Lounès Matoub
| Lounès Matoub | |
|---|---|
Young Lounès Matoub 1975
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| Background information | |
| Native name | ⵍⵡⴻⵏⵏⴰⵙ ⵎⴻⵄⵜⵓⴱ or ⵎⵄⵟⵓⴱ ⵍⵓⵏⵉⵙ |
| Birth name | Lounés Matoub |
| Also known as | Meεṭub Lwennas |
| Born |
January 24, 1956 Béni-Aïssi, Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria |
| Died | June 25, 1998 (aged 42) Algeria |
| Genres | Chaabi |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, Political activist |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1978–1998 |
| Associated acts | Berberism |
| Notable instruments | |
| Mandole | |
Lounès Matoub (Kabyle: Lwennas Meɛṭub;Berber: ⵍⵡⴻⵏⵏⴰⵙ ⵎⴻⵄⵜⵓⴱ or ⵎⵄⵟⵓⴱ ⵍⵓⵏⵉⵙ (January 24, 1956 – June 25, 1998)) was a famous Berber Kabyle singer, poet, thinker and mandole player who was a prominent advocate of the Berber cause, human rights and secularism in Algeria throughout his life.
He is revered as a hero and martyr in Kabylie,the Berber World and the world but reviled by most of the Muslim population in Algeria for his Laïc political and religious views and the alleged blasphemy of some songs (like Allahu Akbar) along with his militant advocacy of Berber rights, so he was unpopular among both warring parties during the Algerian Civil War. His assassination, in circumstances which remain unclear, provoked violent riots in Kabylie. Berber Algerians still accuse the Algerian government of killing Matoub Lounès, but some of the Algerian government's figures accused the Islamist terrorists of this crime.
Lounes Matoub was born on 24 January 1956 in the village of Taourirt Moussa in Algerian Kabylie. At 9 years of age he built his first guitar from an empty car oil can and composed his first songs as a teenager. His political and cultural identity was awakened by armed confrontations between Kabyles and government forces in 1963–1964. In 1968, the Algerian government introduced a policy of Arabization in the education system. Matoub reacted by skipping school; his memoirs recall: "We had to give up Berber and reject French. I said no! I played hooky in all my Arabic classes. Every class that I missed was an act of resistance, a slice of liberty conquered. My rejection was voluntary and purposeful." By 1975, he had abandoned formal education. He left for France in search of work.
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