Traditional Berber religion

The Berber beliefs or the Amazigh beliefs are the beliefs of the indigenous people of North Africa called the Berbers. It excludes the Ancient Egyptians and the Nubians.

Background

The history of Berber beliefs is not clear, since there are very few ancient sources that referred to the ancient Berber beliefs, and those sources were undoubtedly written by non-Berbers. The most important and ancient sources are the inscriptions of the ancient Egyptians, and the works of the Greek and Roman writers, and rarely by the Arabs. The Berbers and the Carthaginians left some depictions which are silencious and need serious studies to uncover their history and their influence on the Berber societies.

Another notorious remark is that the most ancient sources didn't aim to cover the Berber beliefs, but they are considered as descriptions for the most influential beliefs that spread themselves out of North Africa.

The modern scholars have not uncovered the ancient beliefs, but they tried to trace the influence of the Berber beliefs on the other societies, and the influences of the ancient beliefs on the modern practices like as the cult of Anzar (The god of the rain).

Another remarkable fact is that the ancient sources did not keep the Berber spirit of the Berber beliefs, and that appears clearly when studying the Berber deities on the Basis of the Egyptian and Greek sources. The deities depicted by the Egyptians seemed to be Egyptianized whereas the deities described by the Greeks seemed to have hellinized characters like as the giants (Half-gods) which are typical for the Greek mythology like as the Greek half-god Heracles and the case of the Berber giant Antaios.

The lack to sufficient sources on the Berber beliefs led many scholars to emphasize the influence the Berber deities on the other's beliefs like as the book of Helene Hagan: The Shining Ones: An Etymological Essay on the Amazigh Roots of Egyptian Civilization, but those essays are speculative and couldn't provide a presentation of the ancient Berber beliefs.

Another difficulty for the non-specialists to trace the Berber mythology is generally the weak presentation of the Berber history. Those people were known by various names in different periods like Libyans which has been used by the Historian Herodotus and other ancient writers.

The funerary practices

The tombs of the early Berbers and their ancestors show that the Berbers and their ancestors, the Ibero-maurussians believed in another world after death. They tended to bury their dead in secured locations such as tombs after they realized that the corpses buried in unsafe places were at risk of being damaged by wild animals.

The tombs of the early Berbers underwent a remarkable evolution from primitive structures to much more elaborate ones, such as the pyramidal tombs that are spread throughout Northern Africa.

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The pyramid of Medracen

The honor of being buried in such a tomb was usually reserved for those who were most important to their communities, and the deceased were often buried with tools and jewelry.

These pyramidal tombs have attracted the attention of some scholars, such as Mohammed Chafik who wrote a book discussing the history of several of the tombs that have survived into modern times. He tried to relate the pyramidal Berber tombs with the great Egyptian pyramids on the basis of the etymological and historical data. The most well-known Berber pyramids are the pre-Roman Numidian pyramid of Medracen which is 19 meters high, and the ancient Mauretanian pyramid which is 30 meters high.

The sun and the moon

According to Herodotus, the ancient Berbers (who were known as the Libyans to him) worshiped the moon and sun, and sacrificed for them. According to G. Camps the word Ayyur is not only the Berber word to refer to the moon, but it was also the name of the moon-god that was worshiped by the Berbers.

Megalithic culture

The rocks were generally considered to be holy by many pre-historical peoples, and the Berbers were not an exception. Saint Augustine mentioned that the polytheistic Africans worshiped the rocks. Apuleius mentioned too that the worshiping of the rocks existed in the second century a. C.

Besides the megalithic rocks which are believed to be of Phoenician origin, there are other pre-histoic North African megatlithic rocks which are poorly known.

Egyptian-Berber beliefs

Some scholars believe that Berber mythology was very related to the Egyptian counterpart, and that can be explained as a result of an ancient Central Saharan common origin of them. The early Berber emigration to the Nile Delta would also influence their beliefs.

A Libyan depicted with two feathers (Drawn by an Ancient Egyptian)

Many Egyptian deities were depicted with Beber (ancient Libyan) characters like as "Amentet" who was depicted with two feathers which were the normal ornaments of the Ancient Libyans like as they were depicted by the Ancient Egyptians. Even the name of some Egyptian deities was related to the Ancient Libyans, like as the name Ament which refers to the west that was inhabited by the Berbers (Ancient Libyans), and Seth who was considered to be the king of the Libyan desert.

The Egyptians considered some Egyptian deities to have a Libyan origin, like as Neith who has been considered, by Egyptians, to have emigrated from Libya to establish in the Nile Delta.

The most remarkable common god between them is Amon, this god is hardly to attribute to an only pantheon. Although the most sources ignored its exitence in the Berber mythology, he was maybe the greatest ancient Berber god who has been honored by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and was united with the Phoenician god Baal because of the Berber influence. The most known temple is the temple of the oase Siwa. The depictions of the ram across North Africa are very old and some of them are older than than the Egyptian depictions.

Phoenician-Berber beliefs

Stele from the Tophet showing a Tanit symbol

When the Phoenicians established in North Africa, they brought their deities with them. But after integrating in the Berber environment and militaire alliances between them, the Phoenician and the Berber beliefs began to influence each others.

After that Baal was the main worshiped deity in Carthago, he became united with the Berber (Ancient Libyan) god "Amon" to become Baal-Hammon. The depictions of this deity is found in several sites across north-west Africa. Besides, the Semitic goddess Astarte in North Africa became replaced by Tanit which is supposed be of Berber origin, Even the name Tanit has languistically a Berber (Tamazight) structure. The feminan names get "T" at the beginning and end of the word in the Berber language. Some scholars believe, therefore, that the Egyptian goddess Neith was none others than the Libyan goddess Tanit (Ta-neith).

Greek-Berber beliefs

The main connections between the Berbers and the Greeks were in Cyrenaica were the Greeks have finally established. The Greeks influenced the eastern Berber environment, but they were also influenced by the Berber culture and beliefs.

The first notable appearance of that influence is the name Cyrenaica itself. This name was originally the name of a legendary (mythical) Berber woman warrior who was couragious. She has also been declared as the consort of the Greek god Apollo in Cyrenaica.

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The land of the Libyans, According to Herodotus.(click to enlarge the image)

Because of the Libyan influence, the Greeks identified their great god Zeus with the Berber (Ancient Libyan) Amon, and some of the Cyrenaican Greeks continued worshiping Amon himself. The Amon's cult was so strong to the Greeks that even Alexander the Great chose to be declared as the son of Zeus in the Siwan temple by the Berber priests of Amon.

The important daughter of Zeus Athena was considered by many ancient historians including Herodotus to be of Berber origin. Those ancient historians stated that she was originally honored by the Berber round the Lake Tritotins where she has been born from the god Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, according to the Libyan legend.

Herodotus stated that Poseidon (another important Greek sea god) has been adopted from the Libyans by the Greeks. He emphasized that no other people worshiped Poseidon from early times than the Libyans who spread his cult.

The Greeks and the Berbers built even partly a common mythical world, and that appears in the myth of Antaios and Heracles. Anatios has never been a Greek giant. He was clearly described as Libyan giant who inhabited North Africa. The legend tells about him that he was the undefeatable protector of the Libyans. He was the son of the Greek-Berber god Poseidon, and he was the son of the Berber goddess Tinjis. He used to protect the lands of the Berbers until he has been slain by the legendary Greek hero Heracles who married later the wife of Antaios and gave birth to the son Sufax (Berber-Greek son). This nested myth might refer to the ancient Berber-Greek struggle around.

Generally, many other Greek gods were related to the Berbers (Ancient Libyans) and their countries, according to the Greek myths, like Lamia, Atlas, Gaia, Triton, Libya, Gorgons and Medusa.

Roman-Berber beliefs

Although the existence of the Romans in North Africa was strong, there was not great religious influence between them, and that might be due to the fact that the existence in North Africa was bloody, and not peaceful, besides that the appearance of Christianity in North Afirca was seen as an ideological weapon for the North Afircans to distiguish themselves from the foreign Romans.

The Berbers used some deities as war gods during the period of their resistance against the Romans. They had the war goddess Ifri who was considered to be the protector of her worshipers and was depicted on the Berber coins, and seemed to have been an influential goddess in North Africa. But the Romans adopted her and called her Africa and considered her again to be the symbol of their victories against the Berbers.

Corippus mentioned that the Berbers used Agurzil as war god against the Byzantines, and told furthermore that the leader of Jarna-tribe has been killed while defending his god Gurzil. This same god has been used by the Berbers against the Arab-islamic conquest, according to some sources. Corippus also mentioned besides other cults the cult of Mastiman whose name was used to refer to the Roman god Jupiter.

Jewish belief

The history of the Jews in Northwest Africa can be traced back to ancient times. The exact dates of the first Jewish arrival to Northwest Africa are unknown. Some stories suppose that the Jews reached Northwest Africa in the period of their king Solomon. According to that legend, Solomon had sent them to the Sahara to seek gold. Other stories suggest that the Jews were brought to Northwest Africa by the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were skillful seafarers, and they established an ancient civilization known as Carthage in North Africa.

The most reliable story is that the Jews were settled by Ptolemy I in Cyrenaica. Ptolemy I was a Greek ruler who ruled Egypt. A later reference is Augustine, who mentioned that there were Jews in North Africa. Archaeological evidences are found in Volubilis.

Before the Jews would settle in Northwest Africa, they would know the ancient Berbers in Egypt were both lived. Even an Egyptian pharaoh with a Berber background called Sheshonq I invaded Palestine. Biblical sources may refer to him when speaking on Shishaq. According to the biblical sources, Solomon would have married with the daughter of Shishak. But the identification of Shishak with Sheshonq I is questioned for chronological reasons by some scholars.

In antiquity, Cyrenaica was the most known Jewish center in Northwest Africa. Biblical sources mentioned that the person who carried the cross with Jesus was a Cyrenican. He is therefore known as Simon of Cyrene.

Historical sources reported that the Jews revolted against the Romans and Greeks in Cyrenaica, and killed 200,000 Greeks and Romans. They were led by Jew called Lucuas. The revolting Jews aimed to support the other Jews in Alexandria and in Cyprus as well.

The Romans are said to have used a Berber legion and could subdue the Jewish revolt, and obligated them to pay for the damages caused by them. The revolt would emphasize that there were a powerful Jewish community in Libya. The Jewish Roman historian Flavius Josephus estimated the number of the population to be 500,000 Jews. This figure may be exaggerated. It also remains unclear whether those Jews were descendants of Israelite Jews who migrated there from the Land of Israel or from the Judaized Northwest Africans: Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and Berbers.

Just as Libya was a center of the Jewish history in the Northwest African antiquity, Morocco was a remarkable center in Medieval and later periods. Some Arabic sources refer to her as a witch. When the Arabs invaded North Africa, a female Berber tribal leader named Kahina resisted them for many years. Some Arab historians attributed a Jewish background to her.

Her Jewish origin is sometimes doubted since there is no deciding evidence, and since other sources mentioned that she used a pagan deity called Gurzil against the Muslims. But whether she was Jewish or not, the Arabs reported that there were many Judaized Berber tribes in North Africa.

The Judeo-Berbers spoke the Judeo-Berber language which is basically a Berber language influenced by the Hebrew pronunciation, written in the Hebrew script. The Jews even wrote the Haggada in the Berber language. The Arabic language gradually replaced the Berber language in the Jewish communities. Even the Berber in some areas learnt Arabic from the Jews to carry out trades with them while others refused learning Arabic because it was associated with Judaism.

The Jews of Northwest Africa didn't only speak the Berber language, but they also wore clothes like the Berbers, and they seemed to be influenced by the local Berber beliefs. Although the orthodox Judaism does forbid the maraboutism, the Berber-jews practiced it. Many jewish saints in Morocco have names which are influence by the Berber language, for example: Rabbi David U Moshe and Rabbi David N Baruch, according to Harvey E. Goldberg. Until the day, some Moroccan jews still organize pilgrims to their saints. Issachar Ben-Ami (the author of Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco) concluded that 126 saints were common between the Jews and Muslims and 15 Islamic saints were worshiped by the Jews and 90 Jewish saints worshiped by the Muslims, whereas 36 saints are disputed between them.

After the arrival of Islam, the majority of Berbers converted to Islam, and the Jews who didn't convert to Islam became dhimmis. During the Moorish conquest of the Iberian peninsula, the Jews welcomed the Moors. When the Almoravids crossed into Andalusia about 1085 to help the weakened Andalusian Muslims, the Jews fought on both sides.

Yusuf ibn Tashfin is believed to have used the Jews in his army, and the Christian army is said to have included 40,000 Jews. Another Berber dynasty called Almohads persecuted Judaism. According to them, Jews were untrustworthy even after converting to Islam. Therefore, the Almohads obligated them to wear yellow clothes to distinguish themselves from the Muslims while the Christians had to wear blue ones.

Christianity in Northwest Africa

Before the rise of Islam, which eradicated Christianity from Northwest Africa, Berber, Greek and Ibero-Roman inhabitants of the region often adhered to Donatist Christian beliefs, though not continuously. Catholics there were part of the Western or Latin Church and the African Rite, a Latin liturgical form, was used among all Christians of northwest Africa, from Libya to Morocco. To see how Christian life was before the rise of Islam, see the article on the African Rite, where the life of the Church in North Africa is accurately described. Both Catholic and Donatist communities persisted until a few centuries after the Islamic take-over, which harshly crushed Christian life in the region. Beforehand Berber Christianity was still considerably important and Pope Gelasius I was a Berber.

In the 18th century, 19th and 20th century contacts with Spanish and French priests increased due to colonialism; some Berbers converted to (Latin Rite) Roman Catholicism, partially due to the influence of Charles de Foucauld.

Christianity remains a small minority religion at present though and in Algeria and Morocco sometimes suffers from discrimination and persecution by Islamic groups and even by local authorities.

Islamic belief

Islam is the religion that played the crucial roles in North Africa. The Umayyads who attacked the Berber territories seemed to be interested in the islamization of North Africa rather than the islamization of the Berbers. Although the Umayyads could firstly penetrate the Berber territories, the Berbers who lived in tribal societies revolted military and ideologic against the Arab-islamic expansion. Uqba ibn Nafi who reached the Atlantic Ocean has been killed by a Berber prince called Ksila. The Arabs revenged his death and killed accordingly the Berber prince Ksila. After killing Ksila, Dihya (also known as the Kahina) led the Berbers successfully during a strong and long war against the moslims until she has been betrayed by an Arab captive, and she has been accordingly killed by the moslims.

Map showing the extent of the Almoravid empire

After more than a half century of resistance, the Arabs could become the factual masters in North Africa. But the Berbers who were military defeated, kept an ideologic restistence in several regions during different periods. The Berbers created an own islam-based religion [maybe with a pre-islamic influence] in a kingdom called Barghwata that lived about four centuries before it has been destroyed by another arising islamic-Berber empire founded by the Almoravids.

Like the Berbers were conquered by the name of the islam, the Berbers spread their first empires by the name of the islam. The Almoravids (who were Tuareg Berbers) were not islamized by the swords of the Arabs, but they were firstly fire worshipers who converted to islam, after the visit of their tribal leader Abd-Allah ibn Yasin to Mekka, and began successfully to spread what they considered to be the real islam.

The Almohad dynasty was spiritually founded by a Berber preacher who claimed to be the Imam Mahdi like as he claimed to have an Arab origin. The Arab origin was, in fact, important to the Berbers who had political ambitions, because the caliphate is restricted to the Kuraishic Arabs in the orthodox islam. Hence many Berber tribes and dynasties claimed to have Arab origins, and that was one of the strongest motivations for the Arabization of North Africa.

Although the Islam's penetration was no less bloody than the Roman one, the Berbers adopted finally the islam and considered it as their holy religion. But the influence of some pre-islamic beliefs is still traceable in their rural islam like the cult of Anzar [the rain] and the tendences to ask the blesses from the deads who are considered as saints, although the islam does condamn that. Even some scholars believe that the so-called Hand of Fatima that is used by the North Africans to protect themselves from the evil was originally the remain of Tanit's beliefs, and that the legendary woman Aisha Qandisha is factually the remains of the Semitic goddess Ashera.

Sources

• The origin of Amon's cult (By Harish Mohammed El-Hadi)Template:Ar icon.
• The goddess Ifri (Africa)(By Mostapha Ouachi)Template:Ar icon.
• The worshiped hero 'Antaios' (By Mostapha Ouachi)Template:Ar icon
• The Berbers and the death (By Mostapha Ouachi)Template:Ar icon.
• The Berbers and the rocks (By Mostapha Ouachi)Template:Ar icon.
• The worship of the ancestors (By Mostapha Ouachi)Template:Ar icon.
• Why Cyrenaica was founded (By Mohammed Et-Tahir El-Jarari)Template:Ar icon.
• The Phoenician culture in Ancient Libya (By Nizar Abboud) Template:Ar icon.
• Eid ul-Adha and the oldest rituals of the sacrifices (By Souad Boubarnossa)Template:Ar icon.
• Plutarch, The Parallel Lives (By Plutarch)Template:En icon.
• The ancient Berber deities (By Zuhur El-Hassan)Template:Ar icon.
• Archeology in the language (PDF-file) (By Mohammed Chafik)Template:Ar icon.
• Inquiries by Herodotus (By Herodotus)Template:En icon.
• The Origin Of The Christian Inheritance in North Africa (By Robin Daniel)Template:Ar icon.