Arabized Berber: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Inhabitant of the Maghreb region in northwestern Africa}} |
{{short description|Inhabitant of the Maghreb region in northwestern Africa}} |
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'''Arabized |
'''Arabized Berbers''' are [[Berbers]] whose language is a local [[Maghrebi Arabic|dialect of Arabic]] and whose culture is [[Arab culture]], as a result of [[Arabization]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cabré|first=Yolanda Aixelà|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hca8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|title=In the Footsteps of Spanish Colonialism in Morocco and Equatorial Guinea: The Handling of Cultural Diversity and the Socio-Political Influence of Transnational Migration|date=July 2018|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=978-3-643-91010-3|language=en}}</ref> |
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The widespread [[language shift]] from [[Berber languages|Berber]] to Arabic happened, at least partially, due to the privileged status that the Arabic language has generally been given in the states of North Africa, from the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Arab conquest]] in 652 up until the [[French colonial empire|French colonialism]] in the twentieth century, as well as the migration of the [[Banu Hilal]] and [[Banu Sulaym]] tribes from [[Arabia]] to North Africa. The centuries-long [[Arab migration to the Maghreb]] from the 7th to the 17th century played a significant role in Arabizing the native Berber population in addition to changing the population's demographic breakdown.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Duri |first=A. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32sBxqIgcZMC&pg=PA71 |title=The Historical Formation of the Arab Nation (RLE: the Arab Nation) |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-62286-8 |pages=70–74 |language=en}}</ref> |
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== Arabization of the Berbers == |
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==Historical perspective== |
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The [[Arabization]] of the native [[Berbers|Berber]] population was a result of the centuries-long [[Arab migration to the Maghreb]] which began since the 7th century, in addition to changing the population's demographics. The early wave of migration prior to the 11th century contributed to the Berber adoption of [[Arab culture]]. Furthermore, the [[Arabic|Arabic language]] spread during this period and drove [[Latin]] into extinction in the cities. The Arabization took place around Arab centres through the influence of Arabs in the cities and rural areas surrounding them.<ref name=":6" /> |
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{{further|Sa`ada and Murabtin|Barbary Coast}} |
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Medieval Arabic sources frequently refer to North Africa (excluding [[Egypt]]) as ''Bilad Al Barbar'' or 'Land of the [[Berber people|Berbers]]' (Arabic: <span lang="ar">بلادالبربر</span>){{citation needed|date=December 2013}} prior to the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb]]. This designation may have given rise to the term [[Barbary Coast]] which was used by [[European ethnic groups|Europeans]] until the 19th century to refer to coastal Northwest Africa. But the cultural impact of Islam was big as it was the only boost for the spread of the Arabic language.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} |
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The migration of [[Banu Hilal]] and [[Banu Sulaym]] in the 11th century had a much greater influence on the process of Arabization of the population. It played a major role in spreading [[Bedouin Arabic]] to rural areas such as the countryside and steppes, and as far as the southern areas near the [[Sahara]].<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Duri |first=A. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32sBxqIgcZMC&pg=PA71 |title=The Historical Formation of the Arab Nation (RLE: the Arab Nation) |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-62286-8 |pages=70–74 |language=en}}</ref> It also heavily transformed the culture in the Maghreb into Arab culture, and spread [[Bedouin]] nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=el-Hasan |first=Hasan Afif |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr2XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |title=Killing the Arab Spring |date=2019-05-01 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-1-62894-349-8 |pages=82 |language=en}}</ref> These Bedouin tribes accelerated and deepened the Arabization process, since the Berber population was gradually [[Cultural assimilation|assimilated]] by the newcomers and had to share with them pastures and seasonal migration paths. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely Arabized.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holes |first=Clive |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzRtDwAAQBAJ |title=Arabic Historical Dialectology: Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Approaches |date=2018-08-30 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100506-0 |pages=42 |language=en}}</ref> As Arab nomads spread, the territories of the local Berber tribes were moved and shrank. The [[Zenata]] were pushed to the west and the [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]] were pushed to the north. The Berbers took refuge in the mountains whereas the plains were Arabized.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Farida |first1=Benouis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmaWEAAAQBAJ |title=An Architecture of Light. Islamic Art in Algeria. |last2=Houria |first2=Chérid |last3=Lakhdar |first3=Drias |last4=Amine |first4=Semar |publisher=Museum With No Frontiers, MWNF (Museum Ohne Grenzen) |isbn=978-3-902966-14-8 |pages=9 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Since the populations were partially affiliated with the Arab Muslim culture, North Africa was starting to be referred to by the Arabic speakers as ''Al-Maġrib'' (meaning "The West") since it was considered as the western part of the known world. For historical references, medieval Arab and Muslim historians and geographers used to refer to Morocco as ''Al-Maghrib al Aqşá'' ({{Lang-ar|المغرب الأقصى|lit=The Farthest West}}), disambiguating it from neighboring historical regions called ''Al-Maghrib al Awsat'' ("The Middle West", [[Algeria]])'', and Al-Maghrib al Adna'' ("The Nearest West", [[Tunisia]] and [[Libya]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Yahya |first=Dahiru |title=Morocco in the Sixteenth Century |year=1981 |publisher=Longman |page=18 }}</ref> |
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Even though many of these cities have often been linguistically Arabized (like [[Fes]] or [[Marrakesh]]), from a historic point of view it is accepted that the core population of North Africa is Berber.{{according to whom|date=August 2018}} More than rural areas, the cities were a melting pot of different ethnicities, so the city dwellers are more likely to have non-pure Berber ancestry.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} |
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By tracing the history of certain [[Maghreb]]ian areas, historians are able to make assertions about its inhabitants. For instance, even though [[Casablanca]] (Berber name: Anfa) and Rabat were both built and originally settled by Berbers, it is known that the area's original inhabitants were ousted by the [[Almohads]] and subsequently resettled with nomadic [[Banu Hilal]] Arabs. Other, traditionally Berber, cities like [[Tangiers]], [[Meknes]] and [[Marrakesh]] have never had such a drastic repopulation, so it could be assumed that its inhabitants today are of Berber stock. Although these cities have for centuries now been linguistically Arabized, their culture and identity often have not been through that process. The cities of Tangiers, [[Tetouan]], Meknes and Marrakesh still have a strong regional Berber aspect to them and their inhabitants do not necessarily consider themselves to be ethnically Arab, even though their language might be today's Moroccan-Arabic.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} |
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==Berberists and linguistic Arabization== |
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{{main|Berberism|Arab-Berber}} |
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According to Berber activists, Algerians and Moroccans are overwhelmingly Berber, whose identity needs to be reawakened.<ref name="BengioBengio1999">{{cite book|author1=Senior Research Fellow Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies Ofra Bengio|author2=Ofra Bengio|author3=Gabriel Ben-Dor|title=Minorities and the State in the Arab World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_pAFwXXSZgC&pg=PA33|year=1999|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|isbn=978-1-55587-647-0|page=33}}</ref> |
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North Africa was gradually Arabized with the spread of Islam in the 7th century AD, when the liturgical language Arabic was first brought to the Maghreb. However, the identity of northwestern Africa remained Berber for a long time thereafter. Additionally, even though the process of [[Arabization]] began with these early invasions, many large parts of North Africa were only recently Arabized like the [[Aurès Mountains|Aurès (Awras) mountains]] in the 19th and 20th centuries. Although, the fertile plains of North Africa seem to have been (at least partly) Arabized in the 11th century with the emigration of the [[Banu Hilal]] tribes from [[Arabia]]. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Arab-Berber]] |
* [[Arab-Berber]] |
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* [[Berbers and Islam]] |
* [[Berbers and Islam]] |
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* [[Kabylism]] |
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* [[Berbers]] |
* [[Berbers]] |
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* [[Algerian nationalism]] |
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* [[Berberism]] |
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* [[Tamazgha]] |
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* [[Maghreb]] |
* [[Maghreb]] |
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* [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb]] |
* [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb]] |
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Revision as of 23:14, 6 May 2024
Arabized Berbers are Berbers whose language is a local dialect of Arabic and whose culture is Arab culture, as a result of Arabization.[1]
The widespread language shift from Berber to Arabic happened, at least partially, due to the privileged status that the Arabic language has generally been given in the states of North Africa, from the Arab conquest in 652 up until the French colonialism in the twentieth century, as well as the migration of the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes from Arabia to North Africa. The centuries-long Arab migration to the Maghreb from the 7th to the 17th century played a significant role in Arabizing the native Berber population in addition to changing the population's demographic breakdown.[2]
Arabization of the Berbers
The Arabization of the native Berber population was a result of the centuries-long Arab migration to the Maghreb which began since the 7th century, in addition to changing the population's demographics. The early wave of migration prior to the 11th century contributed to the Berber adoption of Arab culture. Furthermore, the Arabic language spread during this period and drove Latin into extinction in the cities. The Arabization took place around Arab centres through the influence of Arabs in the cities and rural areas surrounding them.[2]
The migration of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym in the 11th century had a much greater influence on the process of Arabization of the population. It played a major role in spreading Bedouin Arabic to rural areas such as the countryside and steppes, and as far as the southern areas near the Sahara.[3] It also heavily transformed the culture in the Maghreb into Arab culture, and spread Bedouin nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant.[4] These Bedouin tribes accelerated and deepened the Arabization process, since the Berber population was gradually assimilated by the newcomers and had to share with them pastures and seasonal migration paths. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely Arabized.[5] As Arab nomads spread, the territories of the local Berber tribes were moved and shrank. The Zenata were pushed to the west and the Kabyles were pushed to the north. The Berbers took refuge in the mountains whereas the plains were Arabized.[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ Cabré, Yolanda Aixelà (July 2018). In the Footsteps of Spanish Colonialism in Morocco and Equatorial Guinea: The Handling of Cultural Diversity and the Socio-Political Influence of Transnational Migration. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-643-91010-3.
- ^ a b Duri, A. A. (2012). The Historical Formation of the Arab Nation (RLE: the Arab Nation). Routledge. pp. 70–74. ISBN 978-0-415-62286-8.
- ^ Duri, A. A. (2012). The Historical Formation of the Arab Nation (RLE: the Arab Nation). Routledge. pp. 70–74. ISBN 978-0-415-62286-8.
- ^ el-Hasan, Hasan Afif (2019-05-01). Killing the Arab Spring. Algora Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-62894-349-8.
- ^ Holes, Clive (2018-08-30). Arabic Historical Dialectology: Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Approaches. Oxford University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-19-100506-0.
- ^ Farida, Benouis; Houria, Chérid; Lakhdar, Drias; Amine, Semar. An Architecture of Light. Islamic Art in Algeria. Museum With No Frontiers, MWNF (Museum Ohne Grenzen). p. 9. ISBN 978-3-902966-14-8.