Berbers
The title of this article is ambiguous. For other meanings, see Berber (disambiguation).
Berber (Berber ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ Imaziɣen, spelling variant Amazigh, pl. Imazighen; Arabic الأمازيغ, DMG al-ʾAmāziġ or بربر, DMG barbar) is a collective name for the indigenous ethnic groups of the North African countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia, who are linguistically and culturally more or less distinct from the Arabized majority societies. They carry on the legacy of the pre-Islamic ethnic groups of North Africa. Berbers also live in eastern Mali, northern Niger, and the Egyptian oasis of Siwa. There are between 40 and 70 million Berbers, of whom about 36 million speak a native Berber language (Tamaziɣt) belonging to the Afro-Asiatic languages. Other Berbers have lost their mother tongue over the centuries and speak Maghreb-Arabic dialects.
One of the most famous Berber peoples are the Tuareg
Berbers make up the majority of the population in Morocco, but in most cases speak the Arabic language (in addition to various Berber dialects).
Name and origin
The name Berber probably derives from the Greek word βάρβαρος bárbaros, possibly mediated by Latin (barbarus) or Arabic (al-barbar, plural barābira). Today, many Berbers refer to themselves as imazighen 'free' in order to find themselves in their own ethnic group designation, couched in their native language, and reject the foreign designation "Berber", which is understood as pejorative. The Berber peoples usually use the names of the individual tribes (for example Rifkabylen or Tuareg).
Genetically, Berbers are most closely related to Egyptians, Arabs, Levantines, and southern Europeans, and can be clearly distinguished from sub-Saharan African populations.
Fantasia: The folkloric equestrian game is based on the early warfare of the Berbers.
Present distribution
Berbers are found mainly in present-day Morocco and Algeria, with isolated groups also in Tunisia and south of it in the Sahara. Their population numbers today are difficult to determine, as mixing with the Arab population and the Arabization measures of the post-colonial period have pushed back the Berber culture and language. Numerous Berber tribes speak Arabic today. Only a part of the Berbers speaks exclusively Berber languages.
Berber flag
Distribution of the Tuareg (dark blue) and other Berbers in Northwest Africa
