What is Kabyle ancestry?
The Kabyle people (Kabyle: Izwawen or Leqbayel or Iqbayliyen, pronounced [iqβæjlijən]) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, one hundred miles east of Algiers. Their diaspora has resulted in Kabyle people living in numerous countries.
Is Kabyle an Arab?
A Kabyle is a native of Kabylia, a mountainous region east of Algiers. Being Algerian does not necessarily mean being Arab: the Kabyles are Berbers, from an ancient indigenous North African people whose presence is attested at least as far back as the time of Herodotus.
What is the origin of the Berbers?
The origins of the Berbers are unclear; a number of waves of people, some from Western Europe, some from sub-Saharan Africa, and others from Northeast Africa, eventually settled in North Africa and made up its indigenous population. Berber is a foreign word. The Berbers call themselves Imazighen (men of the land).
Is Amazigh African?
Berber, self-name Amazigh, plural Imazighen, any of the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa. The Berbers live in scattered communities across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania.
Where do the Kabyle people live in the world?
Large populations of Kabyle people settled in France and, to a lesser extent, Canada and United States . The Kabyle people speak Kabyle, a Berber language. Since the Berber Spring of 1980, they have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of Berber languages in Algeria .
Who was the ruler of the Kabyle mountains?
It was around this time period that the Fatimid Caliphate reached its territorial peak of 4,100,000 km2. The Zirid Dynasty was a family of Sanhadja Berbers with origins in the Kabyle mountains. During their reign they established their rule over the entire Maghreb and also established rule in parts of Andalusia.
How did the Kabyle people maintain their independence?
During successive rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Carthaginians and Ottomans the Kabyle people were among the few peoples in North Africa who maintained their independence. The Kabyle people resisted very fiercely, to the extent that even after the Arab conquest of North Africa they still had possession over their mountains.
When did the Berber Spring start in Kabyle?
In 1980, protesters mounted several months of demonstrations in Kabylie demanding the recognition of Berber as an official language; this period has been called the Berber Spring. In 1994–1995, the Kabyle conducted a school boycott, termed the “strike of the school bag”.