Tajmâat

The tajmâat, in Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵊⵎⴰⵄⵜ^[1] tajmaεt or ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵡ,^[2] agraw,^[3] is a pan-Berber social and political institution and present in North African society, particularly in the Berber-speaking regions: Kabylia, Aurès, M'zab, Hoggar, Sous, Rif and Middle Atlas. Tajmâat is an assembly composed solely of men and the term is also used to designate the place where it is held. The tajmaat is the ruling authority of a village, often the only one, which has judicial powers, that of drafting qanun or izref (customary rules),^[4] and executive with a role of police or collection of fines. The amount of the fines is allocated to collective expenses (village maintenance work, hospitality costs, autumn sacrifice, etc.).^[5]

The village chief, amghar or ameqran, is elected by tajmâat, an amin who executes the decisions, and an oukil (amazzal in Morocco) responsible for collecting fines and managing the mosque in Kabylia, the imam who is often a marabout who serves as secretary of tajmâat, makes the calls to prayer and sometimes serves as a teacher.^[5]

In Tuareg, tajmaat is called ameni or ameney, the root "mny" which means "to see each other, to meet", designates in Tuareg "the interview, the meeting" in the general sense as well as the "meeting" or the "session" of a political assembly.^[5]

In 2024, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune hailed the "social organization tajmâat" (“ⵜⴰⵏⵎⴻⵜⵜⵉⵜ ⵏ “ⵜⴰⵊⵎⴰⵄⵜ””)^[1] as an example of participatory democracy and a successful model for managing local affairs.^[1]