Author | Abdel Hamid Bin Hadouqa |
---|---|
Country | Algeria |
Language | Arabic |
Genre | Fiction |
Publication date | 1970 |
Winter wind is the first Algerian novel written in the Arabic language by the novelist Abdel Hamid Bin Haduqa in 1970 and contains 317 pages. [1]
Algerian literature has witnessed lengthy narrative attempts that tend to turn into a novel, and the first work of this kind was written in 1849, “The Story of Lovers in Love and Longing” by Muhammad bin Ibrahim, called Prince Mustafa, then other attempts followed, such as “Ghada Umm Al-Qura” by Ahmed Reda Houhou, “The Doomed Student” by Abdel-Majid Al-Shafi’i, and “The Fire” by Noureddine Boudjedra. However, the serious emergence of a mature artistic novel was linked to the novel “Winter wind”, [2]which was written by Abdel Hamid bin Haduqa during a period when there was a serious talk about the agricultural revolution. it was completed on 11/5/1970, then the actual implementation of this project was on 8/11/1971. President Houari Boumediene inaugurated the first cooperative for the agricultural revolution in the village of Khamis al-Khashna on June 17, 1972, then the first socialist village was inaugurated in Ain Nahala on June 17, 1975.[3]
The novel begins on Friday morning, - which is market day - where Abed bin Al-Qadi prepares to go to the market with his son Abdul Qadir. He stands near the house contemplating his lands and the flock of sheep led by the shepherd Rabih, and on his mind is something that disturbs his peace of mind. That is because there were rumors circulating since the issuance of the decisions related to self-management regarding agrarian reform, and then an idea occurred to him that gave him pleasure when he looked from the outside into his daughter Nafisa's room, the content of which was summed up in the marriage of his daughter to the owner of the Sheikh of the municipality who was nationalizing the lands, at that time Nafeesa was inside her room, suffering from tightness and a feeling of weariness. She said I was about to explode, I will almost explode in this desert, then adds, "All the students rejoice in their holidays, but I spend my holidays in exile." Suddenly Nafisa calms down from the state of turmoil when she hears the sound of sad melodies that were played by the shepherd Rabah. She rejoices, and nothing comes out of that except the voice of the old woman Rahma calling for her brother Abdul Qadir from afar, announcing her coming, to go with Khaira - a precious mother - to the cemetery. I would like to see the world, I suffocate in this prison.”[4] A few days later, the village celebrates the inauguration of a cemetery for the sons of the martyrs who fell during the war of liberation. Abed bin Al-Qadi receives the people of the village in his house, wishing to influence Malik and reconnect their old ties. Malik was the preacher of Zulekha - daughter of Abed bin Al-Qadi - who was martyred during the revolution. When Malik and his companions from the Mujahideen prepared a mine that was supposed to target a military train, it mistakenly targeted a civilian train, Zulaikha was one of its passengers, which aroused the wrath of the son of Judge Fawzi with the group to the occupation forces. This affected Malik's soul and he started to evade him, and on this day, the day of the celebration, Abed bin Al-Qadi Malik calls to see his wife Khayra, so he accepts her invitation, and when he enters the room, as soon as his eyes fall on Nafisa, he becomes stunned by what he saw, that she is very similar to her sister.[5]
Abed bin Al-Qadi seeks to spread the news of Malik's engagement to his daughter, Nafisa, despite Malik's reservation. Khayra announces this good news to her daughter, and she strongly refuses because she does not want to stay in the village, and she also does not want to marry someone who is older than her and whom she does not know well. When the father insists on his decision and fails to stop him, she asks her aunt who lives in Algeria to write a letter to her, asking Rabeh to carry her to the central village and put it in the mail. Rabeh admires her because she spoke to him kindly, and thought she liked him, so he decided to visit her at night, and indeed he does, and when she suddenly finds him in front of her bed, she pushes him and curses him: “Get out of here, criminal! You filthy shepherd, you filthy shepherd.” He bowed his head sadly, and that painful word kept resounding in his hearing, “You filthy shepherd,” and from that day he decided to leave herding and work as lumberjacks. Days pass and the father is still determined to marry off his daughter to Malik, so she thinks for a long time about a solution to her problem. She thinks about claiming insanity and then committing suicide. Finally, she chooses a final solution, which is “escape.” As the women go to the cemetery, she goes out disguised as her father's prince so that no one knows her, so she heads to the station via a forested road, and remains and is bitten by a snake, so she faints. Because she doesn't want to go back to "my father's house, I will never go back to her", but the news spreads in the village and her father knows, and he resolves to slaughter a winner, so he goes to his house, and attacks him with force, wielding "Mousa Al-Busa'adi", and Rabeh's forces collapse. She pushed Nafisa out of the house and starts screaming. The people came terrified, and Nafisa headed back to her father's house, after her attempt to escape failed.[6]