page_title: Bounouh
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Bounouh / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Library Farid Ali
context_page_description: Bou-Nouh is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria.
context_section_description: During French occupation of Algeria, Bou-Nouh was a commune within the District of Draâ-El Mizan and ahead of the now Daïra of Boghni. Ath Smaïl entered history at the beginning of the 16th century. The Turks (Ottoman Empire) set up a Bordj, a few hundred metres from the Lycée Zamoum (close proximity to family Terkmani) in Boghni to collect taxes. This was attacked and subsequently destroyed on 16 July 1756 by Iflissen and Ath Smaïl and consequently the Turks left the garrison. However, nothing is said or mentioned about the megalithic structures in Tissamamine. Tissamamine is known locally as the shortcut to walk from Bou-Nouh towards Chebaba. Back in the 70's, it was littered with large T shaped structures. Their significance is not clear and not documented. Nowadays, only the large and bulky axial rocks lay on the ground as sadly the flat stones have been broken down and used in the construction of private houses. There was however one remaining structure on the grounds of Cheikh Ben Abderrahmane until 2011 when this one also mysteriously disappeared without a trace, its fate unbeknown to the locals. Even the ground around its placement was completely reshaped to wipe out any trace of existence. Visitors to the mosque could lean at its entrance and call their beloved ones to come back, especially immigrants. It was told that outcomes were excellent.
  According to religious records, the Catholic Church was set up in Bou-Nouh in 1876 and soon after the boys and girls schools (in Bou-Nouh) were founded in 1877 and 1892, respectively . It is not clear from the records as to when Bou-Nouh benefited from a health clinic. The Catholic Church held a conference in 1937 in the commune and this denotes the importance and prestige of Bou-Nouh. However, long before the French set foot in Algeria, one could not forget the illustrious Cheikh Sidi M'hamed Ben Abderrahmane who had set up his own illuminating Tariqa Rahmani in Ait Smaïl in 1769! The Rahmania, which preached a form of passive religious belief, was to play a role in Algerian insurrection against the French. Inside the mosque there is a poster summarizing the spiritual and combative sides of Cheikh Ben Abderrahmane. Even after his death, his mosque continued to play a massive role in all uprisings and this led to several closures as a form of punishment. Cheikh Mohand Ameziane Aheddad, from Seddouk Oufela (Bejaïa), a fervent preacher of the Rahmania which he studied in Ath Irathen and Ath Smaïl, allied himself along El Mokrani in 1871 to lead a rebellion against the French invasion. After his capture, Cheikh Aheddad died on 29 April 1873 at the prison of El Koudiat (Constantine) at the age of 83 and he was initially buried in Constantine against his known wish and then later exhumed and reburied in Seddouk to fulfil his request to be buried in his beloved home town. After the conquest of Kabylie in 1871, the French embarked on founding a number of towns between Draâ-El Mizan and Larbaâ N Ath Irathen (ex Fort Napoléon and Fort National), such as Draâ-El Mizan (1873), Beauprètre (1874), Pirette (now Ain Zaouia) (1875), Tizi-Gheniff (1875) and Boghni (1876). From Larbaâ Nath Irathen to Béjaïa were created Fréha (1882), Azazga (1882) and Yakouren (1888). Then the French adopted, using a number of measures between 1871 and 1878, the American Homestead rule to confiscate and give land free to French Colons and their number swelled to 207,615 on 1 January 1888! This led to the beginning of the erosion of the socio-economic structure which supported Kabylie and to a larger extent Algeria. Although, it could be argued that land productivity increased, the (agricultural) food exports from Algeria to France soared from 9.7 to in excess of 125million French Francs for only the ports of Algiers, Annaba, and Oran over the period of 1838-40 to 1885-87.
  The indomitable Ath Smaïl, who rose against the Turks and French colonisation, played its crucial part in the Algerian war for independence which started in 1954 and lasted until 1962. Many regional leaders originated from Ath Smaïl and se
caption: Library Farid Ali
exif: {}