The oral lore of the Ouled Naïl people claims ancient Arab descent from tribes that arrived in the area about a thousand years ago. They trace their origin back to Sidi Naïl, an Arab marabout and sharif (descendent of prophet Muhammad) who settled in central Algeria in the 16th century.[1] Some traditions trace their ancestry to the Banu Hilal of Najd, who came to the highlands through El Oued, Ghardaia.[2] Others claim that they are direct descendants of Idris I.
Traditional lifestyleEdit
Traditional women dress of the interior side of Algeria
The Ouled Naïl are seminomadic or nomadic people living in the highlands of the range of the Saharan Atlas to which they gave their name. The town of Djelfa has been traditionally an important market and trade centre for the Ouled Naïl, especially for their cattle.[3] The town has cold and long winters with temperatures averaging 4 °C.[4] In recent years Djelfa Province has become one of the most populated provinces of the Hauts-Plateaux with a population of 1,164,870.[5]
Ouled Naïl woman in the complex traditional costume. Photo: National Geographic 1917
The Ouled Naïl have traditionally reared cattle as nomads in their mountain grasslands, as well in the northern Hodna region and the Dayas in the south. When they are nomadic they live in black-and-red striped tents, but they also used to live in dechra, or non fortified villages, or in ksour, fortified ones. Cereal cultivation is possible in the mountain heights, although with rather irregular results. They rarely were able to cultivate date palms in the heights but obtained dates from other areas by trading, especially in Bou Saâda located at the feet of the northern end of the mountain range.[6]
Despite the harsh conditions of the dry and cold highlands where they live, this ethnic group has managed to fare fairly well in their traditional environment along the centuries. However, the odd years of drought and years with prolonged, cold winters are disastrous for the Ouled Nail; in 1944, and again in 1947, when weather conditions were especially rough, about 50% of their livestock died and famines followed.[4]
Dances and songsEdit
The Ouled Naïl tribe originated a style of music, sometimes known as Bou Saâda music after the town near their homeland.[7] In belly dancing, the term refers to a style of dance originated by the Ouled Naïl, noted for their way of dancing.[8][9]
Although their primary roles and activities in their rural milieu were connected with animal farming, most women trained in the art of dance and song from childhood. Thus for Ouled Naïl females the practice of leaving their ancestral home and settling in a nearby desert town as entertainers was common. This was especially so in times of disaster and famine, when a woman had relative freedom to fend for herself in order to survive, save money and improve her future economic status.[10][11][better source needed]
The 1956 edition of the Michelin Guide devotes only a few lines to the Ouled Naïl mountain region; Djelfa is not even mentioned and the Ouled Naïl people are "mere courtesans and Oriental dancers".[4] French colonialist representations of the Ouled Naïl concentrated almost exclusively on women who temporarily left their home and settled in some nearby town.[12] However, none of the highland tribes to which they belonged were specialised in prostitution[13] and only some Ouled Naïl women became dancers. A British traveller, Lawrence Morgan, gave an account of his experiences living with the Ouled Naïl which focuses on the lives of the dancers. [14] Still, the exuberance of their ornaments and the exoticism of their costumes added to the general fascination.[13]
Auguste Maure, an orientalist photographer that lived in Biskra was active from 1860 to 1907 and took many photographs of landscapes and cities of south Algeria (El Kantara, Sidi Okba, Chetma, Tilatou, Tolga, Touggourt). The female members of the Ouled Naïl tribe, wearing the traditional colorful costumes and covered by jewels, were often represented on Maure photographs which were appreciated by tourists.
In the 1930s, painter Juanita Guccione lived among the Ouled Naïl people, and she used the experience as inspiration for some of her work.[15]
^""The Ouled Nail of Algeria", by Jasmin Jahal, June 1999". Jasminjahal.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
^"Enshrouded by Mystery- Tribes of Algeria (Part 2)". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
^"Gilded Serpent, Belly Dance News & Events , » Dancing for Dowries, Part 2". Retrieved 29 April 2015.
^Marnia Lazreg, The Eloquence of Silence: Algerian Women in Question. p. 30-31
^ ab"Algérie 1830-1962 - le musée de l'Histoire vivante". Museehistoirevivante.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
^ title= Flute of Sand, by Lawrence Morgan, publisher=Odhams Press, London, 1956.
^"Marbrook, Juanita". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00116144. ISBN978-0-19-977378-7. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
External linksEdit
Media related to Ouled Nails at Wikimedia Commons
A Brief Encounter with the Historical Ouled Nail
Images of the Ouled Nail
Etienne Dinet and the Ouled Naïl
FAO country reports: Algeria
October 21, 2023
ouled, naïl, this, article, about, people, group, historical, region, range, arabic, أولاد, نايل, arab, tribal, confederation, living, range, algeria, they, found, mainly, saâda, sila, djelfa, there, also, significant, number, them, ghardaïa, أولاد, نايلyoung,. This article is about the people group For the historical region see Ouled Nail Range The Ouled Nail ˌ uː l ɛ d ˈ n aɪ l Arabic أولاد نايل are an Arab tribal confederation living in the Ouled Nail Range Algeria They are found mainly in Bou Saada M Sila and Djelfa but there is also a significant number of them in Ghardaia Ouled Nailأولاد نايلYoung Ouled Nail woman circa 1905 Regions with significant populationsOuled Nail RangeBou Saada M Sila Djelfa LanguagesDjelfaoui Naili dialect of ArabicReligionSunni Islam Contents 1 Origins 2 Traditional lifestyle 2 1 Dances and songs 3 Exotic representations 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksOrigins EditThe oral lore of the Ouled Nail people claims ancient Arab descent from tribes that arrived in the area about a thousand years ago They trace their origin back to Sidi Nail an Arab marabout and sharif descendent of prophet Muhammad who settled in central Algeria in the 16th century 1 Some traditions trace their ancestry to the Banu Hilal of Najd who came to the highlands through El Oued Ghardaia 2 Others claim that they are direct descendants of Idris I Traditional lifestyle Edit nbsp Traditional women dress of the interior side of AlgeriaThe Ouled Nail are seminomadic or nomadic people living in the highlands of the range of the Saharan Atlas to which they gave their name The town of Djelfa has been traditionally an important market and trade centre for the Ouled Nail especially for their cattle 3 The town has cold and long winters with temperatures averaging 4 C 4 In recent years Djelfa Province has become one of the most populated provinces of the Hauts Plateaux with a population of 1 164 870 5 nbsp Ouled Nail woman in the complex traditional costume Photo National Geographic 1917The Ouled Nail have traditionally reared cattle as nomads in their mountain grasslands as well in the northern Hodna region and the Dayas in the south When they are nomadic they live in black and red striped tents but they also used to live in dechra or non fortified villages or in ksour fortified ones Cereal cultivation is possible in the mountain heights although with rather irregular results They rarely were able to cultivate date palms in the heights but obtained dates from other areas by trading especially in Bou Saada located at the feet of the northern end of the mountain range 6 Despite the harsh conditions of the dry and cold highlands where they live this ethnic group has managed to fare fairly well in their traditional environment along the centuries However the odd years of drought and years with prolonged cold winters are disastrous for the Ouled Nail in 1944 and again in 1947 when weather conditions were especially rough about 50 of their livestock died and famines followed 4 Dances and songs Edit The Ouled Nail tribe originated a style of music sometimes known as Bou Saada music after the town near their homeland 7 In belly dancing the term refers to a style of dance originated by the Ouled Nail noted for their way of dancing 8 9 Although their primary roles and activities in their rural milieu were connected with animal farming most women trained in the art of dance and song from childhood Thus for Ouled Nail females the practice of leaving their ancestral home and settling in a nearby desert town as entertainers was common This was especially so in times of disaster and famine when a woman had relative freedom to fend for herself in order to survive save money and improve her future economic status 10 11 better source needed Exotic representations EditSee also Depictions of nudity Ethnographic photography nbsp Painting of the Ouled Nails by Leon Cauvy Musee des Annees Trente The 1956 edition of the Michelin Guide devotes only a few lines to the Ouled Nail mountain region Djelfa is not even mentioned and the Ouled Nail people are mere courtesans and Oriental dancers 4 French colonialist representations of the Ouled Nail concentrated almost exclusively on women who temporarily left their home and settled in some nearby town 12 However none of the highland tribes to which they belonged were specialised in prostitution 13 and only some Ouled Nail women became dancers A British traveller Lawrence Morgan gave an account of his experiences living with the Ouled Nail which focuses on the lives of the dancers 14 Still the exuberance of their ornaments and the exoticism of their costumes added to the general fascination 13 Auguste Maure an orientalist photographer that lived in Biskra was active from 1860 to 1907 and took many photographs of landscapes and cities of south Algeria El Kantara Sidi Okba Chetma Tilatou Tolga Touggourt The female members of the Ouled Nail tribe wearing the traditional colorful costumes and covered by jewels were often represented on Maure photographs which were appreciated by tourists In the 1930s painter Juanita Guccione lived among the Ouled Nail people and she used the experience as inspiration for some of her work 15 See also EditBou Saada Djelfa Auguste Maure Nasreddine Dinet The Finale of the orchestral Suite Beni Mora by Gustav Holst is titled In the Street of the Ouled Nails References Edit le pays des ouled nail algerie documents algeriens venis alger roi fr alger roi fr Retrieved 2023 04 25 Nouvelle geographie universelle la terre et les hommes Volume 11 Par Elisee Reclus 1830 1905 p 552 A Different Perspective of Algeria English blog By Algeria Channel Retrieved 29 April 2015 a b c geographie de l afrique du nord le titteri des francais atlas saharien alger roi fr Retrieved 29 April 2015 Djelfa Une wilaya steppique en pleine mutation L ALGERIE SES COUTUMES SA CULTURE ET SES TRADITIONS Retrieved 29 April 2015 le pays des ouled nail algerie documents algeriens venis alger roi fr Retrieved 29 April 2015 YouTube Retrieved 29 April 2015 Ouled Nail Belly dance org Retrieved 2012 12 28 The Ouled Nail of Algeria by Jasmin Jahal June 1999 Jasminjahal com Retrieved 2012 12 28 Enshrouded by Mystery Tribes of Algeria Part 2 Retrieved 29 April 2015 Gilded Serpent Belly Dance News amp Events Dancing for Dowries Part 2 Retrieved 29 April 2015 Marnia Lazreg The Eloquence of Silence Algerian Women in Question p 30 31 a b Algerie 1830 1962 le musee de l Histoire vivante Museehistoirevivante com Retrieved 2012 12 28 title Flute of Sand by Lawrence Morgan publisher Odhams Press London 1956 Marbrook Juanita Benezit Dictionary of Artists Oxford University Press 2011 doi 10 1093 benz 9780199773787 article b00116144 ISBN 978 0 19 977378 7 Retrieved 2021 09 23 External links Edit nbsp Media related to Ouled Nails at Wikimedia Commons A Brief Encounter with the Historical Ouled Nail Images of the Ouled Nail Etienne Dinet and the Ouled Nail FAO country reports Algeria Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ouled Nail amp oldid 1178269914, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
