The Amazigh poetry, Tifinagh calligraphy
The Amazigh poetry, Tifinagh calligraphy
The Amazigh people is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, located in the north of Africa
Let’s first talk about the meaning of Amazigh and a brief of their history
Amazigh means the free man, Plural : Imazighen: free people
The Amazigh people inhabit a territory spanning most of North Africa, from the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts up to the Sahel. Since the 20th century, it also has had a substantial presence in Europe through the Amazigh diaspora.
The traditional territory of the Amazigh people is called “Tamazgha” in the Amazigh language. Many of the region’s inhabitants have Amazigh ancestors, but after centuries of Arabization, not all of them have preserved an Amazigh cultural and linguistic heritage. As a result, as of today, those territories of Tamazgha where significant populations recognize themselves as Amazigh do not have territorial continuity, being separated by areas where most of the people consider themselves to be culturally and linguistically Arab, or by mostly depopulated, desert regions.
Thus Rif, Atlas, and Souss (Morocco), Kabylia, Mzab, and Aurès (Algeria), Djerba (Tunisia), Zuwara and the Nafusa mountains (Libya), the Siwa oasis (Egypt), and the Tuareg-populated Saharan and Sahelian regions — including Azawad — spanning Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso can be named among Tamazgha’s most prominent territories where a cultural and linguistic Amazigh character has been preserved. In some of those cases, an Amazigh-based political movement has also developed.
Brief history
The ancient Egyptian writings revealed the history of the true existence of the Amazighs, which dates back to about three thousand years BC, and the Amazighs carried several names throughout the ages, the most famous of which are: the Libyans, the Numidians, the Gitulion, the Moors, the Berbers, and finally the Amazighs.
It is noteworthy that the Amazigh peoples and tribes have lived with the powerful countries of the ancient world, and they had a historical role of great importance, so their effective impact appeared in each of the cultures and military fields. The interaction between the Greeks and the Amazigh sects in the city of Cyrene is evident. The interaction of the Amazighs with the Roman state has left a clear impact, as the Roman city of Carthage became one of the most powerful cities after the Roman capital.
As for the political fields and their institutions, the Amazigh left a clear imprint in this, as the Roman armies were distinguished by their strength, and the greatest Roman Caesars of Berber origins, most notably Septimus Sevarios, came out, and fierce battles took place between the Amazighs and the Arab Umayyad state for more than half a century, and they supported them in some Their conquests, and it is said that the combatant leader Tariq bin Ziyad is of Berber origin, and is credited with conquest of Andalusia.
Among the most prominent Amazigh figures are Abbas bin Firnas, Ibn Battuta, Abdullah bin Yahya, nicknamed Musnad Al-Andalus, Suleiman Pasha Al-Baroni, Al-Muizz bin Badis, Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zayati, the scholar Abdel Hamid bin Badis, the Islamic thinker Malik bin Nabi, Yusuf bin Tashfin, Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, Saint Augustine, pharaoh Sheshanq…
Amazigh Flag
The Berber peoples celebrate August 30 of each year, the anniversary of the Amazigh flag, which unites them under the banner of a common identity. The flag was officially adopted during the first conference of the World Amazigh Congress, which was held in the Canary Islands in 1997.
The Congress is a non-governmental organization that includes Amazigh activists from North Africa and the Sahara, and it aims to defend the political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the Berbers and to constitutionalize the cultural identity.
However, the idea of science appeared before the Conference of the Canary Islands years, specifically in the seventies of the last century.
The idea originated and crystallized within an association in France called the Amazigh Academy, which was founded by professors, researchers, and artists, mostly from the Algerian Kabylie region.
In addition to the establishment of the Amazigh flag, the association, through its interest in Amazigh symbols, worked to revive the Tifinagh letter, which is the language of Amazigh writing in the past. It is considered one of the oldest languages in history
if you want to write your name into Amazigh ( Tifinagh calligraphy ) or ask about anything related to it, or you want a logo design with Amazigh symbols, or an Amazigh voiceover feel free to check this Amazigh freelancer HERE
Al-Hussein Bouyakoubi, a university professor and researcher in Amazigh culture, asserts that the colors of the flag symbolize the geographical area of ” Tamazgha”, that is, the areas of the presence of the Amazigh peoples, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to Siwa Oasis in Egypt and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Niger River in West Africa. And the blue color symbolizes the sea, green indicates the plains and mountains and yellow symbolizes the desert. The red symbolizes sacrifice, and the letter Zai, which refers to the Amazigh language, was written in it.
Amazigh poetry
Amazigh poetic writing is characterized by its strong description of events and the diversity of its forms and topics. In many areas in Tamazgha, especially Morocco, poetry is attended in celebrations and occasions in its normal form or in the manner of a poetic duel between two professional poets.
We also do not forget the art of Tiroysa and the rebab instrument that symbolizes it, This ancient art in history, and among the major pioneers in the 20th century were Hajj Belaid, Mohamed Soussi, Aabouche Tamasint, Mohamed Omourak, Omar Aharouch. Hammad Amntag, Boubaker Anchad, Muhammad Al-Damsiri, Roqaya Al-Damsiri. Fatima Tabamarant…..and others
At the present time, there is a lack in the Amazigh poetry writers (And Amazigh creativity in general), and this is of course due to many reasons, the most important of which are the ruling public policies in the Amazigh countries, the lack of linguistic rights, the Arabization policies that want to Arabize the Amazigh tongue and its culture and attribute it to Arabism and the Arabs, and the lack of teaching and circulating Tamazight in education
In light of all these challenges, there are young people who are jealous of their identity, culture, and language …. Please visit the channel of the young poet Anaruz elhabib on YouTube and listen to some of his Amazigh poetry (with English subtitles) here
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