THISDAYonline

... Talking About Us The Berbers are aborigines. They call themselves Amazigh (meaning "free people" in Berber). "Berber" is a name that has been given them by others and which they themselves do not use. The Berbers call themselves Amazigh in their language. There is definitely a strong similarity between the words amazon and amazigh.

The Amazigh history in North Africa is extensive and diverse. Their ancient ancestors settled in the area just inland of the Medeterranean Sea to the east of Egypt. Many early Roman, Greek, and Phoenician colonial accounts mention a group of people collectively known as Berbers living in northern Africa. Berber is actually a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups that share similar cultural, political, and economic practices.

Their language and many dialects were once spoken all the way from the Canary Islands (West Africa) all the way to Egypt. They have lived in North Africa for more than four thousand years and amazingly have managed to preserve their culture, tradition and heritage as well as the many dialects spoken within the North African regions. Many dynasties have occupied, colonized, and settled in North Africa, some for thousands of years, others for centuries. Over the last several hundred years many Berber peoples have converted to Islam.

They belong to a powerful, formidable, brave and numerous people; a true people like so many others the world has seen - like the Arabs, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans.

The men who belong to this family of peoples have inhabited the Maghreb states since the beginning of the 7th century.

...The Gospel of our Rhythm

During the 19th century, North African music in general was pretty much unknown except to the indigenous population. Small bands of musicians traveled intensively as they had for centuries to keep the villages entertained at weddings and other social situations. Berber music was carried on by these experienced musicians reciting old stories, tales, and poetry. They served as contacts for maintaining already strong social structures. During the turbulent and violent French occupation, the impact of these celebrations in different parts of North Africa played an important role for the boom generation in connecting them to their heritage, culture and pride.

'...Our Threads'

Rugs; Moroccan tribal rugs are like no other rugs on the market. The pile rugs, especially those of Rabat - a trade route stopover throughout history - tend toward Persian-style designs with a large central medallion and floral motifs, while the pile rugs of the High Atlas, with their emphasis on shades of yellow and black and traditional symbols, are unlike anything from Rabat.

...Our Allegiance

Most Berbers are at least nominal followers of Islam, and many strictly observe Islamic traditions. Most of the feasts are observed and celebrated, but the fasting that is required during Ramadan is often excused for those who travel. Like most followers of Islam in northern Africa, many Berbers believe in the continuous presence of various spirits (djinns). Divination is accomplished through means of the Koran. Most men wear protective amulets which contain verses from the Koran.

The Berber people had a particularly interesting role to play in the Maghreb states. They alternately resisted and accepted new beliefs and political regimes, and yet remained ethnically a coherent group. They are found as far south as northern Nigeria and as far north as Morocco. They range in colour from dark to fair.

Some Berbers resisted the rules and regulations of Islam; many more accepted it, while others took on the role of reformers. Some Berbers became Christians, but evolved their own austere and uncompromising Donatist doctrine. This put them in direct conflict with the Church in Alexandria, which regarded them as heretics.

...Fact from Fallacy

Contrary to popular romanticism which portrays the Berber (Amazigh) as nomadic peoples crossing the desert on camels, most actually practice sedentary agriculture in the mountains and valleys throughout northern Africa. Some do, in fact, engage in trade throughout the region, and such practices certainly had a tremendous influence on the history of the African continent. Trade routes established from western Africa to the Mediterranean connected the peoples of southern Europe with much of sub-Saharan Africa thousands of years ago. There are basically five trade routes which extend across the Sahara from the northern Mediterranean coast of Africa to the great cities, which are situated on the southern edge of the Sahara. Berber merchants were responsible for bringing goods from these cities to the north. From there they were distributed throughout the world.

Amazigh society was divided between those who tended the land and those who did not. At one time, tilling the land was considered the work of the lower classes, while the upper classes were merchants. Usually, groups of sedentary Berber paid allegiance to a locally appointed headman, who in turn reported to the noble who considered the village his domain. As time has passed, however, these sedentary farmers have been able to accumulate wealth while the trans-Saharan trade routes diminished in importance. They were also given political status by colonial and postcolonial administrations.

'...Our Wars, our Warriors, our Women and our Art'

From early on the Berbers learned how to fight. In order to defend themselves and their territories, they have pushed away intruding newcomers through many fierce battles. The remote places of Morocco and the unreachable mountains of Algeria (where the Berber are most populous today), have played an important role in shaping the outcome of confrontations and victories. History has witnessed the courageous Berber fighters who stood against Rome and it's leaders when Carthage was striving to be the center of the Mediterranean.

Many Berbers became the mainstay of the Arab armies, indispensable for their riding and fighting skills. Berbers were at the centre of the Almoravid movement, which began with the piety of one man, the scholar and holy man, Abdallah Ibn Yasin. The Berbers maintained their historical role of being independently minded and tenacious fighters right into the twentieth century. From their retreat in the High Atlas, they resisted the French and Spanish attempts at colonisation successfully, until 1933.

A further astonishing fact is the preeminent position of women in Berber society, though it depends to which extent the Berbers were absorbed by the Arabs.

For about 1300 years the Berber peoples were threatened and in fact for the most part conquered and at last absorbed by Arab invaders. There was a significant historical event at the first Arab invasion about 700 A.D. It was a female Berber leader named Kahina, who very successfully put up a fierce resistance to the Arab conquerors and even succeeded in driving them back, though in the end she was defeated and lost her life. Kahina led her life in the tradition of famous Amazon queens like Penthesilea. Isn't it very plausible that she was a descendant of the famous Libyan Amazons?

But even in social life of the Berbers there persisted elements of their unique culture. For the most part only the Berber women are literate and exclusively they know to write a special alphabet, the tifinagh, which is founded upon the ancient Libyan writing.

So it is not very amazing that literature and poetry are handed down by the Berber women!

Much Berber art is in the form of jewelry, leather, and finely woven carpets.

...Thought you should know

Nevertheless there are still amazing connections between today's life of the Berbers and the tradition of the Amazons. So there are fascinating Berber fortresses which have a strong resemblance to the picture of the Themiskyra fortress on a Greek vase. The conformity of tower battlements on both representations is very remarkable.

But the conquest of the Berber peoples was rather complete, so only the most secluded tribes have preserved their unique Berber culture.