Berber

The Berbères are a Ethnie indigenous of North Africa.

They are distributed on nearly five million square kilometers - since the Morocco until the west of the Egypt (“Siwa) - in various groups, having a culture and a common language (the Berbère or tamazight ), declined in several Dialecte S buildings. This part of the North Africa a long time was indicated in French by the term of Berbérie or Barbarie , and the Berber ones under the name of Moor S .

The Berber ones also and are largely represented in the populations resulting from the Immigration in Europe, in particular in the countries like the France, the Belgium, the Netherlands, the Spain, but also with the the United States and the Canada.

Except for the Tuaregs, the majority of Berber are sedentary. The Berber ones are indicated initially by their regional ethnos group: Kabyles, Riffian, Tuaregs, etc And they indicates the whole of the Berber ethnos groups by Imazighen (the plural of “ Amazigh ”), and North-African geographical space by Tamazgha .

Etymology

“Berber” drift of the term Ibères designating the populations of the Iberian peninsula by the Greeks. The Romains never really succeeded in subjecting these people, even after the catch of Carthage at second century BC. Among some great names of the history amazighe, one can quote : Sheshonq I {{er}}, Pharaon founder of the XXII {{E}} Egyptian dynasty, Mesnsen (Massinissa), Yugurthen (Jugurtha), Juba II, Apulée, Holy Augustin, Dihya (Kahena), or Tariq ibn Ziyad.

The name of Berber appearing for the first time explicitly after the end of the Roman Empire, the relevance of its use for the previous period is not allowed by all the historians of antiquity.

The use of the term was spread at the period following the arrival of the Vandales at the time of the great invasions. Qualified Barbarians by the Romans, in Roman Africa, and coming from the Iberian peninsula where their campings were subjected to the repeated attacks of the Romans. On the heights in the East of the Numidie was assembled the coalition numido-vandal, which will take Carthage and will remove the influence of Rome on all Africa. The account of the Roman Consul in Africa referred for the 1st time of the term of Barbarian to describe the Numides. The Arabs, some time after, inherited this same qualifier.

Being equivalent into Berber is Imazighen ( Imaziγen ), plural of amazigh , meaning “free man”. The amazigh/imazighen term was lost at certain Berber ethnos groups (Kabyles and Mozabites) but remained present at the Berber ones of Morocco and the Tuareg. The use of this term was revived starting from the Années 1940 with emergence of the movement Berbériste Kabyle. These terms, and their neologisms, spread and were adopted by the Berber ones.

Origins

The question of the origin of Berber arose all along the history of the North Africa. It caused enormous debates and innumerable theories. The accounts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages being based on biblical accounts , ic Coran, or on the Hadith S, or of historical references like Ibn Khaldoun, or Hellenic as Salluste give to these people a Persian origin , Egyptian and Sémite. Certain authors believe that they from Europe. But the majority think that they are the descendants of an indigenous population appeared in situ in North Africa, of paleolithic culture Ibéro-maurusienne (: - 16000 years), then Mesolithic capsienne. Lastly, others consider them resulting from Eastern populations having migrated in this area lasting the Neolithic transition (: - 9500: - 7000 years).

Currently, several studies - Genetic S, anthropological and Linguistic S - are undertaken: datings with carbon-14 on old fossils, genetic tests on the modern populations, but also on bones, and finally of the comparative studies between the Berber language with the other languages are the means used. These genetic studies as well as the writings of historians such Gabriel Camps and Charles-Andre Julien tend to prove that the current North-Africans (Arabic-speaking people or berbérophones) go down from the Berber ones

Modern research

Genetics

The Berber ones are geographically and genetically intermediaries between the European populations (major component) and the sub-Saharan populations (approximately 20% of contribution).

The Y chromosome is transmitted of wire father, the study of polymorphisms present makes it possible in theory to follow the male line - direct - of a family, a Ethnie or a Espèce.

The majority of the Nords-Africans berbérophones and Arabic-speaking people have the Y chromosome E3b2 (m81) and J* (respectively 42% and 20%). The Haplogroupe E3b2 is specific to Berber and sees its frequency decreasing of West in East. This haplogroupe is absent from majority of the safe country of Europe in Europe of the South (Portugal, Spain, Italy, France) or its frequency exceeds the 10% in certain areas of Spain and Portugal. These figures being able to be explained by the long Moslem presence in the Iberian peninsula and to a lesser extent in Italy and in the south of France. In France its frequency is of 3.5% of the population. Its origin is the Haplogroupe E3b of Eastern Africa which goes back to: 10000 years.

The most recent study and most complete on the Chromosome there with the Portugal concludes that the data concerning the DNA Mitochondrial and the chromosome there indicates that the presence of Berber in this country is former to the invasion Moor of 711 Our data indicate that the Berber ones, contrary to the sub-Saharan immigrants, constituted a community of long life and continuous in the country.

The haplotype V, characteristic of the Berber populations, is very strongly found in Spain (> 40% in Andalusia), with the Portugal (36%) in Catalogne (12%), with the Basque Country (11%), in Italy and in the south of the France (11%). According to NCBI, this being the eight centuries consequence of Moslem domination in Spain and in Portugal enters them.

DNA mitochondrial being primarily transmitted of mother to girl, her genetic study makes it possible to follow the maternal line - direct - of a family, an ethnos group or a species. The majority of Berber have a DNA mitochondrial of western origin Eurasia nne. The direct maternal line of Berber the oldest date of the Paleolithic (: 30000 years before our era) represented by the Haplogroupe U6 (of origin west-Eurasian). This haplogroupe is specific to Berber and its frequency increases when one goes to the West.

DNA autosomal representing the 22 pairs of Chromosome S (on the 23), its study makes it possible to determine the genetic affinity of certain human populations compared to others. Except for the Touareg S, the majority of Berber are genetically closer to Europeans and Means-Eastern that other human populations - the Tuaregs being in an intermediate position between the Sub-sahariens and the remainder of Berber. According to C.Coudray the genetic proximity between the north of Africa and the south-western groups European lead to the assumption of a common origin between these populations . Two assumptions are currently discussed (Barbujani et al., 1994; Myles and Al, 2005). This common origin could is to date from the Paleolithic Superior with the expansion of anatomically modern Men from the Middle East and extending along two banks from the Mediterranean (Straus, 1989; Ferembach, 1985) is Neolithic diffusion from the Middle East, there is: 10000 years front J. - C. (Ammerman and Cavalli-Sforza, 1984).

Anthropology

With the Paleolithic , lived the man of Taforalt and that of Afalou: they were of type “cromagnoïde”. Genetic tests on the skeletons of Taforalt confirmed the western origin Eurasienne of this anthropological type.

With the Neolithic , according to M.C. Chamla, Afalou was replaced by the Capsien of the type “méditerranoïde” coming from the east of the Tunisia. The culture capsienne is often described like proto-Berber.

From an anthropological point of view, the North-African population present of affinities with the populations of the Mediterranean West (Italian of the South of the peninsula, Spanish, Corsica S, Sardinian, Languedocien Provençaux and ) and is composed of three fundamental types.

  • the Mediterranean type accounts for approximately 80% of the population and is subdivided in:
    • standard ibéro-islander and south-Eastern (small stature with average, Dolichocéphale);
    • standard atlanto-Mediterranean (average stature with raised, Mésocéphale);
    • standard Saharan (raised stature, dolichocéphale, long face with very long).
  • the alpine type (different from the European alpine type) (approximately 10%).
  • the arménoïde type (less than 10%).

Linguistics

The Berber language belongs to the family of the Afro-Asian Langues (couchitic Langues, Copte, Semitic Langues, tchadic Langues…).

The majority of the Linguiste S concluded that the Afro-Asian one comes from Eastern Africa. The proto-Afarsien (Afro-Asian) goes back to: 10000 years according to some, and: 17000 according to others.

Accounts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages

According to Salluste

Salluste devoted chapters XVII and XIX of its work the Guerre of Jugurtha to a digression on the country of its inhabitant and North Africa, according to the traditions numides and the punic books of the king Hiempsal II. After a description of the country - limits, climate, fauna and flora -, the historian presents the Gétules and the Libyens like the first inhabitants of Africa, “hard, coarse, nourished flesh of the deer, eating grass like animals. ” The demigod Hercules died in Spain according to the “African belief”, and its army made up of various people was dismantled. The Mèdes, the Persian , the Armenian of its army passed by boat to Africa and were established on the coast.

The Perses were established in the West, “more close to the Ocean”, living in the reversed hulls their boats, for lack of building machinery. They were combined by marriage with the Gétules. Resulted in moving unceasingly, they gave each other the name of Nomads (Numides). Salluste holds for proof of this account the dwellings of the peasants Numides, pointing out those of the reversed hulls of the army of Hercules.

The Mèdes and the Arménie NS were linked with the Libyans. They “built fortified towns” and “practiced exchanges Commerciaux with Spain”. Deteriorating the name of Mèdes, the indigenous Libyans would have put themselves to call them Moors. Thereafter, Persians and Gétules grew in power and settled in the West of Carthage under the name of Numides. Lastly, they annexed Libya. Almost the totality of the North of Africa was annexed by Numides, “overcome were melted with the winners, who gave them their name of Numides”.

According to Hérodote

Hérodote (484 - 425 front J. - C.) known as that the Maxyes - the Berber ones - claim to go down from the Troyens.

According to Ibn Khaldoun

Ibn Khaldoun (1332 - 1406) made go up the origin of Berber with the Antiquity. According to him, they go down from Canaan, wire of Cham. It reports that the Arab genealogists agreed on the Yemeni origin of the Berber ones, except for Sanhadja and of Ketama.

Modern time

The culture and the Berber language survived since the great conquests Roman Vandales, , Byzantine, Arab (7th century) until the French occupation , while passing by the Turkish presence.

Starting from 1881, in Kabylie, the French administration will allot Arab patronyms to the populations which, until this time, still carried for some of the names to Latin consonance.

Thus, some mainly hold French colonization for person in charge of the Arabisation of North Africa following the example historian Eugene Guernier who affirms, in 1950, that France facilit diffusion of Arab civilization, by the language, the law and the faith Moslem women.

This culture remains alive in Algérie and with the Morocco, which include/understand most of the Berber ones. It is also present in Libya and Tunisia and in most of the the Sahara - Touaregs in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger.

In 1980, burst the manifestations of the Berber Printemps, during which the berbérophones of Kabylie and Algiers claim the officialization of their language.

In 1996, a reform of the Algerian Constitution recognizes the Berber dimension of the country at the sides of Arabic and the Islam. In parallel, the authorities found Office of the High Commission with the amazighity.

In 2000, the chain Berbère Television starts to emit in this language since Paris.

October 17th, 2001, the king Mohammed VI of Morocco creates a royal Institut of the culture amazigh (IRCAM) (Internet site) to promote the Berber culture.

Life and culture

Traditionally, the men deal with the cattle. They migrate while following the natural cycle of the Pâturage S, and while seeking sources of water and shelters. They are thus ensured of a wool abundance, cotton and plants for the dyeing.

On their side, the women deal with the goods of the family and make the artisanal objects - first of all for their personal use, and then for the sale in the Souk S of their locality.

The Berber tribes weave Kilim S. These Tapisserie S traditional preserve appearance and the character distinct from the area of origin of each tribe, which indeed has its own repertory of drawings. The weaving of plain weave is represented by a large variety of bands, and more rarely by geometrical reasons, the such triangles and the rhombus. Additional decorations, like the spangles or the fringes, typical the are woven Berber ones with the Morocco.

The wandering lifestyle or seminomad of Berber is appropriate very well for the weaving of the kilims.

See too

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