| What can nowadays considered as « The Berber country »
in Morocco ? One could say whole Morocco is a Berber country, as
sixty to eighty percent of its inhabitants have Berber origins.
If only speakers are taken in account, the Berber country shrinks
to a few poaches, in the Rif mountains and mainly in the South,
as no more than twenty-five percent of the population actually speaks
Berber. After the Spanish Reconquista and the Arabs exile out of
Spain, Berber and Arabs culture intimately mixed with some Jewish
flavour, to produce Moroccan culture. Today, a good half of the
Moroccans will consider themselves as Berbers |
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If it is possible to hear, in some areas, that Berbers are not
considered as well as Arabs, if some tensions can exist, they never
reached the levels known in Algeria, in Kabylia. One reason might
be that Moroccan Berber were never so badly mistreated as Kabyles
were. Of course, it is for long forbidden to give Berber first names
to the children, and the Berber language was not officially recognised,
remaining an orally transmitted language, not taught until very
recently in schools. And the Berber child had to learn, after his
mother tongue, a new Arabic language as soon as he went to school,
and then French, and then English, and finally spoke many languages
but mastered none. Not even his mother Berber tongue, essential
element of this culture that, nevertheless, in spite of all obstacles,
survived up to now |
Nowadays, the Berber language has an alphabet, is taught in schools
since 2005, and is used for news broadcast on Moroccan TV. Measures
which are not enough, claim the Berber associations, but it is a
start.
Where are Berbers in Morocco ? In the north, in the Rif mountains,
around Safi, on the Atlantic coast, and in the whole South, from
Middle-Atlas on. One could even say that the Berber country covers
now what was before “Bled-al-Siba”, the rebelled country,
opposed to “Bled-al-Maghzen”, the country obeying the
central power. This history of permanent rebellion can be found
in the architecture, douars and fortified kasbahs, strong agadirs
(common granaries), watchtowers strewed along the ways of the caravans
in the whole Drâa valley. |
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The case of the Berbers of the Rif mountains was a special one.
A former Spanish colony, the Rif showed strong separatist hopes
under Hassan II, which were severely repressed. It became an enclave
where hemp culture and sale of cannabis are tolerated, as no replacement
culture could be as profitable, but abandoned for a very long time
by the central power who decided to circle the Rif, and contain
traffic within its limits. Situation is now slowly changing, and
after the earth shake of El Hoceima, King Mohammed VI visited the
province, province he tries to develop and reinsert.
Other Berber people are southwards, around Safi (Chleux), in Middle
and High atlas (Amazigh). The Mezgarne Oasis is in the heart of
the Berber country, in the land of the Aît Atta tribe, a tribe
known for its warriors (they were the last tribe to submit, in 1934,
after the deadly battle of Bougafer), and the tours we offer you
will give you the opportunity to meet Berber nomads, of the Aït
Haddidou, or Aït Mizane, in the area of Imilchil, for example |
| The Berber language has two other dialect, on top of the Riffi,
Chleuh and Tamazight spoken in Morocco : they are the Kabyle, spoken
in Algeria, and the Targi, spoken by the Tuaregs, in all Sub-Saharan
Africa (Mauritania, Niger and Mali). These five dialects are more
or less near, pronunciation and vocabulary can differ, even in some
cases some grammar. But usually, speakers of two different dialects
can understand each other.
It is difficult to know when the Berbers arrived in Maghreb. They
were already here in the high Antiquity. Juba II, who was king of
Tingitana Mauretania (Roman West Africa) under the Roman Empire,
was a Berber King. Their history is intricately mixed with Morocco(s
history, and two dynasties, Almoravids and Almohads, were of Berber
origin. |
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Their culture shows very distinctive crafts, with geometrical
and abstract motives, a great poetry, and specific clothes and customs,
coming from the harsh nomad life in the desert.
The Berber country is in our eyes, the most beautiful one. In the
following pages, you will get more information about some places,
festivals and customs. |
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- Culture and usages
- Moussems
- Valley and Jebels
- Deserts
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- High Atlas and Anti Atlas
- Draa Valley
- Ziz and Tafilalt valley
- Saharan area
- Further away
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