Algerian Berber Music

North African History

The Berber people, known as "Imazigen" (meaning "free people" in Berber), are the native inhabitants of North Africa. Their language and many dialects were once spoken all the way from the Canary Islands (West Africa) all the way to Egypt. They have lived in North Africa for more than four thousand years and amazingly have managed to preserve their culture, tradition and heritage as well as the many dialects spoken within the North African regions.

The Berbers live mainly in Morocco (between 35%-60% of the population) and in Algeria (about 15%-33% of the population), as well as Libya and Tunisia, though exact statistics are unavailable. Most North Africans who consider themselves Arab also have significant Berber ancestry. While population genetics is a young science still full of controversy, in general the genetic evidence appears to indicate that most northwest Africans (whether they consider themselves Berber or Arab) are predominantly of Berber origin, and that populations ancestral to the Berbers have been in the area since the Upper Paleolithic era.

Prominent Berber groups include the Kabyles of northern Algeria, who number approximately 4 million and have kept, to a large degree, their original language and culture; and the Chleuh of south Morocco, numbering about 8 million. Other groups include the Riffians of north Morocco, the Chaouia of Algeria, and the Tuareg of the Sahara.



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