The Kabyle heroine who resisted French colonization is the central character of the musical show presented at Point Fort d’Aubervilliers on April 1 and 2.
What do we know about this incredible female figure who took the troop of an army of Kabyle peasants against the French colonists who “pacified” Algeria with the force of bayonets? Few things, apart from a few dates, a few landmarks, the accounts given by the French soldiers in their campaign diaries, and of course, what Kabyle popular memory has retained of this story. And this is the interest of this show, which crosses these sources by giving back all their place to the Kabyle songs of the XIXth century. They keep track of this young woman born in 1830 (the year of the conquest of Algiers) but also the echo of battles, the clash of arms, the hopes and disillusions of an entire people.
I am amazed at the fragility of the things of this world, everything is turned upside down: you have seen, O mortals, the wonders. The seas have brought us these swine which search the banks of the rivers.
– 19th century Kabyle song
On stage, Lalla Fadhma (or Lalla Fatma) is played by Evelyne El Garby Klaï, who embodies this heroine emerging from the past, from the world of ancestors, and who comes back to life. She wants to tell herself to the living, so that they don’t forget. The voice of a musician, who entered the stage before her, produced this magic. Ali Amran, a well-known singer and rocker in the Kabyle community, lent himself to the exercise of blending in with the times, by arranging old songs from the 19th century whose texts have been noted, but whose melodies have been lost. It was therefore necessary to reinvent them, and the musician – who actively collaborated in the choice of these songs – does so with mastery, deploying on these melodies all the depth of his voice.
They drag guns with them, and they know how to use them, the godless!
When they fire, the smoke forms thick clouds.
They are loaded with grapeshot,
which falls like hail as spring approaches.
As for Evelyne el Garby Klaï, she perfectly captures all the states of this rebellious woman – who refused the marriage imposed on her, then put herself at the service of the Kabyle resistance, speaking at assemblies where only men had a voice. in the chapter. Lalla (sign of respect) Fadhma came from one of the great families linked to the Sufi brotherhood Rahmaniyya which will continue to play an important role in the Kabyle revolts (that of 1871 in particular). He is also credited with visions, inspired by dreams showing him the signs of the path to follow. This aura also contributed to her authority, to the point that she took the lead in certain battles – such as that, victorious, of Haut Sebaou in 1854. Three years later, overwhelmed by the number of French soldiers and cornered in the summits, she and his people are defeated. Lalla Fadhma is taken into captivity, discouraging many tribes who end up surrendering. Locked up, she died in 1863, succumbing to loneliness, despair and grief.
Unfortunate Fadhma de Soummeur! The Lady with the Headband and the Henna
His name was known to all the tribes
the enemy kidnapped her, she disappeared
Here she is with the Beni-Slimans
My tears flow in torrents
– 19th century Kabyle song
The show, created during the last edition of the Africolor festival, was a special episode of the series “Indépendances cha-cha” dedicated to the figures of African independence, written and directed by Vladimir Cagnolari.
To see at the Point Fort d’Aubervilliers on April 1 and 2, 2023
