The mount of Yemma (Mother) Gouraya overlooks the city of Béjaïa in the region of lower Kabylia. The site would house the burial place of the city’s patron saint.
At an altitude of 660 meters, the mount of Yemma Gouraya overlooks the city of Béjaïa located in the northeast of Algeria in the region of Lower Kabylia. According to local legend, it would house the burial place of the patron saint of the city of Béjaïa, Yemma Gouraya, the sister of Yemma Mezghitane, patron saint of Jijel and Yemma Timezrit, patron saint of Timezrit.
The site of Mount Yemma Gouraya also dominates the Gouraya National Park, classified as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2004 because of the richness of its marine and terrestrial environment but also thanks to its archaeological monuments. It welcomes more than a million visitors each year, including many pilgrims visiting what is considered to be the hundredth (and only woman) holy figure in the region.
Gouraya would mean the “protector of the mountain”. At the top of the mountain is a fort built on the ruins of a mausoleum serving as a military observatory dating from the Spanish presence in the 16th century and redeveloped by the French army in the 19th century.
Yemma Gouraya would be a scholar of the Sufi tradition who shared her knowledge in the region (some argue that her name derives from Yemme El-Koraïa, that is to say the mother teacher) and who would have retired to the mountain in order to meditate, gaining the respect of the inhabitants of Béjaïa. Following his death, his home would have become a place of religious collection and a mausoleum.
Many Bejaouis begin the pilgrimage to the heart of the mount of Yemma Gouraya in order to attract the divine blessing and the protection which the patron saint would make the city enjoy. This is not an unprecedented phenomenon since Béjaïa is also known by its nickname of “little Mecca” according to Ibn Arabi, in reference to the large number of Sufi saints that the city has and the considerable pilgrimages that the capital of the Hamadites.
Various couscous dishes and sweets are offered to pilgrims who come to pray or thank Heaven under religious songs, while the sums offered as an offering are reused in order to preserve and develop the place. The beauty of Mount Yemma Gouraya, the richness and diversity of its biosphere and its spiritual importance make it one of the sites to visit in Algeria.
Source : translated from https://www.thecasbahpost.com/yemma-gouraya-de-bejaia/
