Arabized Berber: Difference between revisions
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'''Arabized Berber''' is a term used to denote an inhabitant of the [[North Africa]]n [[Maghreb]] of [[Berber people|Berber]] origin whose native language is a [[dialect of Arabic]]. |
'''Arabized Berber''' is a term used to denote an inhabitant of the [[North Africa]]n [[Maghreb]] of [[Berber people|Berber]] origin whose native language is a [[dialect of Arabic]]. |
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The notion of ''"Arabized Berbers"'' is held primarily by [[Berberists]]. They maintain that [[North Africa]], including [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], and [[Libya]], is mainly Berber from a sociological, historical and more importantly, genealogical standpoint, despite the widespread [[language shift]] from Berber to Arabic and an accompanying shift from a Berber [[ethnicity|ethnic]] [[Identity (social science)|identity]] to an [[Arab]] ethnic identity. |
The notion of ''"Arabized Berbers"'' is held primarily by [[Berberists]]. They maintain that [[North Africa]], including [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], and [[Libya]], is mainly Berber from a sociological, historical and more importantly, genealogical standpoint, despite the widespread [[language shift]] from Berber to Arabic and an accompanying shift from a Berber [[ethnicity|ethnic]] [[Identity (social science)|identity]] to an [[Arab]] ethnic identity. |
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==Historical perspective== |
==Historical perspective== |
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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: بلاد البربر). This designation may have given rise to the term [[Barbary Coast]] which was used by [[European ethnic groups| |
Medieval Arabic sources frequently refer to North Africa (excluding [[Egypt]]) as ''Bilad Al Barbar'' or 'Land of the [[Berber people|Berbers]]' (Arabic: بلاد البربر), this terminology used only prior to the Islamic conquest. 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, where was occuring several piratry actions. For historical references, medieval Arab historians and geographers used to refer to [[Morocco]] as ''Al-Maghrib al Aqşá'' ("The Farthest West"), disambiguating it from neighboring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]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Yahya |first=Dahiru |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Morocco in the Sixteenth Century |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |accessdate= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1981 |month= |publisher=Longman |location= |language= |isbn= |oclc= |doi= |id= |page=18 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote=}}</ref> |
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The Arabic term [[Maghreb]] is also widely used locally, while Berber activists often reference the area as [[Tamazgha]]. |
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The notion that Arabs were slow to colonize non-Arab lands is attested by the low number of cities they founded. Unlike most of the great conquering nations, the Arabs did not have an urban tradition and did not feel at home in an urban environment. None of the Moroccan cities have been built by the Arab rulers, with most of them having been built and settled by Berbers, either before or after the arrival of Islam. Even though many of these cities have often been linguistically Arabized, from a historic point of view it is accepted that the core population is Berber. More than rural areas, the cities were a melting pot of different ethnicities, so that the city dwellers are more likeliy to have non-Berber blood (Black African, Punic, European, Arab). |
The notion that Arabs were slow to colonize non-Arab lands is attested by the low number of cities they founded. Unlike most of the great conquering nations, the Arabs did not have an urban tradition and did not feel at home in an urban environment. None of the Moroccan cities have been built by the Arab rulers, with most of them having been built and settled by Berbers, either before or after the arrival of Islam. Even though many of these cities have often been linguistically Arabized, from a historic point of view it is accepted that the core population is Berber. More than rural areas, the cities were a melting pot of different ethnicities, so that the city dwellers are more likeliy to have non-Berber blood (Black African, Punic, European, Arab). |
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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]] (Anfa) and Rabat were both built and originally settled by Berbers, we know 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]], [[Tetouan]] (Tittawin), [[Meknes]] and [[Marrakesh]] have never had such a drastic repopulation, so that we can assume that its inhabitants today are of Berber stock. It should be noted that 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 Berber aspect to them |
By tracing the history of certain [[Maghreb]]ian areas, historians are able to make assertions about its inhabitants. For instance, even though [[Casablanca]] (Anfa) and Rabat were both built and originally settled by Berbers, we know 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]], [[Tetouan]] (Tittawin), [[Meknes]] and [[Marrakesh]] have never had such a drastic repopulation, so that we can assume that its inhabitants today are of Berber stock. It should be noted that 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 Berber aspect to them but their inhabitants often consider themselves to be ethnically [[Arab]]. |
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==Berberists and linguistic Arabization== |
==Berberists and linguistic Arabization== |
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According to many Berber nationalists, even though a North Africa inhabitant may only speak [[Maghrebi Arabic]] as opposed to the [[Berber language]], this person remains essentially a Berber, because he or she belongs historically and geographically (and not necessarily, racially) to the "land of the Berbers". |
According to many Berber nationalists, even though a North Africa inhabitant may only speak [[Maghrebi Arabic]] as opposed to the [[Berber language]], this person remains essentially a Berber, because he or she belongs historically and geographically (and not necessarily, racially) to the "land of the Berbers". But these people usually often decide to get into [[revisionism]]. Truth is that [[North Africa]] is a mix-raced region and its habitants are both on [[Arab]] and [[Berber]] heritage. |
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It is a response from Berber activists to Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians and Libyans who self-identify as "[[Arab]]" just because of their Arabic tongue. North Africa was gradually Arabized by Islam with its liturgical language: Arabic, which was the remnant of the Arab conquerors from the 7th century AD, but the identity of western North 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 (Awras) mountains in the 19th and 20th centuries. Alhough, 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]]. The mass education and promotion of Arabic language and culture through schools and mass media, during the 20th century, by the Arabist governments of North Africa, is regarded as the strongest Arabization process in North Africa ever. |
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==DNA evidence== |
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Various genetic studies along with historians such as Gabriel Camps and Charles-André Julien lend support to the idea that the bulk of modern [[Northwest Africa]]ns irrespective of language are descended from [[Berber people|Berbers]] whom according to the studies originated from somewhere in Eastern Africa.<ref>Arredi et al. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1216069</ref>. A modern study however shows a genetic difference between "Berbers" (defined as the Berber speaking population) and "Arabs" (defined as the Arabic speaking population in North Africa), these latter subjects "probably correspond to a heterogeneous group representing various ethnicities".<ref>[http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1353/hub.2006.0045 Gerard et al.: North African Berber and Arab Influences in the Western Mediterranean Revealed by Y-Chromosome DNA Haplotypes 2006]</ref> However, this study does show that North African Arabic-speakers are genetically much closer to Berber-speakers than they are to Middle-Eastern (i.e. Asian) Arabs, this is obviously the result of North Africa's base population being essentially made of ethnic Berbers. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 23:17, 12 April 2011
Arabized Berber is a term used to denote an inhabitant of the North African Maghreb of Berber origin whose native language is a dialect of Arabic.
The notion of "Arabized Berbers" is held primarily by Berberists. They maintain that North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, is mainly Berber from a sociological, historical and more importantly, genealogical standpoint, despite the widespread language shift from Berber to Arabic and an accompanying shift from a Berber ethnic identity to an Arab ethnic identity.
Historical perspective
Medieval Arabic sources frequently refer to North Africa (excluding Egypt) as Bilad Al Barbar or 'Land of the Berbers' (Arabic: بلاد البربر), this terminology used only prior to the Islamic conquest. This designation may have given rise to the term Barbary Coast which was used by Europeans until the 19th century to refer to coastal Northwest Africa, where was occuring several piratry actions. For historical references, medieval Arab historians and geographers used to refer to Morocco as Al-Maghrib al Aqşá ("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).[1]
The Arabic term Maghreb is also widely used locally, while Berber activists often reference the area as Tamazgha.
The notion that Arabs were slow to colonize non-Arab lands is attested by the low number of cities they founded. Unlike most of the great conquering nations, the Arabs did not have an urban tradition and did not feel at home in an urban environment. None of the Moroccan cities have been built by the Arab rulers, with most of them having been built and settled by Berbers, either before or after the arrival of Islam. Even though many of these cities have often been linguistically Arabized, from a historic point of view it is accepted that the core population is Berber. More than rural areas, the cities were a melting pot of different ethnicities, so that the city dwellers are more likeliy to have non-Berber blood (Black African, Punic, European, Arab).
By tracing the history of certain Maghrebian areas, historians are able to make assertions about its inhabitants. For instance, even though Casablanca (Anfa) and Rabat were both built and originally settled by Berbers, we know 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, Tetouan (Tittawin), Meknes and Marrakesh have never had such a drastic repopulation, so that we can assume that its inhabitants today are of Berber stock. It should be noted that 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 Berber aspect to them but their inhabitants often consider themselves to be ethnically Arab.
Berberists and linguistic Arabization
According to many Berber nationalists, even though a North Africa inhabitant may only speak Maghrebi Arabic as opposed to the Berber language, this person remains essentially a Berber, because he or she belongs historically and geographically (and not necessarily, racially) to the "land of the Berbers". But these people usually often decide to get into revisionism. Truth is that North Africa is a mix-raced region and its habitants are both on Arab and Berber heritage.