Kahina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
al-Kāhinat (c. 566 - 693, Classical Arabic for "female seer or priest"), also known as Dihya and Dahliya, was a female Berber and military leader of the late 7th century who led indigenous resistance to the Arab-islamic conquest.
[edit] Her Origin
According to Ibn Khaldun, Kahina was the daughter of Matia (or Tabna), son of Tifan, son of Bawra, son of Maskasri, son of Afred, son of Wasila, son of Ajraw (Jrawa). He indicated that her tribe may have been a Judaised Berber tribe. Ibn Khaldun considered Jrawa (The tribe of El-Kahina) to be a sub-tribe of the Zenata-tribe in the Aures mountains.
Her title may originally have been a Punic or Hebrew word according to Gautier. But this interpretation is not based on any historical source according to Mohammed ben Amira. This last one believed that Gautier aimed to ignore the influence of Arab-moslims in North Africa. The term El-Kahina is used in Arabic to refer to female seers and priests. Ibn Khaldun attributed her influence on her tribe to her knowledge and "Kahaana" (Arabic) which can be translated as prophecy. The Arabic word for "to anticipate" is Takahhana. For this reason, Mohammed ben Amira believes there is no reason to attribute her name to another language.
'Iz ed Din Abou el Hassan (عز الدين أبو الحسن) confirms in his book The Complete in the History (Arabic: 'Elkamil fi et Tarikh') that she was a Berber woman who has been called El Kahina because she could aniticipate the future for her tribe.
In fact, there is no evidence that the name El-kahina is related to the real name of this Berber leader. The Arab historians gave her, besides the name "El-kahina", other names, like: Dahlia, Dihia and Damia. Remarkably enough, the most interpretation focused on the name "El-kahina".
[edit] Her Legendary Life
L-Kahna succeeded Kusaila as the war-leader of the Berber tribes in the 680s and opposed the encroaching Arab armies of the Caliphate. She defeated the Arab armies once, then faced them again five years later. Realizing that the enemy was too powerful, she embarked on a scorched earth campaign, which had little impact on the mountain and desert tribes but lost her the crucial support of the sedentary oasis-dwellers. Instead of discouraging the Arab armies, her desperate decision hastened defeat.
According to some accounts, she died fighting the invaders, sword in hand, a warrior's death. Other accounts say she committed suicide by swallowing poison rather than be taken by the enemy. This was around 693 CE, when she was, according to ancient accounts quoted by Ibn Khaldun, 127 years old, placing her birth circa 566. This was probably not meant literally, as great age was often depicted with exaggerated numbers.
In later times, her legend was used to bolster the claims of Berbers in al-Andalūs against Arab claims of ethnic supremacy; in the early modern age, she was used by Europeans, Berbers and Arabs alike for their own didactic purposes.
[edit] References
- Hannoum Abdelmajid 2001: Post-Colonial Memories: The Legend of the Kahina, a North African Heroine (Studies in African Literature): ISBN 0-325-00253-3
