KABYLIA. - A region entirely included within the two dioceses of Algeria and Constantine, inhabited by a population of about 1,250,000 inhabitants in continuous increase, completely Islamized and very attached to ancient traditions. The poverty of the soil and demographic growth force the Kabyle into hard physical and intellectual labor and also into emigration, especially toward France. State schools, almost exclusively for boys, are very numerous and, together with other factors, while they work toward the improvement of society and of individuals, contribute to making the individual materialistic and secular. The situation of women is painful, because she enjoys no rights in social life. A Berber dialect, Kabyle, is spoken there.
The Jesuits were the first to carry on the apostolate there, and from 1872 the White Fathers and later the White Sisters began a slow work of penetration, especially by means of charitable and welfare institutions. The mission, which does not depend on Propaganda, also possesses 8 schools for boys and 6 schools for girls, as well as 8 workshops that give work to about 2000 girls. As in other Islamized environments, great tact is necessary, along with profound disinterestedness and a complete knowledge of the language, the institutions, the mentality and the aspirations of the people, who in their recent contacts with the world have immediately become aware of their own strengths and abilities.
Bibliography3 works
Giovanni Cottino