Berber Religion
BERBER RELIGION. It is difficult to refer with any sort of precision to "Berber religion" per se, even as it is difficult to speak about a "Berber people." The term berber—originally a derogatory name (cf. Gr. barbaroi, Eng. barbarians) applied by outsiders—designates the rather heterogeneous, indigenous population of North Africa extending from the Siwa Oasis in the western Egyptian desert to Morocco, Mauretania, and even as far as the great bend of the Niger River. These people, who have been in the region since prehistoric times, exhibit varying physical features, customs, and social organizations. They are united mainly by language. But even the language itself is highly variegated and is subdivided into a number of mutually unintelligible dialects and many localized vernaculars. In addition to language, another trait that has characterized the Berbers as a whole throughout history has been a strong spirit of local political, social, and cultural independence in the face of domination by civilizations that have imposed themselves upon the Maghreb (the Arabic name for western North Africa): Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, and, for a relatively short time, modern Europeans.
Ancient Berber Religion
Echoes of prehistoric Berber religiosity may be found in rock paintings and carvings from the Neolithic period.
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