Ug Zelmad
Ug Zelmad | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1894[1] Tkoutt (Aurès Mountains) |
| Died | 1921 |
Ug Zelmad, or Messaoud Ben Zelmat, presumed birth in 1894 in Tkoutt (Aurès, Algeria) and died in 1921, was considered from 1917 to 1921 by the French authorities as a bandit of honor, and by the population of Aurès as a hero.
Biography[edit]
Ug Zelmad was born in the town of Zellatou near T'Kout at Aurès in Algeria. His parents were Ahmed Ben Zelmat and Aïcha Bent Zeroual. Zelmad had several brothers. He was a shepherd, illiterate and poor.[2]
His brother Ali, the eldest in the family, was sentenced by the Batna Court to one year in prison, escaped and became a rebel against French occupational authority. In 1916 he was found dead, prompting Zelmad to take his place and become band leader to avenge his brother.[2] Possibly after being betrayed, he is believed to have deen arrested or killed. After his death, he became regarded as a hero who resisted the authorities.[3]
Posterity[edit]
Aissa Jermouni mentioned Ug Zelmad in a song. A film made for Algerian television traces his life story. A long epic poem in memory of Ug Zelamd was saved from oblivion by Georges Kerhuel.[4] The painter Noureddine Zekara dedicated a portrait to Zelmad.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ Djamel Alilat, « Ugzelmad le rebelle : « Sur les traces du plus célèbre bandit d'honneur des Aurès» », El Watan, no 7105, 20 février 2014, p. 14 (ISSN 1111-0333).
- ^ a b Moumouh Icheboudène, « Awal d Wuzzal : Ben Zelmat, le Robin des bois Chaoui », Dépêche de Kabylie, 17 octobre 2009
- ^ Jean Dejeux, Revue de l'Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée : Un bandit d'honneur dans l'Aurès, de 1917 à 1921, vol. 26, 1978, p. 34-54.
- ^ « Bandit d’honneur (Kabylie, Aurès) »
- ^ Artactif, Portrait de Ben Zelmat
Bibliography[edit]
- Jean Dejeux, Revue de l'Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée : Un bandit d'honneur dans l'Aurès, de 1917 à 1921, vol. 26, 1978 (), p. 34-54.
- Messaoud Nedjahi, UG Zelmad l'insoumis, Publibook, 2007 (ISBN 2748335880)
