Isefra

The asefru (pl. isefra) is a poetic composition of the Berber literature of

Kabylia Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is ...

. It is a sort of short

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

with a ternary structure, formed by three

strophes A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varyin ...

of three verses each. The

rhymes A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciously used for a musica ...

follow the pattern AAB AAB AAB, while the length of the three verses of each strophe is 7 + 5 + 7 syllables. It is a relatively new

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

compared to those from traditional poetry, probably born around the middle of the 19th century, and the poet who has indissolubly linked his name to this type of composition is

Si Mohand Si Mohand ou-Mhand n At Hmadouch, also known as Si Mhand, (Icerɛiwen, Tizi Rached, about 1848 - Ain El Hammam, 28 December 1905) was a widely known Berber poet from Kabylie in Algeria. Called the "Kabyle Verlaine" by French scholars, his works ...

. The asefru is usually read or recited but can also be sung, and numerous examples of isefra sung are present in the repertoire of different Kabyle singers, such as

Taos Amrouche Marie-Louise-Taos Amrouche (March 1913 – 2 April 1976) was an Algerian writer and singer. In 1947, she became the first Algerian woman to publish a novel. Biography She was born in Tunis, Tunisia, into a family of Kabyle people, Kabyle ...

(for example ''Vaste est la prison'', Vast is the prison),

Slimane Azem Slimane Azem (September 19, 1918 – January 31, 1983) was an Algerian singer and poet, born in Agouni Gueghrane (kabylie region),that composed hundreds of songs in more than 40 years of artistic life. A great admirer of the poet Si Mohand, ...

(''Effɤ ay ajrad tamurt-iw'', Grasshopper, leave my country) or Malika Domrane (''Nnehta'', Sighing). An example of asefru (Si Mohand): {{Verse translation, lang=ber-Latn, Ggulleɣ seg Tizi-wuzzu armi d Akfadu ur ḥkimen dg' akken llan A neṛṛez wal' a neknu axiṛ daεwessu anda ttqewwiden ccifan Lɣ^werba tura deg uqerru welleh ard a nenfu wala leεquba ɣer yilfan , I swear, from Tizi Ouzou up the Akfadou's pass none of those shall command me I break but I do not bend I'd rather be damned there where pimps govern Emigration is my destiny God, better is the exile than the law of Pigs Algerian literature Poetic forms Berber culture Kabylia