A koummya- and contexts

Pertinax · 31st March 2025, 11:21 PM

Thanks to Jim McDougall for his kind words.

In conclusion.

К. Lacoste:

Decadence.

Perfectly adapted to use, the fleece managed to survive until the French conquest. But from 1850 onwards, it no longer had a reason to exist. Whereas it was once the object of jealous care, it is now often remade to be used as a knife for cutting up meat and slaughtering.

The monopoly of the Iflisen no longer exists. But a new clientele has arrived: the "travelers" of yesteryear, today's tourists, who have shown great love for such an original weapon. To satisfy this new clientele, it was necessary to get closer to the tourist routes. The production methods have changed: from the artisanal plan, they have moved to the "manufacturing" stage, often even working "wholesale", on behalf of dealers from Algeria.

Finally, the weapon itself has adapted to its new use. The amateur is little concerned with the functional properties of the weapon. He likes above all the "local color", the "decorativeness". Nowadays, the fleece industry is degenerating as a function of the disappearance of need, according to a threefold process: degradation of the nature of the weapon itself, transformation of the methods of work, liquidation of the production center, transfer of the production center.

Rene Maunier «La Construction Collective de la Maison en Kabylie», Paris, Institut d’ethnologie, 1926

- However, I saw in Taourirt-Mimoun, in the Beni-Yenni tribe, a recently founded carpentry workshop, which is a kind of factory in the true sense of the word. They make sabres, wooden trays and frames for tourists. In a large new room, about ten by five meters, about ten workers have gathered. To make the sabres, called fleeces, one draws, another cuts the wood, a third inlays with copper wires, another fixes the blades. There is one who only forges. Others work as managers, others on patterns. Thus, there is specialization not only in operations, but also in production. And this is the result of the opening of the European market to the Kabyle industry.

I repeat, K. Lacoste collected all the information on fleece and Kabila, my opinion is that, unfortunately, we will not learn anything new.

31st March 2025, 11:21 PM	#33
Pertinax Member Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: City by the Black Sea Posts: 209	Thanks to Jim McDougall for his kind words. In conclusion. К. Lacoste: Decadence. Perfectly adapted to use, the fleece managed to survive until the French conquest. But from 1850 onwards, it no longer had a reason to exist. Whereas it was once the object of jealous care, it is now often remade to be used as a knife for cutting up meat and slaughtering. The monopoly of the Iflisen no longer exists. But a new clientele has arrived: the "travelers" of yesteryear, today's tourists, who have shown great love for such an original weapon. To satisfy this new clientele, it was necessary to get closer to the tourist routes. The production methods have changed: from the artisanal plan, they have moved to the "manufacturing" stage, often even working "wholesale", on behalf of dealers from Algeria. Finally, the weapon itself has adapted to its new use. The amateur is little concerned with the functional properties of the weapon. He likes above all the "local color", the "decorativeness". Nowadays, the fleece industry is degenerating as a function of the disappearance of need, according to a threefold process: degradation of the nature of the weapon itself, transformation of the methods of work, liquidation of the production center, transfer of the production center. Rene Maunier «La Construction Collective de la Maison en Kabylie», Paris, Institut d’ethnologie, 1926 - However, I saw in Taourirt-Mimoun, in the Beni-Yenni tribe, a recently founded carpentry workshop, which is a kind of factory in the true sense of the word. They make sabres, wooden trays and frames for tourists. In a large new room, about ten by five meters, about ten workers have gathered. To make the sabres, called fleeces, one draws, another cuts the wood, a third inlays with copper wires, another fixes the blades. There is one who only forges. Others work as managers, others on patterns. Thus, there is specialization not only in operations, but also in production. And this is the result of the opening of the European market to the Kabyle industry. I repeat, K. Lacoste collected all the information on fleece and Kabila, my opinion is that, unfortunately, we will not learn anything new.