Kion was a warrior of the Wanugha tribe. In the 12th century, he won a crushing victory over the Almohads. But it was all too short-lived, even before the Caliphate had sent more troops. So, to save his tribe from misfortune, he exiled himself to Eg...
The day after this incident, the long-awaited Althing Court took place. In the early hours of the morning, the vaulted open space in the town square, known simply as the Assembly of Ahadi (the little Agora next to the ancestor's sepulchre), was occupied by the people of the Senate of the Ealders.
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Basically, the tribe serves almost no purpose. Only in times of war do these Mediterranean peoples form a tribe. The rest of the time, the tribe that occupies a township is used only for legislation or land issues. The tribe is divided into sections, which are in turn divided into villages.
The village (or town) is a truly independent republic. It is at this level that judicial decisions are made, affairs are discussed and laws are passed. All men in public life take part in the Tajmâat, the Town meeting of citizens. The meeting orders laws, judges and imposes penalties, and acts as a sovereign court. Generally, it's not ALL men who take part, as the word of the young is often discarded, but rather the village grandees, the warrior aristocracy, marabouts, faction leaders, students, sheikhs, guild leaders and other lobbyists, and the "wise old men". The rest are called "General Audience" and serve almost no purpose. They elect the village/town magistrates for one year, except for the Alderman, who is elected for two years or for life. The most important alderman is symbolically named "Headman of the Tribe" and is responsible for representing it. No one is above the town meeting, except the government and tribal althings.
Tribal althings are extremely rare, and those of several tribes are virtually a political act of defiance against the powers that be. The tribal court is the highest authority in the land, ruling on war, peace and diplomacy, as well as revising common law.
By around nine o'clock, almost everyone had arrived and representatives of all Wanugha were beginning to stream into the narrow corridor. The parade of multicolored burnous and shirts (black, brown, white, red, blue) sat down. First came the Takorabt assembly men and the Lion guard (except the girls, because...), followed by those from neighboring villages and the temens (deputies, responsibles of clans) of Ath Abbas Township. Next came the notables of Ath Aydel, Ath Yaala and Beni Wartilans, two representatives for the Jews, four of the Sidi Brahim and other temens (ضمّان) who acted as ambassadors, or rather lobbyists, on behalf of neighboring tribes, tribal leagues or government representatives. There were three major tribal leagues in Kabylia: the Upper League, the Lower League and the Sahel League. And all these organizations, put on standby during wartime, had sent envoys to put pressure on local authorities.
All these people were now sitting around waiting for the opening to be announced. They were seated on the floor, or on the benches on either side of the agora, and for those who couldn't get a seat, they just had to stand up at the doors at the edge of the corridor. In all, there were sixty people, not counting the general public who were not entitled to vote.
–"Can we finally get started?" asked Sokwe, Aydel's Headman.
–"Dere's still de earl's men." Replied old Rafiki, turning the beads of his rosary.
