Berber Beliefs
A description of the historic worship and beliefs of Berber peoples.
The majority of Berber, or Amazigh, cultures today are Islamic, but their history is one of religious diversity and tolerance. Little is known of their oldest religion, an indigenous faith that practiced ancestor worship. These early people recognized many gods and ancestral spirits, as well as the sacred properties of tombs and certain landmarks. Traditional worship has been passed down mainly through female knowledge and customs. The Berber folk hero Dhiya, who led the armed resistance to the Muslim invasion, was known as a prophetess, capable of seeing the future. Women in particular slept in ancestral tombs to receive guidance in their dreams.
Pre-Islamic Berber worship also drew influences from many neighboring cultures. Certain gods famous for their roles in the Egyptian pantheon may actually be Berber in origin. Besides Amun, deities like Neith, Osiris, Set, and Isis are closely associated with the Maghreb. Baal worship, brought by the Phoenicians of Carthage, has also been recorded. Later, the peoples of North Africa embraced Judaism and Saturn worship as well. Jewish communities found refuge in the Maghreb throughout much of their recorded history. From the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of Babylon to Roman suppression to the Spanish Inquisition, Jewish communities arrived in waves and became a major part of North African culture.
Christianity gained a foothold in the Maghreb during the Roman era. Several sects grew popular among local peoples, including Roman Catholicism and the Arianism of the Vandals. The Byzantine Empire, particularly under Justinian I, led successful efforts to convert much of the Maghreb to Christianity. North Africans played a prominent role in the development of Christianity, most notably through St. Augustine of Hippo. The region also produced three early popes: Victor I, Miltiades, and Gelasius I.
In the 7th century CE, a new religion entered the mix of the Maghreb. Islam, expanding rapidly after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, systematically conquered North Africa. The Amazigh initially resisted their advance. After nearly a century of warfare and rebellion, however, the majority of Berber cultures had adopted Islam and and its associated language, Arabic. They proved invaluable during the Muslim conquest of Spain launched in 711. Berber dynasties ruled over Al-Andalus for centuries. Despite their conversion to Islam, the smaller cultures of the Amazigh retained several elements of their earlier faiths. Belief in spirits known as djinn, the power of the evil eye, and saint veneration, for example, continue to the present day. Islam’s hold on the region would not be challenged until the 19th century, when French colonizers briefly reintroduced Catholicism.
Most Berber people now practice a form of Sunni Islam. After the end of colonialism, the modern nations of the Maghreb have developed along different religious lines. Political Islam, or Islamism, is a common recent trend among Berber communities. Long-standing tensions regarding Arabic and Tamazight, a collective term for the Berber languages, fuel ongoing religious debates. The role of Islam and Arabization in the future of Berber cultures is still a hotly contested issue.
Learn More About Berber Culture
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References
Goodman, Jane. Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to Video. Indiana University Press. 2005.
Hart, David M. Tribe and Society in Rural Morocco. Routledge. 2014.
Maddy-Weitzman, Bruce. The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States. University of Texas Press. 2011.
Nijoku, Raphael Chijioke. Culture and Customs of Morocco. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2006.
Nisan, Mordechai. Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression. 2nd ed. McFarland. 2012.
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