Disclaimer: The following blog post is not a reflection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s opinion on the below topics.
The indigenous Amazigh people of North Africa have preserved their language and culture through centuries of pressure to assimilate. They fight for linguistic rights and land rights across the region known as Tamazgha (from the Siwa oasis in Egypt to the Canary Islands to the north of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso), though the most prominent activism has occurred in Morocco and Algeria. “Amazigh” as a term encompasses many distinct tribes, collectively grouped by their indigenous identities and shared struggle. They are often called “Berbers” by outsiders, but many consider this term offensive, while others have reclaimed it — this is only one example of how Amazigh identity is often contested and politicized.
The history of the Amazigh in North Africa is also contested, but I attempt a summary here. Amazigh were not always a marginalized group; the Burghwata Kingdom was ruled by Amazigh people for 400 years, and during the Almoravid and Almohad Dynasties, Tamazight (the family of Amazigh languages/dialects) became an official language alongside Arabic.[1] Since then, however, processes of “Arabization,” at times calculated and at times incidental, have attempted to assimilate the Amazigh into the dominant Arab culture. French colonialism reinforced the idea that the mainstream culture of the region is Arab, as did, in a much different way, the wave of Arab nationalism and Pan-Arabism in response to European imperialism.[2]
Like many indigenous peoples, Amazigh identity is often erased in the histories of North African states, and the pressure to assimilate into the mainstream (typically Arab) culture is strong. Amazigh communities are also affected by poverty and lack of access to social services. The parts of Morocco, for example, that experience the highest rates of poverty and illiteracy are predominantly Amazigh.[4]
The preservation of culture has been imperative to Amazigh communities for hundreds of years, but by the late 20th century, it had become increasingly politicized. The 1980 “Berber Spring” occurred after the Algerian government cancelled a talk by anthropologist Mouloud Mammeri on Amazigh (Kabyle) poetry. This led to protests across the country, forming the first transnational protest movement for Amazigh cultural rights, the Berber Cultural Movement.[5] A number of Amazigh organizations crafted the 1991 Charter of Agadir calling for Tamazight to be taught in schools and for greater recognition of Amazigh history in governments.[6] Although protests were largely repressed across Tamazgha, in a 1994 May Day parade, seven Moroccan teachers held up banners in Tifinagh, the Tamazight script. Moroccan police arrested them, but they were released several weeks later with their charges dropped following international outcry against the arrests.[7]
The Amazigh World Congress first met in the Canary Islands in 1997, bringing together Amazigh from across Tamazgha and the diaspora to discuss Amazigh issues. Out of this event came the Congrès Mondial Amazigh (CMA), a “Pan-Amazigh” non-governmental organization.[8] By 2000, with the release of the Amazigh Manifesto by Amazigh academics,[9] the movement had become more overtly political, shifting away from rhetoric of multiculturalism, toward countering Arab hegemony and returning to pre-colonial (and at times pre-Islamic) ways of thinking and governing.[10] Amazigh activists have always had a wide variety of goals and ideas, however, and it is difficult to narrow the movement down to a single ideology or stance. The divide between urban and rural Amazigh is particularly stark, as urban areas are often associated with elites or academics while rural areas are associated with lower-class grassroots organizing.
In response to mounting pressure, the Moroccan government created the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) in 2004 to research and elevate Amazigh culture.[11] This marked the beginning of a series of institutional efforts to perform solidarity with Amazigh communities. These efforts have had mixed responses from Amazigh organizers, and IRCAM in particular has become a controversial entity. Some celebrate the institute’s recognition of their culture and indigeneity, while others critique the power IRCAM’s government funding allows it to have in defining culture and policy.[12]
Linguistic rights and access have become key aspects of Amazigh advocacy. Tamazight languages tend to be considered “local dialects of low prestige”[14] othering those whose first or only language is Tamazight. The lack of resources available in Tamazight, particularly in education and social services, creates barriers for Amazigh people without fluency in Arabic or French, who also tend to come from rural areas or have lower education levels. One major shift in this issue occurred when Tamazight became an official language alongside French and Arabic in Morocco in 2011 and Algeria in 2016.[15]
Since 1986, Amazigh activists in the rural Moroccan municipality of Imider have been protesting the silver mine that operates there. The Imider mine is the largest silver mine in Africa, and it is operated by the Managem corporation which has ties to the Moroccan royal family.[16] Its water pipeline takes from and contaminates local water sources, and it has largely hired workers from outside the area.[17] The latest iteration of these protests from 2011 to 2019, known as the “Movement on the Road 96,” established encampments around the mine, remaining resilient for years in the face of mass arrests.[18] Protesters also drew attention to the pipeline outside COP22 in Marrakech, accusing the government of “greenwashing” the issue.[19]
North African states have made significant progress toward recognizing Amazigh identity and language, but Amazigh sovereignty, especially use of the Amazigh flag, is still controversial.[21] Government repression of grassroots Amazigh organizers remains an issue,[22] as is the ongoing water crisis in Imider. This article also largely focuses on the most prominent Amazigh movements that occurred in Morocco and Algeria, where state recognition has also been most significant. However, Amazigh people in other parts of Tamazgha do not have this level of recognition and may be even more marginalized due to their smaller numbers.
Cultural preservation remains an important element of the movement. Events and festivals promote a transnational Amazigh identity through the arts and academic forums alike.[23] The Ain Leuh Women’s Cooperative, founded in 1977, is helping preserve traditional and sustainable weaving practices, providing rural women in the Atlas Mountains with livable wages and documenting the process to share with the community.[24] Central to Amazigh identity are the concepts of Awal (language), Akkal (land), and Ddam (blood).[25] Through a long history of advocacy for linguistic independence, land sovereignty, and cultural recognition, Amazigh organizers persist in their fight for these ideals.
[1] Brahim El Guabli, “Where Is Amazigh Studies?,” The Journal of North African Studies 27, no. 6 (2022): 1093.
[2] Ahfir Abdellah, “The Historical Roots of Amazigh and Its Arabization Factors in Algeria,” Revista Argelina 6 (2018): 69.
[3] Shabnam Mayet, “How the Indigenous Amazigh People in Morocco Fight for Language and Land,” Waging Nonviolence, December 15, 2022, https://wagingnonviolence.org/rs/2022/12/how-the-indigenous-amazigh-people-in-morocco-fight-for-language-and-land/.
[4] Shabnam Mayet.
[5] Abderrahman El Aissati, “A Socio-Historical Perspective on the Amazigh (Berber) Cultural Movement in North Africa,” Afrika Focus 18, no. 1–2 (2005): 66.
[6] Cleo Jay, “A Berber Spring: The Breakthrough of Amazigh Minorities in the Uprisings’ Aftermath,” in Contentious Politics in the Middle East, ed. Fawaz A. Gerges, 1st ed., Middle East Today (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), 334.
[7] Paul Silverstein and David Crawford, “Amazigh Activism and the Moroccan State,” Middle East Report, Middle East Research and Information Project, Winter, no. 233 (2004): 45.
[8] Gabi Kratochwil, “Some Observations on the First Amazigh World Congress,” Die Welt Des Islams 39, no. 2 (1999): 149–58.
[9] Ángela Suárez Collado, “The Amazigh Movement in Morocco: New Generations, New References of Mobilization and New Forms of Opposition,” Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication 6 (2013): 59.
[10] Cleo Jay, “A Berber Spring: The Breakthrough of Amazigh Minorities in the Uprisings’ Aftermath,” 334.
[11] Paul Silverstein and David Crawford, “Amazigh Activism and the Moroccan State,” 45.
[12] Paul Silverstein and David Crawford, 46.
[13] Brahim El Guabli, “My Amazigh Indigeneity (the Bifurcated Roots of a Native Moroccan),” Jadaliyya – جدلية, September 20, 2021, https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/43343.
[14] Cleo Jay, “A Berber Spring: The Breakthrough of Amazigh Minorities in the Uprisings’ Aftermath,” 333.
[15] Ahfir Abdellah, “The Historical Roots of Amazigh and Its Arabization Factors in Algeria,” 71.
[16] Shabnam Mayet, “How the Indigenous Amazigh People in Morocco Fight for Language and Land.”
[17] Shabnam Mayet.
[18] Shabnam Mayet.
[19] Devi Lockwood, “From Standing Rock to Morocco: Indigenous Protesters Act in Solidarity Against Corporate Polluters,” Truthout, November 22, 2016, https://truthout.org/articles/standing-rock-morocco-indigenous-protesters-act-in-solidarity-against-corporate-polluters/.
[20] Devi Lockwood.
[21] “Algeria Jails 22 Protesters over Berber Flags,” France 24, November 12, 2019, https://www.france24.com/en/20191112-algeria-jails-22-protesters-over-berber-flags.
[22] “Morocco Protest Leader Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison,” Al Jazeera, accessed May 22, 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/6/27/morocco-rif-protest-leader-nasser-zefzafi-sentenced-to-20-years.
[23] “Fez Hosts International Festival of Amazigh Culture on July 15-17,” Morocco World News, June 16, 2016, https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/06/189144/fez-hosts-international-festival-of-amazigh-culture-on-july-15-17.
[24] “Empowering Women-Led Moroccan Weavers in Innovative Bioregional Plant and Microbial Dyeing,” One Earth, accessed May 18, 2024, https://www.oneearth.org/projects/empowering-women-led-moroccan-weavers-in-innovative-bioregional-plant-and-microbial-dyeing/.
[25] Mohamed Chtatou, “The Amazigh Cultural Renaissance,” The Washington Institute, January 18, 2019, https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/amazigh-cultural-renaissance