Introduction

The Kerkennah (Arabic: قرقنة), is a Tunisian archipelago of the mediterranean .

It is composed of six islands two of which are populated: Gharbi (or little Kerkennah) and Chergui (or Large Kerkennah). They are connected between them by a roadway (El Kantara) existing as of the Roman epoch. There are also 4 uninhabited islands named Gremdi, Sefnou, Roumadia and ar Remadia.

The effective population size is 14,400 inhabitants but during summer there are over 120,000 people living in the 18 different villages. There are just one road, which crosses the archipelago between Sidi Youssef (at the western end) and El Attaya (at the end). The perimeter of the archipelago exceeds 160 kilometers.

History

The Archipelago has known plenty of important epoches:
In fact there are :

-Phoenician epoch (1200 - 600 B.C)
-Carthaginian epoch (500 - 200 B.C)
-Roman epoch (200 B.C - 500 A.C)
-Muslims epoch (622 A.C)
-Spanish epoch (1212 A.C)
-Ottoman epoch (1451 - 1851 A.C)
-Modern epoch (1851 - )

And during each period, many celebrities past by Kerkennah, some of whom are : Ulysse who was one of the greatest grec hero, then there is also Caius Julius Caesar who was the general and a roman's political. There was also Habib Bourguiba who was the president of Tunisia.

Culture

The Kerkennian culture is ancestral and the memory of deceased people is very present in the archipelago. That is why you can see many tombs of "saints" where inabitants come to pray in Kerkennah. Furthermore, today also, people live in ancestral houses and lots of old people wear traditional clothes. But, it's in particular during summer, when families come back in the islands, that ancestors' voices can be heard. From the end of June, on beaches, darboukas and zokras and kerkennian songs resound every time. About Mellita and Remla, there are 2 monthes of nocturnal parties. Indeed, all the summery nights are animated with marriages in which there are the folk group, songs, dances and histories which remembers the past of the island. Kerkennians are proud of their roots and they will never forget it.

Economy

The economy of the archipelago is not a problem of benefits but especially a means of survival for the inhabitants. Kerkennah being in the middle of the sea, main activity exercised by the islanders is fishing. Also, the island can claim of being the only place in the world where the sea is cut up in plots and sold by auction to the inhabitants. Furthermore, there is an agriculture which must face up climatic pressures. Finally, there is tourism which, although modest, attract principally of English people greedy to discover genuine landscapes.

The folk group

The folk group of Kerkennah is the only music group of the archipelago. It is composed of 4 musicians and singers. They wear traditionals clothes and play zokra, darbouka and tbal. We can see them during ceremonies like marriages or circumcisions. This group has existed since many centuries and their talent, considered like an art by insulars, is passed to future generations with an oral teaching. In reality it exists more than 4 persons in the group so that there can be a folk group in many ceremonies at the same time. Nevertheless, despite the will of people to keep a folk group in Kerkennah, most of songs and histories have been forgotten with the time.

Particularity

The particularity of the archipelago is the environment. Kerkennah is an archipelago with a big non populated surface. So there are many wide places with unknown fauna and flora. Also there is the water, this sea which represents for everybody a symbol of liberty. But for kerkennian people, all the water is not for everybody because it is the only place of the world where the sea around the island is selled by parts to unhabitants.

Problems

Kerkennah has had very big problems for many years:

-The supplying of the archipelago with drinking water is limited and the majority of wells are drained.

-The access to the archipelago is only possible by ferry, which takes 1 hour.

-The impossibility to build an airport because the ground is soft.

-The absence of an lock which provokes le retreat of the island in the face of the sea.

-The lack of intensive medical help which forces wounded to be transferred on the continent by helicopter.

With all these problems, the archipelago doesn't attract tourists and the population is ageing that which provoks a missing of development of the island.