Berbers in Morocco

More than 20,000 years ago, a native culture of North and Sub-Saharan Africa called the Berbers first appeared in Morocco.
The Berbers of modern-day Morocco, also known as the Amazigh, or Free Men, are descended from nomadic or sedentary tribes that were typically rural and subject to multiple invasions.

The Berber culture in Morocco incorporates this illustrious past together with distinctive artistic and graphic design elements.
The Berbers of Morocco preserve an incredible Traditional Heritage, both tangible and intangible, that has endured for several thousand years through transmission, primarily oral, from generation to generation. This heritage can be found at the level of Language, Arts, Handicrafts, Rites, and Beliefs.

North Africa and the Berber regions in Morocco have been successively invaded or colonized by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and later European invaders.
Large Berber dynasties like the Merinids, Almohads, and Almoravids also expanded their dominions into Al Andalus and the Sub-Sahara.

Therefore, referencing the Berbers in modern-day Morocco recalls this tremendous past.
It is inconceivable to avoid the conclusion that the Amazigh people make up a significant portion of Morocco as a whole.

Before Morocco: Mauritania, Numidia, Ifriqiya

The Berber term “amerruk,” a diminutive of “amurakuc,” which means “land of god,” is where the name Morocco originates.
It was also the name given to “Marrakech” at first.
During the period of the Arab conquests, in or around 700 AD, people spoke of the Maghreb Al Aqsa, or the extreme western Maghreb (with “Al Maghrib” as the setting and “Al Aqsa” as the extreme).

Prior to that, some 2000 years ago, during the Roman era, there was discussion of Numidia (the Maghreb in general), with its Numidians, as well as Mauritania, the nation of the Moors (western Maghreb) (nomadic or semi-sedentary).
Ifriqiya, or the people of Libya, corresponded to all of North Africa, from Libya to modern-day Morocco, when the Maghreb was not yet partitioned, that is, during the Phoenician and Carthaginian comptoirs.

The history of the Maghreb is inextricably linked to that of the Berber culture in Morocco.
We are able to comprehend how the Berber people dealt with colonization and developed up until the twenty-first century.
The Berbers have gone through a variety of fortunes due to the ups and downs of history, including eras of greatness and decadence, conquests and invasions, as well as growth and contraction.
Thus, over the course of several thousand years, successive ethnic, cultural, and social blending produced the civilization of the Berber world.

The Berber Populations

The Libyans, who are Berbers by origin, were mentioned in history by Egyptian pharaohs approximately 1200 BC, among many other prehistoric peoples (discoveries of cave paintings dating back more than 20,000 years).

The Berbers were once the native inhabitants of North Africa.
a region that stretches from Libya in the east to modern-day Libya in the west of Africa.
Additionally, the Berbers have inhabited Mali, Sudan, and Mauritania in the Saharan and Sub-Saharan regions.

The Berbers are now dispersed in tribes or tribes, mostly in North Africa (Maghreb) and Sub-Saharan Africa (Sahara and sub-Saharan), which are their historical settlement regions. However, a sizable Diaspora exists in France and other countries in Europe.
Several nations in Ocher Africa presently only recognize the Berbers as an ethnic minority.

There are numerous ethnic Berber tribes in Morocco, but the Chleuh, Zayanes, and Rifains are the most well-known.
The Tuareg live in the Sahara, whereas the Kabyle, Zenet, and Zenet live in Algeria.
The greatest percentage of any nation is 40% of the population in Morocco, which is made up entirely of Berbers.
This results in a significant cultural presence and long-lasting claims.
They make up 20% of the population in Algeria.

Culture of Berber in Morocco

Origin of the Name “Berber”

The term “Amazigh” (plural: Imazighen), which is a Berber name, is derived from an Egyptian term that meant “the alien.”
In a Greek story from the first century, the name Berber emerges.
It is mentioned by Arab genealogists in the eighth century.
The Massy tribes or confederations in Eastern Numidia and the Massaesyles in Western Numidia, modern-day Algeria, and northern Morocco, are specifically referred to as Berbers.
The many names would be variations on the term Amazighen in general.

The Imazighen are the name for the Berbers (singular Amazigh).
Thus, the word “Amazigh” in Berber means “foreigner.”
In other translations, it is translated as “free man” (as in the 15th-century explorer Leon the African) or “noble man,” from the Tuareg term “amajegh,” which means nobility.

The Berbers speak a variety of languages.
The Tamazight languages of the Berber people are African languages.
They employ the Tifinagh or Libyque writing system.
The Arab Spring led to the adoption of a new constitution in Morocco in 2011.
The Berber language is recognized as Morocco’s official language by Article 5 of this constitution.
The alphabet used to write Amazigh is called Neo-Fifinagh.
Both government buildings and road signs include bilingual signage.