Berbers of Morocco
Berbers in Morocco: Inscriptions in foreign languages can be found on monuments and signage across Morocco. This plaque describes the “Technopark” of Morocco. Indeed, such a thing does exist. Thankfully, “Technopark” is pronounced “Teknubark” in Berber. This coincidence permits us to read the inscription. When read from left to right, some of the letters are recognizable. Both the zigzag and cross resemble the letters “T” and “E.” Almost identical to a “K” is the final letter. The remaining letters are incomprehensible since they cannot be identified as Latin letters.
A variety of Berber dialects exist. Approximately 90% of Berbers in Morocco are native speakers of one of the seven Berber languages. Each differs from the others in some way. We refer to these as dialects in our country.
The Berber languages employ numerous alphabets for writing. For many years, these various writing systems have attempted to merge. The “New Tifinag” alphabet, created in 2003 in Morocco, was the most successful attempt. In New Tifinag, the majority of Berber inscriptions in Morocco are produced.
Berbers in Morocco both speak and write the Berber language.
The name “Berber,” which is related to “barbarian,” originated in Ancient Greek and referred to any foreigner. Obviously, there are no barbarous overtones in the people’s self-designation. Berbers describe themselves as Amazigh, which means “free people.”
People who live in liberty do so in numerous countries. Morocco is home to the majority of the 14 to 20 million Berbers worldwide. Algeria comes in second with between 9 and 13 million Berbers. The remaining nations lag far behind: France and Mauritania each have 2.5 million Berbers, and Libya is in third position with 4 million Berbers.
Berbers in Morocco homeland, which is fitting given that it is not only home to the vast majority of Berbers globally but also to their whole population. There are numerous specifics here.
Where do Berbers in Morocco reside, and what distinguishes them from other people? People are depicted in vibrant graphics wearing traditional galabeya attire and indigo tagelmusts.
As I indicated in a broad evaluation of Morocco, this is the prevailing consensus. The tagelmust and galabeya are the national clothing of the Berbers. Nonetheless, few people wear them daily. The bulk of Berbers live in the desert, the mountains, or open areas. In settings like this, expensive, attractive items are rarely worn. Quite quickly, they become stained and tattered. They only wear such attire on holidays. Or perhaps it is the manner in which urban dwellers dress.
Although Berbers are widespread throughout Morocco, their native habitat is in tiny rural towns and villages. In the highlands and desert, many of them live as hermits. However, the majority of people favor small towns.
Berbers groups in Morocco
They suffer from a severe lack of equipment. There is neither asphalt nor running water, and electricity was recently installed. Ourika is a typical Berber community 40 kilometers from Marrakech.
Plows, stupas, oil churns, knives, scythes, and millstones are among the many practical artifacts found in the Berber museum in Ourika.
Salah likes to figure out puzzles. As he guides you through the museum, he requests that you guess the nature and function of each object. You do not always recall the correct word, even in your native tongue, much less in English. In contrast, Salah explains, “This condition is known as melnitis.”
Salah loves to discuss Berber carpets, however. These rugs, it turns out, contain entire narratives.
Berbers rugs made in Morocco
are an example of writing There are two numbers in the cipher. A rhombus symbolizes a lady, while a triangle symbolizes a man. The plot is structured according to the regularly repeated rhombuses and triangles on the rug.
After coloring the figures, Green often represents paradise, and blue represents a child, although their precise meanings are unknown. Yellow may represent a male, whereas red indicates a lady.
Numerous pairings and repetitions of figures and colors convey a coherent story. This rug, for example, offers reversible rhombus patterns. In total, the figure contains 24 rhombuses. Such is the encoding of the 24-year-old.
A sketchy sketch of a man can be found inside. He is a lady, as indicated by his rhombus-shaped, green-painted head. However, the body is yellow in color.
The whole cipher indicates that the 24-year-old wife is expecting a son. As a birthday present, I was given this rug.
This pattern is the most essential. Berbers are the only people who can distinguish between incredibly complicated carpet varieties. One hour was required for Salah to explain the rugs to us.
Moreover, these rags are unsuitable for a rug, as their composition is unclear. You may employ plant stalks or string. This carpet is unsuitable for use as a doormat or even as a place to lie down. Nonetheless, because Berbers are impoverished, this rag serves as a carpet.
If you don’t like carpets, you may ask Salah to give you a tour of his home. The Berbers will gladly give you a tour of an abominable dwelling for a nominal price.
The berbers village’s dwellings in Morocco
manufactured from nothing It looks to be constructed using bricks, concrete, straw, and clay. There are only ruins and dirt in the vicinity, and every structure is embarrassingly frail and fragile.
Morocco is not always hot, contrary to popular opinion. Ourika is close to the Atlas Mountains, and its winters are cold. When it is raining, the temperature is only +10 degrees Celsius, but at night it may become frigid.
All water infiltrated the unstable clay structures. They become irritatingly flooded whenever it rains.
The house feels chilly even in July. Specifically designed to maintain a cool temperature during the heat. Even during the summer, not all of the house’s rooms have adequate heating. Consequently, every Berber home has a stove.
The stove is designed to heat both the residence and the barn for the animals. In the cellars of their dwellings, the Berbers in Morocco keep donkeys and cows.
Obviously, the scents of animals are quite remarkable. It makes you feel like vomiting. Salah says, “The heater warms the livestock, and when the animals exhale and defecate, they warm the home as well.”
Berbers food in Morocco
A second stove is present in the dwelling. It is utilized during the cooking process. When preparing flatbread or meat-based soup, Berbers may cook the dish directly in a clay oven or a pot.
The house contains numerous rooms. The population reproduces and expands with greater efficiency as poverty increases. Families with more than a dozen members are common among Berbers.
The house, however, features dismal, warehouse-like rooms. It is quite tough to live in such conditions.
Women exist among Berber communities. Between building a house, tending to the land, and walking the animals, Berber women whip butter. The world’s most delectable butter.
Once the milk has been collected, it is transferred to the butter churn. In actuality, the butter churn bears no resemblance to its museum counterpart. Despite the presence of a wooden mortar with a handle in the museum, the butter is actually churned in a ten-liter plastic bottle that is suspended from the ceiling.
Hours are spent pounding the butter. The woman spends hours rocking the butter churn back and forth over a small fire while seated in a tiny chair.
During the butter-creaming process, salt is added. This is done for storage purposes rather than flavor. There are many years with a poor harvest. The butter is salted and stored in big barrels as a result. The salt is used to create oil, which is then eaten during bad years.
It turns out that the salty taste of this butter is a result of the salting procedure, not an afterthought. The oil cannot be totally purified after being salted, thus it remains slightly salty.