religious practices, private and independent schools), while shared public spaces are shrinking.

Relations with the territory (as practice, representation, or discourse) or shared memory may contribute to enriching the discussion on the issue of public space within a social setting that appears to be fundamentally communal.

The issue of the complex relationship between the local and the central also becomes apparent when we attempt to approach a reality that, at first glance, appears communal. This issue is not specific to Ghardaïa : the communal system often seeks a margin of autonomy that allows it to negotiate constructively with central authorities (decisions, development projects, etc.), but it clashes with the centralist logic of the state. In this context, local social crises (social, identity-based, or communal protest movements) can be seen as symptoms of the crisis between the local and the central within the national state.

Through the two recent surveys[6] we conducted on the “city” of Ghardaïa, the importance of approaching the local context in Ghardaïa becomes evident, particularly through the analysis of the “communal” (communautaire) and “societal” (societal) problematic, based on several initial observations, the most important of which are:

It appears that there are two communities in Ghardaïa. The first presents itself ethnically and linguistically as a Berber group and religiously as Ibadite, with its members called “Mozabites.” The second presents itself ethnically and linguistically as an Arab group and religiously as Maliki, with its members referred to by names such as “Arabs,” “Chaouanba,” “Merazig,” “M’dabih,” and others.

- There is a certain form of communal division of the territory at the local level between the two groups mentioned above. For example, “Beni Yezgan” is predominantly a Mozabite neighborhood, while in the “Malika” neighborhood there is a mixed presence (Arabs / Mozabites). The “Thénia” neighborhood, on the other hand, is predominantly Arab. Between these two forms of settlement in the inhabited space, a “conflict” emerges over the legitimacy of belonging to the “city” of Ghardaïa, with terms such as “residents and locals” or “natives and newcomers” being used. This issue also raises the problem of the mythical legitimation of the history of presence in the region and the origin of the city’s name, exemplified by the disagreement between the two communities over the city’s name - Tegardaït or Ghardaïa - while the official administrative designation remains Ghardaïa.

- We observe that, in addition to this communal division of the territory, there are spaces where the two communities meet, such as the market, public schools (particularly middle and high schools), and official administrative spaces.

- In Ghardaïa, two entirely distinct religious schools coexist: Sunni Maliki and Ibadite. Consequently, the religious space at places of worship is divided into an area for Sunni Maliki religious practice and an area for Ibadite religious practice. This division is also reflected in administrative management : while the Directorate of Religious Affairs oversees the management of Maliki mosques, the Ibadite Naẓir of Habous, through the Council of Ammi Saïd, is responsible for managing Ibadite mosques.

- In Ghardaïa, two completely distinct social organizations coexist in terms of ethnic, linguistic, and religious composition. The first is based on the authority of the “Bachelor System” (nizām al-‘azāba), which governs the social, religious, and political aspects of the Ibadite community, while the “Arabs” are subject to an organization based on clans and tribes (arouchi and tribal).

- In Ghardaïa, clothing, regarded as a form of distinction and belonging, also signals communal identities: the attire of men and women differs between the Mozabites and the Arabs.

These field observations allowed us to methodologically justify our approach to the local context by adopting a “communal” (communautaire) and “societal” (societal) perspective, ensuring what can be called axiological neutrality. Our approach is also grounded in theoretical foundations, both regarding the writings of the founding fathers such as Ferdinand Tönnies and Émile Durkheim[7], and the anthropological and sociological studies on communal structures in the Maghreb region, including the works of Jacques Berque, Ernest Gellner, Clifford Geertz, Pierre Bourdieu, and others.

The discussion on the distinction between what is communal and what is societal began in sociological studies with Ferdinand Tönnies in his book “Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft” (1887). Émile Durkheim (1889) offered a critical reading of this work entitled “Community and Society according to Tönnies”, in which he highlighted the elements that distinguish communal from societal structures : in the first concept, bonds are based on sentiments, shaped by kinship systems, territorial sharing, and shared memory, whereas in the second concept, bonds are founded on the contract.

Maghrebi anthropology has provided models for the study of local groups in the region through the works of Jacques Berque, Ernest Gellner, Clifford Geertz, and Pierre Bourdieu[8], which represent important milestones in the approach to Maghrebi social formations in their social and cultural dimensions.

Pierre Bourdieu’s three texts on the Kabylie region in Algeria - “The Kabyle House and the Reversed World”, “The Sense of Honor in the Tribes”, and “Kinship as Will and Representation” -, which sought to understand the communal logic of individuals in Kabylie in relation to forms of central authority, also made reference to the Mozabite community in his book[9] Sociologie de l’Algérie.

In the same context, the approaches of Gellner and Geertz, despite their theoretical and methodological differences, represent an important milestone in the accumulation of knowledge in Maghrebi anthropology. Thus, Gellner, through his writings, particularly on the tribe[10], offered his reading of Maghrebi societies based on what he calls “division” (an organic and objectivist Durkheimian approach), while Geertz[11] approached it by tracing the meaning produced by individuals as a cultural system. According to El-Houari Adi, both authors draw from the British social anthropological tradition, which seeks to study and interpret the limits of equilibrium in “ungoverned” societies.

Regarding Jacques Berque[12], the idea of transitioning from the “tribe” to the “village” with the advent of colonialism represents a turning point in the reconfiguration of traditional communal structures and the beginning of the confrontation between the local and the central. For example, in Morocco, there is a confrontation between the central authority and the Chleuhs as well as the inhabitants of the Rif, while in Algeria, a similar confrontation exists between the central authority and the Jerjerra tribes and the Ibadites of the Mzab.

It is also worth noting other important studies on the local context, such as the work of Nadhir Marouf[13], or the field study by Fatima Oussedik on the Ibadites of Ghardaïa, particularly her book on the agreements[14] in the Mzab Valley, the thesis by Yazid Ben Hount titled Tribus en Algérie: Les on the tribes of southern Algeria, as well as issues of the journal Insaniyat devoted to the local context, notably those on Oran, Constantine, The Local in Transition, and the reference to the history of the Ibadites in issue 31 on religion.

Based on this theoretical framework, we will attempt, in an operational manner, to study today the issue of the relationship between what is “social” and what is “communal” in Ghardaïa through five field-based approaches, which will constitute the main axes of research for this project. The aim is to understand the levels and limits of the manifestation of this issue. These approaches are :

Youth, work, and social relations : project financing between microcredit and Ibadite loansIs the issue of employment framed within a communal or societal logic? Through this axis, we aim to understand the role of the traditional social bond and its limits in addressing the employment problem of unemployed youth in Ghardaïa.Authority of local elected officials in Ghardaïa : formation paths and stakesDoes the formation of electoral lists for managing local elected councils follow a communal or societal logic ? Does local governance in Ghardaïa adhere to this dual logic? How does it manifest in the field ? Do locally elected councils represent a communal or societal electoral stake ?Family in GhardaïaIs the socialization of children in Ghardaïa guided by a communal or social logic? What are the forms of socialization for children? Are children raised for the community or for society ?Religious discourse in Ghardaïa today: stakes and limitsDo the Ibadite and Maliki religious institutions provide a societal or communal discourse ? What are the forms of overlap or conflict between what is societal and what is communal in the religious discourse in Ghardaïa ?Secondary school teachers’ discourse in GhardaïaWhat are the limits of the role of public schools in socialization, and how is the relationship between the social and the communal manifested through the discourse, representations, and practices of secondary school teachers ?

[1] Events in the Berriane commune accelerated after an assault on a local woman, which resulted in the deaths of at least two people and the burning of several houses in the Mozabite and Arab neighborhoods. Field observations revealed the intensity of the polarization between the conflicting groups, manifested in the migration of Arabs from Mozabite neighborhoods and Mozabites from Arab neighborhoods, a reciprocal commercial boycott, and the segregation of students in school classes—a phenomenon that extended to the Ghardaïa commune.

[2] We were able to compile a journalistic dossier covering all that was published in the national press between March and August 2008 regarding the repercussions of the Berriane crisis and the extent of its spread to other areas of the province where Arabs and Mozabites coexist within the same territory.

[3] We can follow the events in Berriane directly on the Internet through videos recorded by the “Arabs” and the “Mozabites,” which represents a new feature of the protests.

[4] The Maliki school is the doctrine of the majority, while the Ibadite school is that of the minority.

[5] Three researchers are participating in a project registered at the center entitled “Citizenship Today in Algeria”, under the supervision of Hassan Ramoun.

[6] The first exploratory study was conducted between December 17 and 27, 2009, and the second exploratory study took place during the organization of the Spring University of the Doctoral School in Anthropology, supervised by the Center for Research in Social and Cultural Anthropology, between March 27 and April 3, 2010.

During these two exploratory studies, we conducted 30 interviews, averaging 6 interviews per research axis (youth, local elected officials, father or mother, imam, and secondary school teacher).

[7] Émile Durkheim (1889). Community and Society according to Tönnies, reading note. Part of the series: “The Classics of Social Sciences”.

[8] Bourdieu, P. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Preceded by Three Studies in Kabyle Ethnology, Seuil, (1972).

[9] Bourdieu, P. Sociology of Algeria, PUF, Que sais-je ? (1958).

[10] Gellner, E. Saints of the Atlas, translated from English by P. Coatalen, Bouchène, Paris, 2003 (1969).

[11] In this regard, see : Geertz, Clifford. The Bazaar of Sefrou : On the Economy of the Market, Bouchène, 2003.

[12] See in this regard : BERQUE, J. Social Structure of the High Atlas, Paris, PUF, 1955.

Maghreb, History and Society, Algiers, SNDE, 1974.

[13] Marouf, Nadir. Reading the Oasis Space, Sindbad, La Bibliothèque Arabe, coll. Hommes et Sociétés, Paris, 1980.

[14] Oussedik, F. Rereading the Ittifakats.