Do you Know the Largest Non-Arab Ethnicity in the Arab World?
By: John Mason/Arab America Contributing Writer
The Berbers of North Africa comprise a large number of people. While the Berbers, distinguished by their non-Arab indigenous language, were at one time more numerous than Arabs, they are now a minority. The Berber ethnic population adds a rich tradition of language, history, art, music, literature, and architecture to the larger Arab society in which they live.
We will look at some basic features of Berbers, showing how they are different from the larger Arab society but, as well, what they share with their Arab brethren. I had the pleasure of working over many years as an anthropologist with Berber peoples in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. My work with them included basic research on their culture and society and applied for development work through international development agencies. My experiences with Berbers have been very rewarding and continue to be so.
Berber populations of North Africa extend from western Egypt, across Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco to the Canary Island in the eastern Atlantic and also include populations of Mauritania, Chad, and Niger
The Berbers of North Africa
The origin of the Berbers is something of a mystery. On the basis of their language, it seems they may have originated in the area around Lake Chad, in or nearby present countries of Chad and Libya. Berbers are a people who speak many dialects and even distinct languages, all stemming from a single source many thousands of years ago. Today they live all over North Africa, stretching from western Egypt, across Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and in many parts of Morocco. Over the years, Berbers have taken refuge in Saharan oases; in the great desert itself, the Sahara, and in the mountains all across northern Africa. In some cases, they were evading the invading Arab tribes in the 7th and 11th centuries. However, most Berbers today are Muslims and many are integrated into the national cultures where they reside.
The Berber name for Berbers is Imazighen, which refers to an ethnic population, different from Arabs, which occupies, in addition to the countries named above, Mauritania, northern Mali, and northern Niger. Their language is so different from Arabic, which is part of the Semitic family of languages, that it is placed into an entirely different family, called Afroasiatic. Their language is thus closer to some of the languages of Ethiopia and the dialects of ancient Egyptian kingdoms.
Libyan Berbers
In my research in a Libyan Saharan oasis, a Berber dialect was still spoken in the home. I tried learning a bit of it, though the language spoken in the public sphere was Arabic. Thus, that was the language I learned. It was the women of the oasis who were the keepers of the Berber language, but because all of my interviews of the women had to be in the presence of men, it was not necessary for me to learn that language. I regret that I didn’t learn more of it, though it was not practical. Besides, it was no picnic learning Arabic.
Berber friends of the author in the Libyan Oasis, Augila
Even during Arab domination of North Africa, the Berbers exercised selective political control of some areas. So, in addition to Berber pride rooted in language and ethnicity, it also embraces their role in history. While their numbers are imprecise, approximately 30-40 million North Africans identify as Berbers. Most of the population of North Africa was most probably Berber in origin, but over time they were absorbed into the dominant Arab culture and the religion of Islam.
Berbers are quite different from one another
Tunisia
I’ve visited Tunisian Berbers in the southern mountains on the eastern side of the country. There they lived in homes carved out of mountainsides. Their homes were cool in summer and warm in winter. Government attempts to bring these people down from the mountains to live in new housing on the windy plains was unsuccessful.
Berbers of southern Tunisia where I visited, carved houses into mountainsides–their homes were warm in winter and cool in summer
Tuareg of the Sahara
I also spent time with the Tuareg nomads, some of whom were then living in southwest Libya. Different from the Arabs, among the Tuareg, women have powerful positions, from which they control property and have full rights of inheritance. The governments of the states in North Africa have tried to get the famously independent Tuareg to settle in villages, thus undercutting their traditional control of trade and resources in the Sahara.
The Tuareg people are also known as ‘the Blue People’ because the indigo blue of the veil and their clothing rubs off on their skin, giving it a bluish tint. Ironically, the Tuareg men wear the veil, not the women. Theories for this are 1) it protected their faces from blowing desert sands; 2) it kept the evil spirits of the desert from entering through the nose or mouth, and 3) in the presence of their powerful mothers-in-law, the veil represented a form of male modesty. This last has not been ‘proven’ through systematic research.
This nomadic Tuareg shaikh had been settled by the government in southwestern Libya–I spent a week interviewing him and his fellow tribesmen
Initially, I wanted to study the Tuareg, by managing my own herd of camels, sheep, and goats and following them across their desert territory as they interacted with Saharan oasis communities. The reality of doing this, however, was complicated by politics shaped by powerful Tuareg tribes that were violently confronting national leaders. As I look back, I often wonder how well I might have managed herds in the Sahara, but happily, I ended up with sedentary oasis dwellers in Libya. Many decades later, these Berbers continue to be my friends.
Algeria
In Algeria, I briefly studied the desert Berbers of Ghardaia Oasis deep in the Sahara. There I participated in a community auction, a way of selling goods that seemed to involve principles of capitalist markets. Sellers would circle around a group of potential buyers showing their wares, asking for bids, and waiting for the highest offer.
At one point in their history, these Berbers got along well with Jews still living in Algeria. They even protected fellow Jewish merchants from external enemies.
Ghardaia, Algeria–deep in the Sahara, this Berber community operated markets that seemed to involve principles of the auction
Morocco
Mountain Moroccan people living high in the Atlas Mountains were another Berber group I visited. Some of these people were so isolated that they didn’t speak Arabic. I’ve read that at least 75% of Moroccans have Berber origins. Government statistics do not show this high a number because there are pressures to report a higher percentage of Arabs.
Berbers of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains maintain their language and culture–they also adhere to the Islamic faith
Berber efforts at self-determination
At times Berbers have tried to gain independence from Arab regimes but without success. Violent clashes have occurred, for example, among the Kabyle population of northeast Algeria, who were violently put down in the 1960s. More recently, Berber groups in Libya from the Jebel Nafusa (mountains) sided with rebels in helping to overthrow the then-entrenched leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Several years ago, some Berbers established The World Congress of the Imazighen to represent Berbers from across North Africa. One of their goals is to focus on gaining freedom from what they describe as autocratic regimes and to be able to develop their political rights so that they can attain self-determination.
Future of the North African Berbers
Some Berber groupings in North Africa have successfully lobbied for preservation of their language, including its teaching in school. Many tribes, especially in Morocco, have maintained the practice of their language. Most have had to learn Arabic, however, especially since it is one of the foundations of their Islamic faith.
Berbers have evolved an alphabet for their language, in this case, central Atlas Tamazight
As in many countries where minorities reside, the Berbers have problems in maintaining their cultural identity. Their proud legacy should bode well for them as they continue to perpetuate their language and culture and live the lives exemplified by their forebears.
John Mason, an anthropologist specializing in Arab culture and society, is the author of recently-published LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, 2017, New Academia Publishing.