Who are the Amazighs (Berbers) of North Africa ?

THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES : THE BERBERS.

The Amazighi Flag.

North Africans are usually considered to be Arabs and are usually put under the "Arab" umbrella by the rest of the world, but a large number of them are in fact of a different race,

So who are these people ?

The Berbers, or the Amazigh - as they prefer to call themselves - [Amazigh meaning the "Free People"] are an ethnic group indigenous to the North African region.
A very significant number of North West Africans, whether they consider themselves Arab or Berber are in fact predominantly of Berber origin and have distinct culture, from carpets, clothes, jewels, cuisine to architecture.

The Berber culture.

Their Origin is contested :

These people have lived and still live in North Africa, between Egypt west of the Nile river and the Atlantic ocean, in the snowy highlands of the grand atlas mountains of morocco to the hot Saharan desert of Libya, for thousands of years and their presence have been recorded as early as 3000 B.C, as the Greeks, Romans and even the Ancient Egyptians have indicated the presence of Berbers in their records.

The Siwa Oasis.

But, historically there is no complete certitude about their origin for example the Greek historian Herodotus (425-484 B.C) said 5 centuries B.C that the Berbers descend from the inhabitants of Troy, who had sought refuge in North Africa after their city was conquered by the Greeks.
Only a few centuries later the Byzantine historian Procopus (500-560 B.C) saw the Berbers as being Canaanites who were expelled from Palestine by the tribes of Israel after the defeat of the Goliath by David.

However, according to the Genetic studies, the genetically predominant incestors of the Berbers appear to have come from East Africa, the Middle East, or even both, but the details of this remain ambiguous and unclear, because of the fact that significant proportions of both the Berbers' and the Arabised Berbers' gene pools derive from recent humain migration of various Italic, Semitic, Germanic and Sub-Saharan African peoples, all of whom have left their genetic footprints in the region.

The Genetic distribution of the region.

The Berbers had many names :

The Berber people have called by many names throughout history, in the Greek period the Berbers were known as Libyans, a Greek term for the inhabitants of North West Africa, their lands were called Libya (Not to confuse with modern day Libya) and extended from Modern day Morocco all the way to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt, where about 20,000 Berbers still live, and the Berber Siwa language is spoken till this day. The Berbers were also called 'Namibians' and 'Africans' by the Romans and later on 'Moors' by Spain and medieval Europe.

The Berber presence in Northern Africa (Called Libya by the Ancient Greeks).

Their appearance can change from region to region :

Their looks may defer from a sub-group to an other the Touareg for example, which is a Berber nomad group that lives in the South of the Saharan desert look quite black, the Chleuh who live in mid-Morocco look fairly light skinned, the Riffians and the Kabylies who live in northern morocco and North-East Algeria respectively, look very light skinned.

The diversity of the Berber peoples.

They are resilient peoples :

Unlike the conquest of the previous religions and cultures, the coming of Islam, which was spread by the arabs was to have evasive and long lasting effects on North Africa, the new faith in its various forms would penetrate nearly all segments of society bringing with it armies learned men and in large parts, replacing tribal practices and loyalties with new social norms and political idioms.
Nonetheless, the Islamisation and the Arabasation of the region were complicated and lengthy processes, as it took the Berbers several centuries to finally convert to Islam after many revolts, and it was not until around the 12th century under the powerful Berber dynasties of Almoravids and Almohads, that originated from Morocco and adopted Islam in their rule, that this new religion flourished in the North African societies, they were mostly known for their Muslim influenced architecture, the traces of which can still be found Portugal, Spain as well as in Morocco and Algeria.

The Realms of Almoravids and Almohads.

From left to right : Kasbah des Oudayas (Rabat Morocco), Torre del Oro (Seville Spain), Zianid architecture (Tlemcen Algeria).

Their struggles are not forgotten :

The Arabisation, and the cultural and linguistic oppression of the Berbers in the region however has continued until lately, after the independence of Algeria and Morocco from France, the democratic transformation has began, and the demand for more freedom and recognition of the Berber population sparked with it in both counties, Algeria as a result has recognized the Berber language as a national language in 2002 with some restrictions, followed by Morocco whose constitution was replaced in 2011 and recognized the Berbers fully and their language as a national language.
Today the struggle for more recognition by activists continues, and the governments are slowly responding.