Cheikha Djenia

Fatima Guendil, known across western Algeria by her formidable stage name Cheikha Djenia (The Genie), was born in Tilmouni near Sidi Bel Abbès. Stepping into the lineage of Cheikha Rimitti, she performed authentic, acoustic Raï accompanied solely by two gasba bamboo flutists and gallal drums.

With her husky, raw, uncompromising vocal power, Djenia articulated the secret griefs, passionate desires, and social frustrations of rural and working-class Algerian women. Her legendary cassette recordings are revered by ethnomusicologists as pure masterworks of acoustic Maghrebi blues.