“It’s a little insulting how people are just saying, ‘What is she wearing?’ and making fun of it without trying to find out about it,” says Cynthia Becker, an associate professor of African art at Boston University, who specializes in Amazigh (pronounced ah-ma-ZEER) art. She’s the author of Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity.

The clothing and jewelry reflect the fashion of the Imazighen (pronounced ee-ma-ZEERen, the plural form of Amazigh), who live in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Western Sahara, the Canary Islands, as well as parts of Mali, Egypt and Niger. They’re often referred to as Berbers but many Imazighen consider the term derogatory – it’s derived from the Greek word “barbaria,” meaning barbarians.

Imazighen, from their language Tamazight, means “free people.”

… Traditionally, Becker says, an Amazigh man would give this kind of jewelry and textiles to their bride before the wedding. The bride wore the gifts during the ceremony and afterward in their day-to-day life as a sign of her marital status. Becker says the jewelry also served as a type of “portable bank account” that a woman could cash in if her husband passed away or the family experienced financial hardship.

…Sahar Amarir, 25, is a Moroccan Amazigh graduate student who is studying Middle Eastern politics at Harvard University. She says she recognized Madonna’s headdress as one that is only worn by the Ait Baamrane tribe, which had fiercely resisted colonization.“If I’m walking in the street and I see this woman, I would never confuse her for a Berber of any other type,” says Amarir. Although many Amazigh headdresses have cones, she says that only those worn by women in the Ait Baamrane tribe have such prominent horns .Becker says that women in southeastern Morocco have told her that they wore bracelets with large points as weapons in the past. Some women also say the horns are a symbol of fertility, and silver is believed to have protective properties against the evil eye. Becker says the aesthetic of a strong Amazigh woman is conveyed through the jewelry. “A beautiful Amazigh woman is one that is fierce and strong and powerful and can work hard,” she says.

…Amazigh women haven’t worn this kind of jewelry and garb in their daily life since the 1960s, according to Becker. As Morocco continues to develop, they’re opting for Western styles, although brides may still take wedding photos in traditional dress.“I often see in many of the shops in Marrakech, they’ll take many of the old Amazigh pieces and put them together to create something more modern, and I think that’s largely what [Madonna’s] wearing,” Becker says.

As for Madonna co-opting the style for herself? Becker says she’s not wearing a traditional outfit anyway. The pieces themselves are “an amalgamation of styles from different parts of southwestern Morocco,” her braids are very common in the area of Guelmim, in southern Morocco, and at least one of her bracelets is South African beadwork.

As for the issue of cultural appropriation: Becker’s husband, Addi Ouadderrou, a Moroccan Amazigh, says he understands the concern but it doesn’t bother him.

Casbah

Constantine

Kabylie

Tamanrasset

Telemcen

Béjaia

M'zab

Bousaada

Portraits of Moroccan women in the 1930s

Wow! Thanks for sharing Dahreen! I had no idea and apparently it’s derived from the word for “Barbarian”?

You’re welcome, and yes it does come from Barbarian.

Regardless, they identify as the Imazighen, use as described:

Amazigh: a singular term that describes the indigenous people of North Africa, frequently referred to as Berber in English and berbere in French. It can be used to refer to an indigenous North African person (“the Amazigh who works at the store down the street”), an adjective to describe an indigenous North African person (“an Amazigh woman from Tunisia”), or an adjective to refer to Imazighen and their culture in general (“an Amazigh language,” “Amazigh culinary traditions,” etc). It is our preferred word to describe ourselves.

Imazighen: describes Amazigh people as either a whole (“the Imazighen of North Africa”) or as a plural (“the Imazighen who work at the store down the street”). While this is an umbrella term, different groups of Imazighen have specific words to refer to themselves. Some of these include Imuhagh (Tuareg), Iqvayliyen (Kabyle), Irifiyyen (Riffian), Ishawiyen (Chaoui), Ichenwiyen (Chenoua), and Iznagen (Sanhaja).

source

The only Amazigh blogs I can think of on the top of my head are Amayas Amazigh (http://amayas-amazigh.tumblr.com/) and Amazigh Portal (http://amazighportal.tumblr.com/).

The Imazighen are marginalized in North Africa, due to pan-Arabism and French/Arabic colonization. (Their extensive use of the term Berber has contributed to the widespread use of the name in academic literature SMH)

Anyhoo yeah like just recently, Morocco lifted bans on Amazigh names (before you had  to pick a name that sounded the same but was a different language or a different name altogether) and under Gaddafi, the anti-Imazighen sentiments were very strong. Many Imazighen identify as Arab due to intense assimilation under Arab occupation of Tamazgha (North Africa or the Maghreb in Arabic.) I know this first hand ~ one of my teachers identifies as Amazigh, but is against teaching Tamazight in schools in favor of colonial Arab and French (which she speaks fluently.)

Berbers or Amazighs (Berber: ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ Imaziɣen; singular: ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ Amaziɣ / Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa, primarily inhabiting the Maghreb. They are distributed in an area stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Niger River in West Africa. Historically, they spoke Berber languages, which together form the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family.

Portraits of Moroccan women in the 1930s

Azul! Ik ken persoonlijk veel marokkanen die zeggen dat ze niet Amazigh zijn omdat ze alleen darija spreken. Hun ouders zijn dan wel 100 procent riffi. Ook hoor ik vaak dat “arabieren” in Marokko genetisch veel verschillen van Imazighen. Zo schijnen volgens velen, Imazighen een veel lichtere huid te hebben. Dit lijken mij altijd manieren om zich te distantiëren van Imazighen terwijl ze dit zelf zijn. Heb jij dit ook meegemaakt en hoe ga je daarmee om? Om eerlijk te zijn irriteert het me ongelofelijk, vooral als dezelfde mensen neerkijken op Imazighen. Zelfhaat dus.

Azul!

Klopt! Persoonlijk was ik jaren geleden ook helaas van overtuigd dat ik Arabisch was en niet berbers, alleen voor het feit dat ik geen Tamazight sprak. Ik was onwetend. Maar dat kon ook niet anders, aangezien ik he-le-maal niks meekreeg over onze Amazigh geschiedenis. En zo gaat dat voor veel Marokkanen. Nu ik meer weet, irriteert dit mij ook. Zo heb ik bijvoorbeeld een vriendin die gewoon niet toe wilt geven dat ze Amazigh is, omdat ze het beschouwd als een bekrompen en streng ‘volk’ en zij gelooft dat ‘Arabische Marokkanen” wat vrijer zijn in hun levenstijl. Wat een onzin.. (Het gaat om ethniciteit, niet om levenstijl of geloofsovertuiging)

Maar ondanks de irritaties probeer ik op een rustige manier mijn perspectief uit te leggen. Mensen houden er nou eenmaal niet van om een foutieve perspectief toe te geven, en daardoor is het vaak effectiever om vraagtekens bij hen op te wekken dan meteen jouw perspectief in hun strot te douwen. Bestrijd vuur met water.  Zelfhaat is helaas herkenbaar, en sterk aanwezig onder Marokkanen :(. Ik hoop dat ik, jij, en anderen die als ons zijn, hier wat aan kunnen doen. Door kunst, films, boeken, wetenschappelijke onderzoeken, journalisme, sociale activisme of hoe dan ook. Maar voor die transformatie moeten we leren om naar onszelf te kijken, dat heb ik ook moeten doen, en dat doe ik nog steeds. 

#NoShameInAmazighAncestory!!