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The traditional Berber religion is the sum of ancient and native set of beliefs and deities adhered to by the Berbers.Originally, the Berbers seem to have believed in worship of the sun and moon, animism and in the afterlife, but interactions with the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans influenced religious practice and merged traditional faiths with new ones.
This traditional religion emphasized ancestor veneration, polytheism, and animism. Many ancient Berber beliefs were developed locally. Whereas others were influenced over time through contact with other traditional African religions (such as the Ancient Egyptian religion), or borrowed during antiquity from the Punic religion, Judaism, Iberian ...
Modern Standard Arabic and Standard Moroccan Berber are the official languages of Morocco, [14] while Moroccan Arabic is the national vernacular dialect; [15] Berber languages are spoken in some mountain areas, such as Tarifit, spoken by 3.2%, Central Atlas Tamazight, spoken by 7.4%, and Tashelhit, spoken by 14.2%.
Between the 11th and 12th centuries, the Islamized Berber dynasty of the Almoravids (Lempta tribe) spread in western North Africa. They veiled their faces and were feared as skilled camel riders for their extremely quick robberies. They forced Islam on the people of Western Sahara, who were rooted in traditional religious traditions. [5]
Other strong similarities to the Berber languages are reflected in their counting system, while some authors suggest the Canarian branch would be a sister branch to the surviving continental Berber languages, splitting off during the early development of the language family and before the terminus post quem for the origin of Proto-Berber.
Local religious custom 'urf is, like other Saharan groups, heavily influenced by pre-Islamic Berber and African practises, and differs substantially from urban practises. For example, Sahrawi Islam has traditionally functioned without mosques in the normal sense of the word, in an adaptation to nomadic life.
Riffians speak Tarifit, which belongs to the Zenati group of Berber languages. [3] The languages spoken depend on the region, with many Riffians who speak a Berber language also speaking Moroccan Arabic or Spanish. Nineteen groups or social units of Riffians are known: five in the west along the Mediterranean coast which speak Riffian and ...
A traditional Shilha dowry item. In antiquity, Berbers traded with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians in commercial entrepots and colonies along the northwestern littoral. They established the ancient kingdom of Mauretania, which fell under Roman rule in 33 CE, before eventually being reunited under Berber sovereignty. [12]