The Waziah.. Is An Algerian Custom Of Social Solidarity During Ramadan
The Algerian Amazighs residing in the Kabylie region, located in the north of the country on the coastal strip, are keen on a very old habit called “Wazia” in Arabic or “Thimchart” in the Berber language, which they inherited from their ancestors more than three thousand years ago.
As a city of ants or a beehive becomes the villages of the Kabylie region in Algeria during the establishment of the “Wazia”. Everyone, without exception, takes part in reviving this ancient custom, which is based on participation in buying and slaughtering sacrificial animals and sharing their meat equally among families on the eve, middle or end of Ramadan, and on other religious and social occasions.
Under the sound of takbeers, praises and prayers upon the Messenger, the village elders come forward to slaughter the calves. After that, the young men begin to skin it and then cut it, before the sheikhs - in appreciation of their status - undertake the process of dividing it fairly and equally among the families, so you see the bags of meat stretched as far as the eye can see, one of which does not increase or decrease from the other, and each family has a share or “share” from it.
After completing the distribution process, the children are given the opportunity to clean up and remove the slaughter residues.
An old custom that Islam has disciplined
“Waziah” is etymologically derived from “distribution”, that is, distributing an amount of meat in an equal manner. It is called in Amazigh “themchart”, and it is also known as “the share”, in relation to the equal share (share) of meat for each family. It is a custom rooted in the customs of Algerians. And the people of the Kabylie region in particular.
The history of “Themchart”, according to historians, dates back to before the Islamic conquest in the region. Yassine Bouach, the coordinator of the corners of Tizi Ouzou and the supervisor of the corner of “Sidi Mansour Al-Janadi” (a religious body under the authority of the Ministry of Religious Endowments), confirms to one of the channels that this ritual takes place at the start of the plowing and harvesting seasons and at the beginning of spring, in the hope that “blessing” will come, according to the beliefs of the people the area in the past.
The people did not abandon this custom at the advent of Islam, which “disciplined, disciplined, corrected, and gave it a religious dimension, to become a kind of solidarity and cooperation in good and charity.” It is “a custom that has multiple goals and civilized dimensions, which is manifested in the interdependence of members of society and their adherence to a custom that existed before Islam. And it continues without contradicting him, but rather identifies with his human values and noble purposes,” according to Buash.
The “waziah” is present on all occasions
The “Wazia” is often held on religious occasions, and it is at the end of the month of Sha’ban or the Fatih of Ramadan and in the middle of it, and on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and on Ashura and the Prophet’s birthday.
It is also held on social occasions, such as the Amazigh New Year “January”, and the beginning of the plowing and olive harvest seasons.
This custom is subject to a system determined by the “thajma’at” (the group) or the “village association,” as explained to one of the channels. When a religious occasion approaches, such as Ramadan or Eid al-Fitr, notables meet to consult about the place and time of the “distribution” to be held.
The number of families in the village is recorded in a special book, and the number of the affluent and the needy is determined, as well as orphans and widows. A special committee is formed consisting of people familiar with trade in order to buy calves.
After that, the notables go out to the “Al-Rahba”, that is, the village square, and spread mats, and calls out to “Al-Barah” (the herald) to open the door for contributions to the rich only, so the alms-takers come one after the other and put their alms on the mats.
At the end of the day, the one charged with finances collects the amount, then subtracts it from the price of buying the sacrifices, and the remaining result is divided by the number of well-to-do and middle-income families to calculate what they have to pay for the “waziah.” As for poor and limited-income families, widows and orphans, they are excluded from paying any amount of money, and they get their share for free.
Suitable for meeting
In an interview with Al-Mayadeen Net, Kamal Soleimani, head of the “Keys to Life” Association for Culture and Heritage, believes that the day of the waziah is “an occasion in which kinship bonds continue, neighbors and families meet, and immigrant children return to the bosom of their village, not with the aim of sharing food or meat, Rather, in order to share those unique moments of synergy and fraternity, and to cultivate happiness that they cannot find anywhere else, rather, many of these people pay their share and do not take their share and give it up to the poor.”
The meat of the sacrificial animal is divided equally in scale and quality among all the families of the village. As for the heads of calves (bozlov in the local dialect), they are offered for auction, and their money goes back to the village treasury, which the mosque manages in order to benefit from it in other humanitarian work.
A single head may be sold for 40,000 DZD, equivalent to about $200. And as the head of the “Keys to Life” association confirms, this “imaginary” price for a head of cattle is caused by the bidders competing over which of them is the largest charity. Therefore, they consider that the “head of the waziah” is a sign of “blessing” that cannot be measured at a price.
!Great symbolism
Corners Coordinator Yassin Buash believes that “equality” is the greatest value in this tradition, and he says: “Just as the robe of ihram is equal to the pilgrims, and does not distinguish the poor from the rich, the “wazia” removes the differences between the well-to-do and needy families, and makes the food of both equal, which eliminates the differences Social and class inequality, even on occasion.
As for the second value, it is “participation” that goes beyond the distribution of meat to “strengthening social cohesion among the members of the same village, as it binds them as one body, and brings them together at the table of Islam and the Qur’an, solidarity, synergy, forgiveness, tolerance, and the rejection of differences and differences.”
In turn, Dr. Saeed Buizri, a member of the Islamic Supreme Council, believes that the “waziah” reflects “the realization of our ancestors that a noble goal cannot be achieved by individualism, that success is a collective industry, and that strength or greatness requires ingredients that are impossible to be available in one individual, no matter how great he is.” Rather, it is in a group of individuals united like the union of members in one body.”
Therefore, they sought to “establish the collective interest in the minds of their children, after they were convinced of it and embodied it in their reality in joys and sorrows, and in all occasions that call for concerted efforts and collective participation, and their ultimate goal is to provide aid and consolation and meet the needs.”
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