Fadhma Aït Mansour
Encyclopedia
Marguerite-Fadhma Aït Mansour Amrouche (c. 1882 in Tizi Hibel
, Algeria
– July 9, 1967 in Saint-Brice-en-Coglès
, France
) is the mother of writers Jean Amrouche
and Taos Amrouche
.
She was born in a Kabylie
village, the illegitimate daughter of a widow. Facing harsh discrimination from within her surroundings, she left her village to study at a secular school. Later, when she was with the Sister
s at Aït Manguellet hospital, she converted to Roman Catholicism. She met another Kabyle
Catholic convert, Antoine-Belkacem Amrouche, whom she married in 1898. They had eight children together, but only two of them would remain living by the time of her death. The family first moved to Tunis
, where Taos was born, and then France.
During her lifetime, she made a considerable impact on the works of Jean and Taos. The folk songs she sang to her family were compiled and translated to French
by Jean in 1939 as Chants berbères de Kabylie. In 1967, Taos made a music album
in Kabyle
bearing the same title as Jean's folk song collection. Her autobiography Histoire de ma vie was published posthumously in 1968. This book discusses mainly about the life she lived as a woman living in two different worlds: between the traditional Kabyle life and language and the colonial power France, its language, and particularly its predominant religion, Christianity
.
Aït Mahmoud
Aït Mahmoud is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria....
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
– July 9, 1967 in Saint-Brice-en-Coglès
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:Saint-Brice-en-Coglès is located at northeast of Rennes and south of Mont Saint-Michel....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is the mother of writers Jean Amrouche
Jean Amrouche
Jean-Elmouhoub Amrouche was a French-language Algerian poet. Born to a Catholic family in Kabylie in Algeria, Amrouche emigrated with his family to Tunisia while still young...
and Taos Amrouche
Taos Amrouche
Marie-Louise-Taos Amrouche was an Algerian writer and singer....
.
She was born in a Kabylie
Kabylie
Kabylie or Kabylia , is a region in the north of Algeria.It is part of the Tell Atlas and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Kabylia covers several provinces of Algeria: the whole of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia , most of Bouira and parts of the wilayas of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Jijel,...
village, the illegitimate daughter of a widow. Facing harsh discrimination from within her surroundings, she left her village to study at a secular school. Later, when she was with the Sister
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s at Aït Manguellet hospital, she converted to Roman Catholicism. She met another Kabyle
Kabyle people
The Kabyle people are the largest homogeneous Algerian ethno-cultural and linguistical community and the largest nation in North Africa to be considered exclusively Berber. Their traditional homeland is Kabylie in the north of Algeria, one hundred miles east of Algiers...
Catholic convert, Antoine-Belkacem Amrouche, whom she married in 1898. They had eight children together, but only two of them would remain living by the time of her death. The family first moved to Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, where Taos was born, and then France.
During her lifetime, she made a considerable impact on the works of Jean and Taos. The folk songs she sang to her family were compiled and translated to French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
by Jean in 1939 as Chants berbères de Kabylie. In 1967, Taos made a music album
Music Album
Music album is the name of:* Music Album , a 1970s Canadian television series* Album, a collection of music tracks...
in Kabyle
Kabyle language
Kabyle or Kabylian is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people north and northeast of Algeria. Estimates about the number of speakers range from 5 million to about 7 million speakers worldwide, the majority in Algeria.-Classification:The classification of Kabyle is Afro-Asiatic, Berber and...
bearing the same title as Jean's folk song collection. Her autobiography Histoire de ma vie was published posthumously in 1968. This book discusses mainly about the life she lived as a woman living in two different worlds: between the traditional Kabyle life and language and the colonial power France, its language, and particularly its predominant religion, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.