Berber people

**Berbers** or ***Imazighen*** (singular **Amazigh**, plural **Imazighen**) are an ethnic group. They were the first people to live in the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Libya There are more than 100 different tribes/groups of the Amazigh people that live in different parts of North Africa.

The Amazigh people have a different culture from the Arab Moroccans who live in Morocco.  The art Imazighen create is  to them.  This can include pottery, carpet making, blanket making, or tattooing.  The groups show their differences by their distinctive colours and designs.  The term **Berbers** comes from the word barbarians.  Barbarians are people who live and behave differently than the Arab settlers.  This term is not used by the Amazigh people. 

The term "Amazigh" is what Imazighen liked to be called instead. **Amazigh** is the singular, **Tamazight** is the word for females and **Imazighen** is the plural. The translation of the word means "free people".

### Berber empires 
After Arab rule in the region, powerful Berber dynasties such as the Almoravids and Almohads arose; the Almoravids and Almohads controlled Al-Andalus in Europe and the Maghreb. Berbers also ruled the Emirate of Bari in Southern Italy, and the founder of the Emirate of Córdoba, Abd Al-Rahman I, was half Berber and Arab.

### Colonial era 
In the 19th and 20th century, the **French** took control of Algeria and Morocco and made a difference between **Arabs** and **Amazigh** people. They continued to call Amazigh people **Berbers**. The **French** thought that **Amazigh** people's way of life was not modern. **Berbers** moved out of cities and close to the Atlas mountains. People were farming, working with leather, making pottery and selling things. Some **Amazigh** people had houses, while others were **nomads** and moved or lived in caves. Most of the time, **Amazigh** groups had their own rules and rituals. Many **Berbers** moved to bigger cities or Europe to look for better jobs.

## Groups and languages 
**Tamazight** is the general term for the different Berber dialects. People in North Africa speak Tamazight in different ways in each country and region. Amazigh languages are part of the Afro-Asiatic family and they use the Tifinagh script. When the Arabs arrived to North Africa, Arabic was introduced and **Amazigh** languages were not written anymore. Because of this, less Amazigh people spoke **Amazigh** dialects and switched to speaking Arabic. At the end of the 19th century, **Tamazight** languages started to be used again. They use the Latin and Tifinagh scripts. Today, **Tamazight** is taught in schools in Morocco and Algeria and the language has become an official language in Morocco.

## Amazigh arts and culture 
Morocco has the biggest amount of Amazigh people in North Africa.  

### Amazigh arts in independent Morocco 
After Morocco became an independent country, the Moroccan government made sure not to talk about the Amazigh people. If they were seen as a different ethnicity, the government was afraid the country's identity would not exist. The Amazigh population, however, did not want to be forgotten by the government. Indigenous Amazigh art designs were therefore continued by Amazigh women and their daughters. This is why Amazigh art is strongly connected with women's identity. Most Amazigh people live outside of the cities and this is where all their art is created.

### Amazigh weaving 
Weaving is only done in places where sheep can survive and eat. Amazigh groups in the desert make other arts such as pottery. Every time the women create more of the carpet, more life is created.

Another thing that is used to make colour is henna. This type of plant is not only used to make colour on wool but also to create patterns on the body. The patterns made on the body are painted at different times of a woman's life.

#### Motifs on the materials 
The designs on Amazigh textiles are said to protect the weavers.

* Semi-circle with five lines coming out of it: fertility
* Hands: keep people safe from evil
* Plantlike shapes: fertility—when girls are old enough to marry.

### Weddings 
Weddings for all Amazigh groups are important markers of their identity. Different groups of Amazigh people celebrate weddings differently. In the South of Morocco, the Ait Khabbash are the biggest group of Amazigh people. The way women celebrate their weddings always lasts three days and the celebration has not changed a lot over the years.

### Before the wedding 
Women plan the weddings. A meeting between the groom and bride is organised. If they agree on marrying each other, the groom's mother meets the bride's family and brings them gifts.The gifts are henna, meat and tea.

Before the wedding starts, a tent is put up. The groom chooses three men (usually called Ihddaden) to build this tent. They build the tent close to the grooms. All of the wedding happens in and around this tent. It is very important because it reminds the Amazigh people of their nomadic life.

What the woman wears is a very important process and tradition. She is dressed in red and white clothes and has silver jewelry around her neck. The clothes and jewlery are brought for her by her groom. She has henna painted onto her hands and while other women are doing this, they sing songs that have been in the family for a long time. The groom wears the same coloured clothes as the woman and also has songs sung to him. While he is being dressed, he sits on his mother's lap. The process of dressing him is not as special as the bride's.

### During the wedding 
**On the first day**, the bride arrives at her wedding tent. She arrives on a horse or camel. A red carpet from the woman's home is put on the back of the animal. A little boy called Muhammad sits on the horse with the woman. The woman is sung to while she goes to the tent. When she gets to the tent, she goes around it three times counterclockwise. She is given milk to drink and then puts a bit of it on the other people at the wedding. The woman's face is covered by a white cloth. This day is the first day that the bride and groom will sleep together.

**On the second day**, the woman has gone from being a girl to a woman. The woman therefore wears white clothes with her own blood on. This blood is to show that she has become a woman. A lot of celebrations happen on the second day. Lots of songs are sung to the woman. Some songs ask God to look after the wedding. Other songs talk about what the woman is wearing. The men also sing songs for the bride. They perform for her so that her wedding and life is happy and successful. The most important part of this day is the killing of an animal. At twelve o'clock, this animal is killed because the Ait Khabbash group believes it brings good things to the couple and the blood makes the family united.

**On the third day**, lots of orange and black paint is put onto the woman's face. The cloth that has been on her face all wedding is still not taken off. While women are painting the bride's face, they sing to her. The wedding ends when a big dance is performed. This is done after the white cloth is finally taken off of the bride's face.

## Gallery

File:Berbers.png|This map shows where Berber is spoken.
File:An old Amazigh (Berbère) room in Morocco.jpg|An old Amazigh room in Morocco.
File:Berber flag.svg|alt=|Amazigh flag
File:Moroocan AHIDUS.png|alt=|Imazighen performing traditional dance.

## References
## Other websites 
* The New Mass Media and the Shaping of Amazigh Identity
* Encyclopedia of the Orient -- Berbers