Amazigh religious poetry in the Middle Atlas
ⵜⴰⵎⴷⵢⴰⵣⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⵜⴰⵙⴳⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⴳ ⴰⵟⵍ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ
y. Muhammad Al-Ghazouli (*) – Mriret/Khenifra
summary:
The article discusses Amazigh religious poetry in the Middle Atlas. She worked on the poetry of pioneers such as the late Bouazza Namoussa and Mohamed Ouachour. It also touched on the concept of religion and religiosity linguistically and idiomatically in the Arabic and Amazigh languages, as well as the characteristics of Amazigh religious poetry in terms of structure and content, as well as in terms of function and performance. Finally, I touched on citing poetic examples that dealt with various aspects of the Islamic religion, including beliefs, acts of worship, transactions, and various existential questions. I also made an inventory of the religious dictionary through the approved poems and their counterparts in the Amazigh language.
Keywords: Amazigh poetry, religious poetry, the Middle Atlas, religion, religiosity, religious dictionary, the Amazigh language.
Abstract
The article deals with Berber religious poetry in the Middle Atlas. She worked on the poetry of pioneers such as the late Bouazza N’moussa and Mohamed Ouachour. It also touched on the concept of religion and religiosity linguistically and idiomatically in the Arabic and Amazigh languages, as well as the characteristics of Amazigh religious poetry in terms of structure and content, as well as in terms of function and performance. Finally, I touched on citing poetic examples that dealt with various aspects of the Islamic religion, including beliefs, acts of worship, transactions, and various existential questions. I also made an inventory of the religious dictionary through the approved poems and their counterparts in the Amazigh language.
Keywords : Amazigh poetry, religious poetry, Middle Atlas, religion, religiosity, religious dictionary, Amazigh language.
introduction:
If Amazigh poetry is the collection of the Amazighs in which they contain their pains and hopes, then there is no doubt that it touched and continues to touch the various aspects of their social, cultural, political and social life in the country of Tanazgha. It influenced and was influenced by the cultures contained in it, whether Roman, Carthaginian, Arab, Islamic, or Mediterranean in general. There is no doubt that the process of acculturation has been and continues to be of interest to researchers and thinkers, as culture and its carrier, language, develops, lives and dies like humans. How many languages contemporized the Amazigh language and disappeared, while the Amazigh language remained steadfast and alive, developing, influencing and being affected by the various intellectual and cultural developments that were contemporary with it or neighboring it.
The Islamic religion is considered one of these cultures that has significantly influenced Amazigh literature in general and poetry in general. What are the aspects of the influence of religion on oral or traditional Amazigh poetry? What are its manifestations? What are the characteristics of Amazigh religious poetry at the levels of form and content? These are some of the questions that I will try to address throughout this article.
The concept of religion and religiosity:
Religion in the Arabic language comes from the verb (dan / condemn) meaning: I believe and embrace. It means complete obedience, complete submission, and walking in its path, in its guidance and in its footsteps.
Religion, as a term, is: a set of values and principles that the individual and society embrace in belief, word, and deed. As for religion and Islamic religiosity, its basic axis is monotheism, submission, and complete surrender to God Almighty and worshiping Him in word and deed, then belief in what the heavenly books have brought, especially the Noble Qur’an and the honorable biography of the Prophet, and adherence to the beliefs, rulings, legislation, orders and prohibitions set by Islamic law. [i]
The meaning of religion in Islam is stated in the sense: reward, as God Almighty says in Surat Al-Fatihah: “King of the Day of Judgment,” meaning Owner of the Day of Reward and Reckoning. And God Almighty says in Surat Al-Dhariyat: “Indeed, the religion is a reality,” meaning that the reward is a reality. It was also mentioned as a synonym for obedience, such as the Almighty’s saying in Surat An-Nahl: “And to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him is religion and a firm guarantee. Is it other than God that you fear?” meaning that obedience and submission belong to God Almighty alone.
Religion and religiosity in the Amazigh language:
The concept of religion and religiosity in the Amazigh language corresponds to one of the following two formulas:
The first formula is: ⴷⴷⵉⵏ (religion): It is a word taken from the Arabic dictionary and was distorted at the phonological level by suffocating the end of it.
The second form is: ⴰⵙⴳⴷ (ا س ڭ ضْ ) with the final three letters in suffixes, and it is a word derived from the verb more: ⵙⴳⴷ ( سْ ڭ ْدْ ) in all the letters in softness, and its meaning is: comply, religiosity, submit, obey, and condemn. From it the meaning of religion was derived, which is: ⴰⵙⴳⴷ (اٙ سْ ڭ ْدْ ) which also means religion, religion, submission, obedience, and obedience. The active participle was also derived from the verb above: ⴰⵎⵙⴳⴷ (اٙ مْس ڭ ْدْ ), meaning: the compliant, the obedient, the religious, the pious, the obedient, and the obedient. We also find another derivation from the root, by stressing the letter (/ⴳ ڭ ), so we say: ⵉⵙⴳⴳⴷ ( س ڭ درْ ), meaning: straighten it and make it straight, and from it there is also the word: ⴰⵙⴳⴳⴷ (اٙ سْ ڭ َدْ ), meaning: straightening the crookedness, as well as the word: ⴰⵎⵙ ⴳⴳⴷ ( a ms ڭ d ) i.e. upright, normal and moderate.
Thus, religion in the Amazigh dictionary is: obedience, submission, and compliance with God Almighty in word and deed.
Amazigh religious poetry:
Religious poetry means that poetry or those poems that take religious and spiritual issues, faith values, and commands and prohibitions as their subject. It also includes sermons, wisdom, reminders of God and His beautiful names, and stories of the prophets in poetic language that have a profound spiritual impact on the souls of the recipients. Amazigh poetry does not deviate from this definition, as it is poetry that was spoken on several occasions in the Amazigh language and its subject was religious and spiritual, and its author intended to remind of various religious matters, whether devotional, doctrinal, or transactional. So what are the characteristics of Amazigh religious poetry?
In its religious dimension, Amazigh poetry is distinguished by characteristics at the level of its structure and form, at the level of its contents, and at the level of the function of the structure: in terms of form, it consists of long or medium-length poems, which have the unity of the subject and the author does not move between different themes. As for rhythm, which is one of the foundations of Berber oral poetry and one of the elements of its aesthetics, it can be divided into an internal rhythm that is evident in the morphological and syntactic formulas used. External rhythm is concerned with meter, that is, with harmony, balance, and harmony between the sections of the poem. The meter in the Berber religious poem does not only have an aesthetic function, but goes beyond it to other functions such as indoctrination and facilitating its memorization and circulation among the general public.
In terms of language: Since poetic language is one of the aesthetic and artistic components of Amazigh poetry, it provides the poet with unfamiliar or usual linguistic forms that elevate the language beyond the ordinary and rise above it, and take the word and word from their lexical meaning to the eloquence of the poetic image.
In terms of content: The content is considered to be the content or message that is intended to be conveyed to the recipient, as we find that Amazigh religious poetry has many forms due to the complexity of its subject. There is what is related to the occasion of performance, and there is what is generally related to topics such as mentioning the names of God, or mentioning the good deeds of the Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. May God bless him and grant him peace, or praying to God Almighty for forgiveness and a good ending, as well as being gathered with the two truthful ones, the martyrs, the righteous, the prophets and the messengers. Amazigh poetry also deals with the topics of faith, monotheism, the attributes of God Almighty, faith in the Messengers and the heavenly books, as well as urging good morals such as patience, honesty, ties of kinship, and being kind to one’s parents, as well as urging forgiveness for any shortcomings in a Muslim’s worship.
In terms of function and performance: Amazigh poetry, in its religious dimension, is often linked to specific occasions such as religious holidays, Ashura, the middle of Ramadan, or the Night of Destiny, or mentioning the Prophet’s birth, funeral occasions, and others. The functions of this poetic purpose remain educational and psychological functions through which religious values are transmitted and instilled in souls, as well as educational and awareness functions. Here the poet plays the role of teacher, mentor, guide and preacher. Some poets even compete with jurists and imams in being a source of religious knowledge. How many Amazigh poets on an occasion made the audience cry with the accuracy of his portrayal of various religious issues more than the jurist, as he is considered a professor and sheikh in his field, so he is given the title (the Sheikh) because of this word’s religious and spiritual mystical connotation and significance...
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