Amazigh – Berber – Free men
Berbers were Morocco’s first inhabitants, long before Arabs and today they are still the majority. Their culture dates back longer than 4.000 years. They are ethnically mixed and spread over the country, from the Rif mountain range in the north to the Atlas Mountains and the desert in the south.
The Berber languages are Tamazight, a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in North Africa. Tamazight has been a written language; however, the development of a written Berber language was suppressed by the waves of Arab invasions as Arabic was adopted for all official documents. Many Berbers call themselves Amazigh, meaning “free men”. Although Amazigh were eventually converted to Islam, their ethnic and linguistic purity has remained.
Contrary to the romantic image that portrays Berbers as nomadic people who cross the desert in camels, their main activity is sedentary agriculture, which they carry out in mountains and valleys. Berbers are proud people but tolerant towards others. Nature is about all they have. Though most Berbers are sedentary farmers, some groups cultivate the lowlands in winter and graze their flocks in mountain meadows during the summer. Life is hard for Berber people living in the highest village on the way to the topmost peak in Morocco. Their lives remained at feudal level until the “pacification” of Morocco in the ’20s French. “Kahsbah” fortified sites are now the core of the settlements where they live.
Amazigh – Berber – Free men
Berbers were Morocco’s first inhabitants, long before Arabs and today they are still the majority. Their culture dates back longer than 4.000 years. They are ethnically mixed and spread over the country, from the Rif mountain range in the north to the Atlas Mountains and the desert in the south.
The Berber languages are Tamazight, a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in North Africa. Tamazight has been a written language; however, the development of a written Berber language was suppressed by the waves of Arab invasions as Arabic was adopted for all official documents. Many Berbers call themselves Amazigh, meaning “free men”. Although Amazigh were eventually converted to Islam, their ethnic and linguistic purity has remained.
Contrary to the romantic image that portrays Berbers as nomadic people who cross the desert in camels, their main activity is sedentary agriculture, which they carry out in mountains and valleys. Berbers are proud people but tolerant towards others. Nature is about all they have. Though most Berbers are sedentary farmers, some groups cultivate the lowlands in winter and graze their flocks in mountain meadows during the summer. Life is hard for Berber people living in the highest village on the way to the topmost peak in Morocco. Their lives remained at feudal level until the “pacification” of Morocco in the ’20s French. “Kahsbah” fortified sites are now the core of the settlements where they live.
