Berbers

"Berber" is really a general name, used all over North Africa to indicate different peoples: in Algeria it includes the Tuareg nomads and the peasants of Kabylie. The Moroccan Berbers descend from three lineages (Masmuda, Sahnadja and Zenata) and are split into many tribes, often called Beni ("sons of) plus the name of the family. The forefathers are many, as is shown by the variety of their features: in the Rif there are people with light-coloured eyes, on the Draa others with dark skin. Sometimes the tribes recognize each other by their veils (if a woman wears a light-blue one she comes from the Oukka area; if it is black, she is from Dades); others by a traditional skill: this is the case of the Souss Chleuh of Tafraoute, famous spice merchants. The Beni Hillal, on the other hand, are identified by the answer to a conundrum, or rather three answers: what is the lightest thing in the world? What burns most? What is the sweetest? Any Berber will say: a feather, pepper and honey. Only a Beni Hillal will give the right answer: the lightest thing is gunpowder in the barrel of a gun when you are facing the enemy; what burns most is the heart of a lover before his loved one; the sweetest is a tent full of children on the return from a journey. The triple truth is contained in a tribal legend: it tells of a certain Dyab who, thanks to these answers, was made sheikh. The elders of the village decided that "Despite his youth, he already knows everything about life".