Wezeea

Wezeea(Arabic:وزيعة) orThawzeeath,also known asThamcherateth(Arabic:ثامشرطث), is the term used inAlgeriato designate one of thecultural customsin aSufisociety observed by the inhabitants ofrural areas,especially theBerbersof theKabyliaregion.

Presentation

TheWezeeais not only widespread in theKabyliaregion, but rather in the regions of theAurèsandMozabite people,and elsewhere in the country.

They are organized on several occasions andMawsims,especially in theAshuracelebration, the season ofRamadan,the anniversary of theMawlid,and the beginning of the plowing season.

The disciples slaughter a number of cows, which the families and philanthropists share in buying them, and they share their meat in the end, so that the meat is accessible to all the families of the village.

The poor people who do not share in the price of the cows get their share of the meat as well; This makes this habit more a social solidarity than something else and is considered a genuineAlgerian cultural heritage.

TheSufi orders,especially theRahmaniyyaorder, are what contributed to preserving this custom in the Algerian rural community.

Practices

Since theWezeeais one of the customs and traditions that the inhabitants of theKabyliaregion inherited from grandfathers, the villagers collect money to buy calves or bulls, and the number of bulls sometimes reaches 17 or 20 bulls.

If there are many families in the village, the slaughter process takes place on a predetermined day, usually on the day ofFriday prayer,then the meat is cut into equal portions according to the number of members of each family, and the meat rations are distributed after that to the families living in the village in equal measure, so that there is no discrimination in the division.

After distributing the meat to the families, the preparation process for the harvesting ofolivesand the demonstration ofTweezabegins, which usually takes place in traditional methods at the end of theautumnseason, and the preparation is by cleaning the sides of theolive treesand removing weeds and branches that are useless from them and around them.

Wezeeais therefore one of the most important manifestations of solidarity that characterizes the residents of the villages,madashirand neighborhoods of theKabyliaregion. It is a solidarity process in addition to being an occasion linked to land and water, where the residents used to approach theirAllahAlmighty Lord by slaughtering calves and cows and distributing their meat to the poor people seeking help.

And now this custom has become associated with the advent of religious occasions andIslamic holidayssuch asEid al-Fitr,Qadr Night,and theMawlid,and some of them hold it to celebrate theAmazigh New YearcalledYennayercorresponding to thetwelfth of Januaryof each year in theGregorian calendar.

See also

• Zawiyas in Algeria
• List of Sufi orders
• Culture of Algeria
• Mawlid
• Mawsim
• Yennayer
• Ziyarat
• Fantasia
• Marabout
• Saint
• Barakah
• Sebiba
• Tweeza
• Thadjmaath
• Achewiq