The knowledge and skills of the profession of Kayali of al-Fogara water in Algeria are among the important and amazing knowledge that managed to secure a place for it on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2018.
The knowledge and skills of the Fagarat water measurers, which are irrigation canals, from the village of Al-Qari in the Touat region and Tideklet in the state of Adrar in southern Algeria are distinguished by their accuracy and their ability to control the irrigation process well. Water measurers are involved in various operations, including calculating individual water quotas, repairing canals used to distribute water and controlling its flow in canals.
Measurers of the Fogara water, the “Kayals”
Several categories of social agents and knowledge holders are associated with Fogara, including landlords, manual workers, accountants, and water measurers. But it is the acquaintances of these Kayalin (plural of kayal in arabic) that seem to be at risk. The kayal is a key figure in desert village life because he manages a field on which everyone’s survival depends. It plays both an intellectual and manual role and can be used by the local community on an ongoing basis.
The current lack of communication between the younger and older generations and a host of other factors have undermined the proper functioning of the faqara irrigation systems. These factors include changes made by the central government to property rights. and the effects of urbanization and aspects of modernity, and the failure to study the measures to be taken to ensure the transfer of knowledge. The decline in the activity of the kayalin is clearly evident in their advancing age, which indicates the lack of new kayalin joining this field.
An intelligent irrigation system inherited from the ancestors
The Fogara is an irrigation system that is formed after drilling wells at a depth of 20 meters to be connected to a subterranean channel that allows water to pass through. After it comes out to the surface of the earth, the water is measured by the water measurers so that each owner of a plot of land can get his share of the water according to the work done for excavation or maintenance of the fogara.
Then the water is transported through stems that lead it towards the orchards. The water kialin, who are called in the region of Ghardaia “the trustees of the torrent,” measures the volume of water in the fogara and the share of each owner. And by digging distribution combs for the passage of each owner’s share.
They also renew these processes whenever necessary throughout the year in accordance with the various agreements on water, such as purchase, sale, exchange and sharing between those entitled to inherit.
The calculation process is carried out on the basis of data transmitted from generation to generation that can be updated at any time by the head of Qialin and his assistants. The main unit of measurement is the “grain” which represents a specific volume of water (a drop).
Algeria’s registration of this profession within the world’s intangible cultural heritage aims at recognizing the knowledge and skills of the water kayali. Documenting it in writings or documentaries and carrying out works in order to pass it on to future generations.
