Mohamed Rahal, Researcher and Artist | Algerian.
One of the most famous poems in the popular, melodic style of Algerian folk poetry. This poem is by the great poet Ahmed Ben Triki (1650–1750), who lived during the Ottoman period in the 17th century. Born in Tlemcen, in the far west of Algeria, to a Turkish father and an Algerian mother, he began writing poetry at a young age. He was later exiled by the Kouloughlis to a region called Beni Yeznasen. During his exile, he wrote most of his poems, including this aphoristic piece, in which he also wrote his name, expressing his deep longing to return to his homeland. He is considered one of the most famous poets of Tlemcen, and a well-known poetic style called "Hawzi" is attributed to him. Ahmed Ben Triki was a contemporary of several poets, such as Mohamed Ben Messaib and Abdelkader Batabji, but distinguished himself from them with his unique style, which leaned towards Sufi poetry.
The poem's fame:
This poem has been performed repeatedly over the decades by masters of Malhoun music who preserved folk poetry and revived Algerian heritage. After independence, the renowned artist Blaoui Houari sang it in several versions, which were broadcast on Radio Oran in western Algeria. With the rise of Algerian Raï music, the artist Khaled Hadj Ibrahim re-recorded this poem in his 2009 album "Freedom," presenting a new version to preserve this heritage and sing folk poems written three centuries ago.
The words of the poem:
My torment has been long, my misery has been long, and patience has exhausted me. Oh my father, how I am! My condition has worsened because of the nature of the gazelle among mankind. Especially the beautiful one who has captivated my mind and my thoughts. Oh my father, how I am! I am like Reem, except for her, oh people! There are no women like her, not even among the girls of the first and second generations. Oh my father, how beautiful she is! Whoever sees her is captivated, their mind wanders. Her forehead and forelock shine like the full moon. Oh my father, how beautiful she is! Her eyebrows are like bows, their shape is defined by a fine line. Her eyes are droopy, and her eyelashes are Indian-Sudanese. Oh my father, how beautiful she is! And her cheeks... Mwardin Fathu and the smile is a ring of sound, like Al-Hussein singing, his language is captivating, my father, how I see him, and his lips are bloody, and if he is crimson, he draws a picture of patience, I beg you, O beautiful one, you have wasted my time, my father, how I see him, without people, my happiness has failed me, in the gazelle of the children of Adam, and upon me How great is your separation, O beautiful one, by God, O you whom I loved, be patient, we hope, and the promise has come to me, my heart is burning without a solution, I have perished, and my strength is strong, this gazelle has wronged me, he came to me with his strong desire, love has wronged me with a strong desire, my father is like me. In conclusion, the poem "My Suffering and Misery Have Been Prolonged" is one of the gems of Algerian folk poetry, exemplifying the fusion of mystical emotion with rhetorical beauty in vernacular poetry. It has remained steadfast in the collective memory, returning in each generation with a new voice, but always imbued with the spirit of a poet who has experienced the bitterness of exile and the sweetness of longing.
