Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Kouriya

I finally got my hands on an article I had been looking for for a while about the "Kouriya" language of Gourara (around Timimoun, Algeria): Rachid Bouchemit, 1951. Le Kouriya du Gourara, Bulletin de Liaison Saharienne 5, p.46-47. While short, it's significantly more informative than the vague rumours to be found in other sources. "Kouriya", it turns out, was the general-purpose name given locally to any Black African language - "L'unité du terme cache la pluralité des idiomes: Haoussa, Bambra, Foullan, Mouchi, Songhai, Bornou, Boubou, Gouroungou, Minka, Sarnou, Nourma, Kanembou, Karkawi, etc...", in particular as spoken by ex-slaves in the region. Following the abolition of slavery, these languages, no longer reinforced by the arrival of new slaves, rapidly fell into disuse; the new generation learned Arabic and Taznatit instead. By 1951, the author could find only seven or eight speakers of a "Kouriya" in Timimoun, and only two of them spoke the same language, namely Bambara.

While the author leaves the etymology unexplained, I would add that the term "Kouriya", and the corresponding ethnonym kuri, probably derive from Songhay koyra "town, village", used to form the Songhays' own name for themselves, koyra-boro "townsman"; Songhay is, after all, the nearest major ethnic group in the Sahel to the Gourara region.

6 comments:

  1. Songhay koyra "town, village
    Hm. Any relation to Arabic كورة?

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  2. Kouriya is a very common Hassaniya name for any Harataniya in Mauritania (similar to Kahayla), but also used in Hassaniya for any non-Arabic speaking groups (with a slightly derogatory insinuation - lkori, laKwaar). I always just assumed it was another word for black that was non-standard, but that was just an impression from usage...

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  3. In Tumz'abt, akuri (m) ikurayen (mpl) takurit (f) tikurayin (fpl) designates a black african person speaking TAKURIT, any sub-saharan language incomprehensible to the local population.

    As to its origin, toponyms Koro and Kourou are widely spread across West Africa. The adjective might simply refer to a geographical location.

    Also, Kora refers to an african musical instrument which might have been played exclusively by these people.

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  4. Bulbul: nice idea, but كورة is obscure enough that it seems unlikely. I find in the Lisan al-Arab that Ibn Durayd did "not consider it Arabic."

    JDM: yes, that's more or less how it's used across a lot of the Sahara, it seems.

    Afifay: good find (it's in Ouargla too). I don't think any place named Koro or Kourou has been prominent enough in Sahel history to be the source, but I could be wrong.

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  5. Why wouldn't it just derive from Arabic قرية, with the same meaning?

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  6. Angelika Jakobi17 January, 2011 14:04

    1. The term 'Kouriya' is comparable to the Arabic term 'rutana' in Sudan where it is used as a derogatory term that designates any African language spoken there.

    2. I wonder whether the languages covered by the term 'Kouriya' have left some traces in the local Arabic and Berber dialects.

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