Here at Hasina Morocco Tours, luxury Morocco tours, we talk about the Berbers a lot, as many of our guides have Berber heritage. You may know all about the Berbers, of course, or you may not have a clue as to their heritage.
But who are they, and what is their history? Read on to find out more.
History of the Morocco Berbers
We can trace the history of the Morocco Berbers back to prehistoric times, as Morocco is home to the oldest homosapien ever recorded – nearly 300,000 years ago. This just goes to show that the indigenous people of Morocco have been around a lot longer than practically any other country in the world.
The fact that the Berbers have been around for so long means that much of what we have learnt about them has come from archaeological records, as well as orally passed down through generations of Berbers.
What’s in a name?
You may be surprised to learn that the Berbers don’t actually consider themselves Berbers, they call themselves ‘Amazigh’ which means free people. The name ‘Berber’ actually comes from the Greek work ‘barbarian’ which was their name for the region of North Africa at the time.
The many tribes of Amazigh people ruled North Africa thousands of years ago, and spent a lot of time crisscrossing over the Sahara Desert – a bit like some of the Morocco tours that we offer today. They also crossed over the southern Mediterranean for travel and trade, of course. This led to them coming into contact with people from other countries, who all had their own name for them:
- ‘Libyans’ by the Ancient Greeks
- ‘Nambians’ or ‘Africans by the Romans
- ‘Moors’ by most of medieval Europe
Some people seem to think it was the Arabs themselves who came up with the term ‘Al-Barbar’ which was said to be an adaptation of the Greek term ‘barber’. However, some scholars believe that the term was coined by an Arab scholar named Ibn Khaldun, who used the term ‘Barbar’ in his text to describe an ancient person, and who gave the name ‘Barbara’ to a mother in Somalia.
The Berber Religion
Originally, Berbers would have been Anamist, Christian or Jewish. However, when the founder of modern Morocco, Moulay Idriss, fled the Abassid Dynasty in 788AD he brought the religion of Islam with him, converting most of the Awraba tribe and thereby establishing the Idrissid Dynasty.
After this, the adoption of Islam rapidly spread through the rest of the country, although it was a different version of Islam than was practiced in the Middle East.
Berber Tribes
Two of the most well-known Berber tribes in Morocco are the Almohads and the Almoravids, who were both Islamic Berber dynasties who ruled the large part of Northwest Africa and Spain.
Over the years, these two tribes have played host to, negotiated with, traded with and battled with some of the great civilisations – such as the Arabs, the Carthaginians, the French, the Romans and even the Spanish. But no matter how many times people have tried to colonise them, the Berbers have managed to preserve their culture and language – to this day still.
Berber Language
The Berber language is mostly based on an oral system, although there is evidence of it being written going back around 2500 years. In fact, you can find some of the earliest writings in museums in the south of Morocco if that is something that interests you.
The language of the Berbers has only recently been codified, which means it is now one of the two official languages of Morocco – the other being Arabic.
Morocco Berbers today
There are roughly 36 million Moroccans living in the country today, and the majority of them are likely to be a mix of Arabic and Berber. Recent history suggests that Arabs tend to live in the cities and towns, while Berbers stuck to the mountain ranges – but this distinction is less clear these days.
Saying that, however, Moroccans who live in the mountains tend to class themselves as Berbers or Amizagh, while the identity of those living in the cities is a bit more fluid.
History tends to romanticise the role of the Berber, classing them as being a largely nomadic tribe who use camels to travel through the desert. Though this was true for some of the tribes, it can be said that it is a bit of a stereotype to say that all Berber tribes are the same.
The Amazigh have travelled a lot throughout their existence, however, working hard to establish trade routes between Sub-Sahara Africa and West Africa, and promoting the commerce of their country. They used camels to transport goods through the desert to cities such as Marrakech, Fez and so on.
Where do Berbers live?
There are different tribes of Berber scattered throughout the whole of Morocco, from Dades Berbers in the North East to the Zeri tribe in the North West. The Drawa tribe can be found in the Draa valley, while Ghomara tend to stick to the Rif region.
Ten surprising facts about Berbers:
- They were in North Africa well before the Arabs were
- Their name ‘Berber’ comes from the ancient Greek word for Barbarian
- Their wedding traditions are cultural events
- Most Berbers are Muslim and follow Islam
- They have an ancient Berber script
- Most of them tend to live in the mountains
- Their cuisine hasn’t changed much over the years
- There is no exact count for how many Berbers there are
- They were once thought of as second-class citizens, in days gone by
- Over 40% of Moroccans class themselves as Berbers
If you would like to find out more about Berbers, and Moroccans in general, why not book a luxury sahara desert camp tour with Hasina Morocco tours and begin your Moroccan adventure today?
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