{"id":9090,"date":"2020-07-03T17:03:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T21:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazighworldnews.com\/?p=9090"},"modified":"2020-07-03T18:41:07","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T22:41:07","slug":"amazigh-cultural-revival-in-north-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazighworldnews.com\/amazigh-cultural-revival-in-north-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazigh Cultural Revival in North Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
[dropcap]I[\/dropcap]t is important to note that the Amazigh cultural revival refers to the empowerment and greater celebration of Amazigh culture. The Amazigh nation predates all known established civilizations, with rich cultural traditions, languages, and institutions that have survived despite many waves of colonization and attempts at stamping them out. Thus, the answer to the question of the origins of the Amazigh cultural revival is complex and based on reactive stances to Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Western European political and cultural invasions that have taken place over the last two millennia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [ads1]<\/p>\n In this regard Reed Wester-Ebinghaus in <\/span>Ancient History Encyclopedia <\/span><\/i>argues:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Berbers<\/i><\/b>\u00a0have occupied North Africa, specifically the Maghreb, since the beginning of recorded history and until the Islamic conquests of the 8th century CE constituted the dominant ethnic group in the Saharan region.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Amazigh cultural revival was a highly decentralized social movement that evolved into its full force during the 1970s. Its complete roots stretch far back before North African independence from colonialism, all the way back to the invasion of Roman and Arab-speaking warriors in Berber regions, over the span of 2000 years; but for the purposes of the contemporary movement, the past 150 years suffice as its impetus.\u00a0 Spurred by decades, if not centuries, of invasion and oppression, a <\/span>Pan-Amazigh movement<\/b> began to form around the desire to revive a largely undocumented yet present culture across North and Saharan Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n Amazigh identity<\/b><\/p>\n Amazigh identity is formed largely by its language <\/span>awal<\/i><\/b>, Tamazight. Language is the marker of all cultures, but particularly so with Amazigh civilization. Tamazight Is being recognized by both Morocco and Algeria as an official language in their respective constitutions. This recognition came about after a long period of denial from the governments and society about Tamazight and its connection to Amazigh identity. It ran into several issues. Besides the multiple dialects of Morocco and Algeria, Tamazight was unwritten in the recent past except among the Tuareg in the Sahara.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [ads1]<\/p>\n The first task of the officially recognized Amazigh cultural team in the government was the selection of an official alphabet for Tamazight in Morocco i.e. Tifinagh. Unfortunately, the language has interacted with Arabic for so many years that the two have intermixed. In 2005, a movement was started to teach Tamazight in Amazigh areas. This called for the creation of textbooks and a curriculum to be taught by teachers in Tamazight. Although the governmental ministries dragged their feet in this endeavor, Tamazight TV 8 was created as an Amazigh cultural channel. Clearly, language is a definitive element of Amazigh cultural identity in Morocco and the same applies in Algeria.<\/span><\/p>\n The next major defining aspect of Amazigh culture is land <\/span>akkal<\/i><\/b>. Land has been historically and culturally significant to the Amazigh people. Land conservation is taken very seriously and land ownership balances the fine line of being communal with private property. Additionally, disputes can arise over land ownership. However, a census taken in Morocco in 2014 was controversial to the Amazigh because of the composition of the population as well as Amazigh land location and territory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The land on which the Amazigh live extends all the way from Egypt to the Canary Islands. This land is called <\/span>Tamazgha,<\/b> and the Amazigh believe that it belongs to them. Thus, there are some issues surrounding Amazigh land today since it is such a large component of Amazigh identity and culture.<\/span><\/p>\n Another theme central to Amazigh identity is the idea of blood <\/span>ddam<\/i><\/b>. Family to the Amazigh represents cohesiveness of their culture. Solidarity with other Amazigh people denotes the recognition Amazigh feel in addition to a sense of belonging. Additionally, blood represents sacrifice in Amazigh culture. This sacrifice can represent the earning back of honor, repayment of other sorts, or recognition of significant events. The Amazigh believe that an issue is resolved only once sacrificial blood is spilled. As such, blood is a very important aspect of Amazigh identity and was used in the Amazigh cultural revival movement.<\/span><\/p>\n [ads1]<\/p>\n Altogether, the Amazigh cultural revival movement called for a definition and recognition of the Amazigh culture. This movement drew upon the components of language, land, and blood to unite the Amazigh people. In terms of language, Tamazight was decided upon as the official language of the Amazigh people. Another identifying aspect of Amazigh culture is land. The Amazigh see land as central to their society and thus sought governmental protection for their lands. Finally, the cultural concept of blood brought them together for the cultural revival movement. United by blood, the Amazigh people sought governmental recognition of their lands and the official use of Tamazight in the Amazigh cultural revival movement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On the issue of Amazigh struggle for recognition in Algeria, Amir Akef writes about this country\u2019s recent official change of heart towards Amazigh culture in <\/span>The Guardian, <\/span><\/i>in a piece entitled: \u201cAlgeria proposes constitutional reform.\u201d He first details the official recognition of the culture since 2002:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAmazigh was granted\u00a0\u201cnational language\u201d status in 2002\u00a0and its recognition rewards the efforts of a long campaign hinging on the definition of Algeria\u2019s national identity. In 1949 the issue triggered a serious crisis in the Algerian independence movement. The controversy was papered over when the war of independence started shortly afterwards, but resurfaced when independence was proclaimed in 1962.\u00a0Hocine A\u00eft Ahmed, one of the original leaders of the independence movement, advocated a democratic state guaranteeing political pluralism. But his ideas were soon thwarted by the authoritarian Pan-Arab credo that prevailed under presidents\u00a0Ahmed Ben Bella\u00a0(1963-65) and Houari Boum\u00e9di\u00e8ne (1965-1976).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The campaign in favour of the Amazigh language dovetailed naturally with the broader struggle for civil liberties, gaining fresh impetus in the 1980s with the\u00a0Berber cultural movement. In the early 1990s the authorities grudgingly started to acknowledge its importance. \u201cIt took almost half a century, starting from the crisis in 1949, for the Algerian constitution [of 1996] to begin to draw up a more balanced, realistic map of the nation\u2019s identity, though there is still a great deal of ambiguity,\u201d the nationalist militant, then leader of the Algerian Communist party, Sadek Hadjeres, wrote in 1998.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n [ads1]<\/p>\n And later on moves on to discuss the constitutional reform:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe plans for constitutional reform include setting up an Algerian Academy of Berber Language, tasked with consolidating its new status as an official tongue. Supporters say it would put an end to a pointless source of division, giving rise to various political ills the country could well do without.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Amazigh struggle for full recognition in Tamazgha<\/b><\/p>\n For decades, the Amazigh community has been trying to penetrate into relevant life and culture within North Africa. Their focus on language, land, and blood have had ties to the land and people for thousands of years. The unwritten culture they have built and passed down through generations has shaped every aspect of life. However, since the Arabs have controlled the region, they have historically been ostracized and ignored, being pushed aside while the dominant Arab culture and values have received all the credit and in the process marginalizing Amazigh freedom, standards, and lifestyle. Over the years the Amazigh cultural revolution has been met with obstacles, oppression, and ignorance while trying to gain recognition for their influence on culture and existence as an ethnic group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the 1970s more and more Amazigh voices were being projected, arguing for less oppression, more rights, and acknowledgment of the Amazigh culture and ethnicity. These underground activists continued to gain support in the following years, finally breaking through in 1980 with the Amazigh Spring in Algeria: <\/span>tafsut Imazighen<\/i><\/b>. The Amazigh Spring created widespread awareness within the region. While it may have only been a \u201cSpring\u201d in Algeria, its influence did not go unnoticed in Morocco. The Spring sparked even stronger hope and strength within the Amazigh fight. Supporters of the Amazigh cause were fighting harder than ever for their voices to be heard, their history to be recognized, and their culture to be acknowledged. The flame continued to light the way for more activism in the years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n [ads1]<\/p>\n In 1994, the Amazigh movement finally had some acknowledgment by those in power. During a protest on May Day, Amazigh supporters marched with a banner written in the Amazigh language. The activists were arrested and taken in by police. Such an act created outrage within all of Morocco. The media followed the trials and the situation closely, leading the movement to gain national support for Amazigh rights. The nation was finally starting to recognize the Amazigh community\u2019s battle within the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The beginning of the revival was in Algeria: <\/b>tafsut Imazighen<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Algeria in response to the aggressive Arabization efforts of the FLN regime which aimed to suppress the Amazigh identity by banning activities by Amazigh militants and the use of Tamazight and its variants, people voiced their discontent publicly.<\/span><\/p>\n In this context, many Imazighen in Algeria began to push boundaries in their respective fields in the late 1970\u2019s. A primary example of this rests in the album \u201cA Vava Inou Va \u201c that the late musician Hamid Cheriat, also known by his stage name Idir, produced in 1976, in the period leading up to the Kabylie <\/span>Tafsut Imazighen<\/i><\/b>. \u201cA Vava Inou Va \u201c was the first internationally released album by an Amazigh musician in Tamazight, and this artistic creation led to the blossoming of Amazigh music throughout North Africa. The revival of Amazigh literature also coincides with the same period, and the demand that it created for a written medium for Tamazight aided the adoption of the Tuareg\u2019s Tifinagh script and added legitimacy to the movement to recognize Tamazight as a national language in 2001 in Algeria and as an official language in Morocco in 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
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