Saïd Cid Kaoui (born as Saïd ben Mohammed-Akli; 12 March 1859 – 15 December 1910) was an Algerian berberologist and lexicographer.

Biography

Saïd was born on March 12, 1859, in Ahammam, village of the tribe of Oulad Abd el Djebar and located in the wilaya of Bejaia near Oued Amizour. His mother, Cherifa bent Saïd ben Ahmed was born in this same place, in the village of Taourirt. His father, Mohammed Akli (Muḥend Akli), was from the Beni Sedka (), a tribe of

Djurdjura The Djurdjura (Berber: ''Adrar n Jerjer','' ) is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located in Kabylie, Algeria. Geography The Djurdjura is a massif made up of two differentiated ranges, one in the north ...

, and settled in this area of the Oued Sahel after the conquest of Kabylia by the French army in 1856-57. A scholar in Arabic, it is certain, who must have belonged to the Marabout caste. An extract of a judicial act dated April 9, 1887, where he mentioned: "from Young Si Essaïd (reads Si Saïd), son of the late Mohammed Akli Cid Kaoui". It is known that the title "Si" is reserved exclusively in these regions to marabouts and exceptionally to men versed in "religious science". In Muslim literary circles, Mohammed Akli had to call himself Muḥammad 'Akli as-Sadqawi, and this ''

nisba The Arabic language, Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **c ...

'' served as a

patronymic name A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

for his son when the latter, still young, wore the military uniform. He, indeed, joined the ''

spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...

s'' under this surname but with the spelling "Cid Kaoui". Little is known about his childhood and the early years of his youth. He attended, like the few natives of his rank, the French primary school of Bougie, parallel to studying and reading

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

in the traditional neighborhood school, before entering lycée franco-arabe of Constantine, where he received a solid education in French and Arabic. This will open to him, later, the doors of Military interpretation. Before joining the Military interpretation; at the age of 18, he enlisted in the ''Spahis'' as a volunteer for a period of four years, with the rank of brigadier, then ''

Maréchal des logis is a sub-officer rank used by some units of the French Armed Forces. It is traditionally a cavalry unit rank. There are three distinct ranks of ''maréchal des logis'', which are generally the equivalents of sergeant ranks (although they genera ...

''. He was relieved of his duties on March 5, 1881, and obtained a supervisory position at the Algiers High School, before returning to the 1st Regiment of ''Spahis'' on July 13, 1882, for four more years. Towards the beginning of 1880, he enrolled at

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

, in medicine, the studies he pursued for two years before opting for an interpreter course. Then, having passed his exams successfully, he was recruited on 26 September 1886 in the body of military interpreters. In 1889, he married Léonie Richebois, a Frenchwoman from Algeria, born in 1868 in L’Arba in the

Mitidja Mitidja, (Arabic: ) is a plain stretching along the outskirts of Algiers in northern Algeria. It is about long, with a width of . Traditionally devoted largely to agriculture and serving as the breadbasket of Algiers, the area has in recent decad ...

. Saïd obtained his naturalization by decree of 27 January 1890. He had three children from this marriage: Léon, born in Ghardaïa in 1890, Marguerite, born in Dellys in 1892 and Baya-Lucie, born in 1904. He died on December 15, 1910, in

Bordj Menaïel Bordj Menaïel (from the Arabic برج - bordj, "tower" and Berber ''imnayen'' "cavaliers") is a town in the Boumerdès Province in Algeria. It is located in the western Kabylie region at and is 30 km away from the city of Boumerdès. As o ...

where he settled down with his family.

Works

* * *

Recognition

He was honored with several high distinctions: In 1895, Officer of Nichan Iftikhar. He received, during his stay in Paris, a bronze medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...

crowning his two Tuareg dictionaries. In 1904,

Chevalier of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. In 1905, Officier d’Académie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cid Kaoui, Saïd 1859 births 1910 deaths 19th-century Algerian people 20th-century Algerian people Berberologists Linguists from Algeria Kabyle people Knights of the Legion of Honour People of French Algeria