Collection and Transcription of Folk Tales in Southwestern Algeria

The popular tale, as a form of folk art imbued with human and social values, has long occupied an important place in the collective memory of peoples around the world, being closely intertwined with their history and culture. For this reason, many scholars have attached great importance to it, recognizing its role in preserving social memory. It is thus simultaneously a heritage, an art form, and a mode of oral expression, containing a dense cultural repository, the result of collective production shaped by historical accumulations that confer local and specific characteristics. Consequently, the popular tale can be understood as a social and literary phenomenon, intimately connected to both individual and collective memory within a society.

One of the earliest expressions of scholarly interest in this field arose with the Romantic movement, when peoples began asserting the authenticity of their traditions. The collection of tales and legends had a profound impact on cultural heritage. Among the earliest collectors of folktales worldwide were the Brothers Grimm (1812) and Pello Ozero, in collaboration with his brother Bours in 1915, as well as Theodor Benfey, who wrote an extensive introduction to a series of Indian tales translated into German.

In Algeria, folklore has attracted significant attention since the first half of the twentieth century, beginning with the work of Mohammed Ben Cheneb and later continued by his son Saad Eddine Ben Cheneb, who published several tales from Algiers in 1949 (Conte d’Algérie), alongside stories appearing in journals such as As-Salam and Forge. During the colonial period, some orientalists also contributed -albeit in a limited manner- to the collection and transcription of tales, enlisting French officers to document popular practices and beliefs, including Commandant Malingoud[1] (Contes bédouins, 1925), Colonel C. Trumulet, and Alexandre Joly.

Countering the colonial perspective, a number of Algerian scholars emerged to study national popular culture, creating fields and topics of research. Among them: Abdelhamid Bouraïou (Le conte populaire dans la région de Biskra, field study, 1986)[2], Omar Ibn Qina (Contes populaires d’Algérie, 1986 and Bint al-Hasb wa al-Nasab, 1983), as well as Abdelmalek Mertad and Mohammed Belhalfaoui, and the collection by Zoulikha Mourad in Tlemcen (1974–1975, Contes arabes de Tlemcen, 1991). Studies on Amazigh tales—including collection, documentation, and academic analysis—have also been conducted by scholars such as Tawes Amrouche and Mouloud Mammeri.

Project Objectives:

Fieldwork on popular heritage, especially folk tales, is a central concern for researchers. It is therefore essential to collect and transcribe these tales directly from the field, to accelerate their documentation and preservation (blog/collection of folk tales from southwestern Algeria).

Long-term Objectives:

The folk tale is among the most significant elements of popular literature in southwestern Algeria. However, it has not yet received sufficient attention from scholars, particularly regarding transcription and recording from oral narrators, leaving many tales vulnerable to forgetting and loss. Consequently, a portion of our intangible oral heritage is at risk. Properly preserved and utilized, this heritage can benefit future generations by nurturing talent and creativity.

Through this project, we aim to collect the popular heritage, particularly folk tales from southwestern Algeria, highlighting the richness of this field, which remains one of the most widespread and used forms of folk art globally. Its presence contributes to cultural, civilizational, and human depth.

Given the lack of field-based research in this domain, we have undertaken to rescue and document what we can from the southwestern region. The process of transferring tales from oral narrators to written form is delicate and requires expertise and practice, but the urgent need to preserve popular memory and national identity compels us to focus on accurate writing, transcription, and conservation of both the original form and content.

[1] Commandant Malingoud : Contes, Bédouins, revue Africaine, N° 65, Année 1925, p 54.

[2] عبد الحميد بورايو "القصص الشعبي في منطقة بسكرة، /م.و.ك . الجزائر 1986.