The Use of Oral History and Living Testimonies in Writing the Local History of the El-Wancharis Region (Battle of Bouzegza and Bab El-Bekouche as a Model)

Abstract

Oral history and living testimonies are among the important sources that document events and details related to the local history of any region in Algeria, particularly in the absence of archival sources and documentary records concerning the period of the Liberation Revolution. This is achieved by exploiting the testimonies of mujahideen who experienced or participated in these events, by recalling their memories through interviews conducted by researchers and historians. However, in order to adopt these testimonies and employ them in historical writing, they must be subjected to a set of controls and standards and used in writing the history of the Liberation Revolution in general, or the local history of any region of Algerian territory. This also applies to writing the local history of the El-Wancharis region during the Liberation Revolution. This region was marked by major events, battles, and confrontations against French colonialism, and it is not possible to cover all the details of these events except through the use of living testimonies of those who participated in or witnessed these battles. In this paper, we will highlight two important battles: the first is the Battle of Bab El-Bekouche, considered the second after the Battle of El-Djurf (1955), due to the heavy losses inflicted on the French army; in addition to the Battle of Mount Bouzegza, which bore witness to the bravery of the Algerian people and their determination to achieve freedom from the French occupier. In order to achieve the objective of the study, which is the use of testimonies for the construction and historical synthesis of the events of both battles, and through which we aim to reach historical truth and verify it as much as possible, it is necessary to establish criteria and conditions to consider them as a primary source for documenting the events of the two battles.