Assou Oubasslam, amghar n-ufilla?

Was Assou Oubasslam elected top chief of the Aït Atta in 1932, when Hart places the end of that office in 1926-1927?

What the source says

Academic researchExcerpts consulted

Hart, 1966

p. 94

“Up until 1926 or 1927, the Ait 'Atta had a top chief, called amghar n-ufilla” (Spillmann calls him shaikh al-'âm, “chief of the year”), elected in theory every year by rotation and complementarity; essentially a war-chief.

« Up until 1926 of 1927, the Ait 'Attâ had a top chief, called amghar n-ufilla »
Verified quotation

⚠ The quotation reproduces the typo in the original (“of” for “or”).

Encyclopedic synthesisFull text consulted

Wikipédia (français) — « Aït Atta »

“In 1932, Assou Oubaslam was elected amghar n-ûfillâ (top chief of the confederation) by the last sections resisting French troops.” English Wikipedia speaks of an election as “leader of the jihad” at Ksar Taghya.

⚠ The two statements can be reconciled: a 1932 election limited to the sections still fighting, outside the regular system interrupted in 1926-1927. No source consulted demonstrates it.

Colonial militaryFull text consulted

Saulay, 1983

p. 62

After the agreement of 25 March, Assou Oubasslam is “a little later” appointed “amrhar oufella”, supreme amghar of the whole confederation, by the Protectorate authorities.

⚠ An appointment by the Protectorate is not a customary election: it does not rule out an earlier choice by the fighting fractions, but no consulted primary source dates an election to 1932.

Source pages : Saulay, 1983, p. 62

Comparison grid

	Hart, 1966	Wikipédia (français) — « Aït Atta »	Saulay, 1983
Last top chief	1926 or 1927 (after Spillmann)	1932 (Assou)	not stated
Assou Oubasslam	not mentioned	elected by the “unsubmitted” sections (Wikipedia)	appointed after March 1933 by the Protectorate

Our reading

Hart, relying on Spillmann, places the end of a regularly elected top chief around 1926-1927, when the colonial advance was dismantling the unity of Aït Atta territory. Encyclopedic syntheses make Assou Oubasslam an amghar n-ufilla elected in 1932 by the sections still fighting alone.

The two statements are not necessarily exclusive, but no source consulted describes the 1932 election or dates it precisely. We therefore refer to Assou Oubasslam as “the principal leader of the resistance in 1933”, an attested formulation, rather than giving him a debated title.

Assisted translation, not validated

Reading a colonial archive

Military reports and colonial literature are indispensable — and situated — sources: they count their own losses precisely, the enemy's rarely; they name their officers, rarely the Aït Atta fighters; they write to justify a policy. Oral traditions and Moroccan historiography ask other questions and have their own memorial uses.

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