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There are many different Berber tribes. One is the most important is the Kabyles. Their homeland is the highlands of Kabylie in northeastern Algeria. ‘Kabyle’ is believed to have been derived from the Arabic word for ‘tribesman’. The term is also used for the mountainous region they inhabited. The Kabyle homeland is part of the Atlas Mountains at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The areas streaches from the Mediterranean Sea to the southern slopes of the Great Kabylie mountains and from Dellys to Cape Aokas. Kabyles speak the Kabyle dialect of the Tamazight (the generic term for the Berber languages). This is part of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) languagev family.
The Kabyles are mostly Muslim, but a small number are Christian. Economic pursuits are primarily agricultural. They cultivate grains, fruit, and olives and herd goats. The family groups are patrilineal and patrilocal. Each village traditionally was governed by an assembly of adult males. The Kabyles were a leading group in the Berber Spring (1980), a movement seeking official recognition of the Berber language in Algeria. There are about 2.5 million Kabyles in Algeria. Kabyle users take great pride in their language and resistance to replacemnt by Arabic. Men often use French in trade and correspondence.
The origins of the North African Berbers seems more European and African. The prehistoric populations of North Africa appear to be related to the wider group of Paleo-Mediterranean peoples. The Afroasiatic phylum probably arrived in North Africa during the mesolithic period,. Some sources report a relationship with Capsian culture. [Camps, pp. 11–14, 65] DNA studies have found commonalities between Berber populations and those of the Sami people of Scandinavia. Researchers believe that the separation occurred about 7000 BC. [Achilli et. al] This was at a time that civilization was beginning to appear in the Middle East. No information exists on migratory movenents ti North Africa. The population of North Africa began to take its modern shape (3000 BC). Researchers report an amalgamation of Ibero-Maurisian and Capsian stock blended with a more recent arrival associated with the Neolithic revolution.[Desanges, p. 237.] These different peoples formned the basis of the the proto-Berber tribes developing during the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age.[Giordani, pp. 42-43 and 77-78]. The importance of the different components varied geographically.
There are many different Berber tribes. One is the most important is the Kabyles. Their homeland is the highlands of Kabylie in northeastern Algeria. ‘Kabyle’ is believed to have been derived from the Arabic word for ‘tribesman’. The term is also used for the mountainous region they inhabited. The Kabyle homeland is part of the Atlas Mountains at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The areas streaches from the Mediterranean Sea to the southern slopes of the Great Kabylie mountains and from Dellys to Cape Aokas. Kabyles speak the Kabyle dialect of the Tamazight (the generic term for the Berber languages). This is part of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) languagev family. The Kabyles are mostly Muslim, but a small number are Christian.
Economic pursuits are primarily agricultural. They cultivate grains, fruit, and olives and herd goats. The family groups are patrilineal and patrilocal.
Each village traditionally was governed by an assembly of adult males.
The Kabyles were a leading group in the Berber Spring (1980), a movement seeking official recognition of the Berber language in Algeria. There are about 2.5 million Kabyles in Algeria.
Kabyle speakers take great pride in their language and resistance to replacemnt by Arabic. Men often use French in trade and correspondence.
The image here shows what look like very poor Kabyles, perhaps a rural faqir. It is probably not a good representation of how the Kabyl dressed. We also see impges of very well dressed Kabyl. Traditional dress for Kabyel men wore loosely flowing robes, and a woolen burnoose--a long cloak of coarse woollen fabric with a hood. One might say the garment worn by Obi wan kenobi in the first Starwars movie. We assume that George Lucas and his costume desiners were inspired by the Berber garments. The robe/burnoose was draped over a woolen skullcap, and a broad-brimmed straw hat. We also see long white scarves wrapped into turbans that cover their heads and necks. Kabyle women wear bright cotton garments, usually woven in serpentlike stripes flowing. There are ornamented dresses. Silk scarfs and other colorful head covers were common. The bright colors and patterns of the women's garments today have ttracted some fashion interest. Older women might have tattoos on their foreheads after having their first male heir.
Achilli, Alessandro, et. al.. "Saami and Berbers—An Unexpected Mitochondrial DNA Link," American Society of Human Genetics Vol. 76, No. 5 (May 2005).
Camps, Gabriel. Les Berbères (Edisud: 1996).
Desanges, J. "The proto-Berbers," in General History of Africa, Vol. II Ancient Civilizations of Africa (UNESCO 1990), pp. 236-45
Giordani, Mário Curtis. História da África: Anterior aos Descobrimentos (Petrópolis, Brasil: Editora Vozes 1985).
Roberts, Hugh. Berber Government: The Kabyle Polity in Pre-colonial Algeria (I.B. Tauris: 2014).
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