Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Life After Death
Their beliefs were influenced by their neighbouring Egyptians and other people who lived in the area, such as Phoenicians, Jews, Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans.
Their burial customs were to use tombs and pyramids. The body of the dead was painted in red ochre. This was primarily a capsian culture. They waolud sometimes bury their dead with ostrich eggs, jewelry and weapons. Some bodies would be placed on the side while others would be placed in a fetal position. It was stated that the cult of the death was one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Berbers in antiquity. The tombs of the Numidian kings are among the most notable monuments left by the Classical Berbers.
Based on the tombs of the Berbers, like their ancestors (Ibero-Maurecians) believed in life after death. Because in the past the holes were not enough to keep their dead from wild animals, the use of caves, tumuli, tombs in rocks, mounds, and other types of tombs were introduced. They started out with primitive tombs and evolved to more elaborate ones. These were later compared to the pyramidical styles of the Egyptians.Their burial customs were to use tombs and pyramids. The body of the dead was painted in red ochre. This was primarily a capsian culture. They waolud sometimes bury their dead with ostrich eggs, jewelry and weapons. Some bodies would be placed on the side while others would be placed in a fetal position. It was stated that the cult of the death was one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Berbers in antiquity. The tombs of the Numidian kings are among the most notable monuments left by the Classical Berbers.
Based on the tombs of the Berbers, like their ancestors (Ibero-Maurecians) believed in life after death. Because in the past the holes were not enough to keep their dead from wild animals, the use of caves, tumuli, tombs in rocks, mounds, and other types of tombs were introduced. They started out with primitive tombs and evolved to more elaborate ones. These were later compared to the pyramidical styles of the Egyptians.
The Main Survival - Agriculture
The Berbers are of an early form of cultural development, hunting wild animals, herding stock, or settling to simple agriculture. They would gather in tribes and practice subsistence economy, either through basic farming or transhumance herding (the movement of flocks and herds from winter and summer pastures, some up to 200 miles apart!). Through this they formed loose alliances between farming and herding tribes to avoid the conflict of one tribe bringing their cattle through the crops of another.
Berber (Imazighen)
The Berbers have lived in Africa since the earliest recorded time and their references dates back to 3000 BC. There are many scattered tribes of Berber across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. They normally live in desert regions like the Sahara and in the Atlas Mountains. They would live there because the Arabs conquered North Africa in the 7th century AD, and pushed them out.
Berber is obtained from the Roman term for barbarians. They are a non-Arabic tribes. Throughout the centuries, the Berbers have mixed with many ethnic groups, mostly Arabs and because of this, they were mostly identified by linguistics instead of racial basis. The Berber language has 300 closely related dialects. There are several tribes and they have their own distinct languages. Some of the largest Berber tribes are Rif, Kabyle, Shawia, Tuareg, Haratin, Shluh, and Beraber.
They were traditionally Muslim, and thier societies tended to be isolated. Back then they struggled constantly for power in North Africa with Arab tribes for centuries. The Barbary Coast of North Africa was named after the word Berber, and was known as a place where Arab and Berber pirates would prey on ships on the Mediterranean Sea.
Traditionally, their lifestyles consisted of raising sheep and cattle. However, some Berbers subsist by working in flourmills, doing woodcarving, quarrying millstones, and making pottery or jewelry. The women generally do the housework, weaving, and pottery. The Berbers generally live in rural areas. Their housing is usually clay huts or tents made out of goat hair. In larger villages, however, houses are made of stone. Today, most Berbers are migrant workers who work in Spain or France.
http://www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes/berber.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)