The most mysterious people. Amasakhs - White North Africa Berber Ethnic Group 7 Letters

The history of the Berbers in the Maghreb countries begins around the 2nd millennium BC. NS., they survived the Phoenician and ancient Roman civilizations, traces of which are preserved on the territory Maghreb countries until now. El Maghrib - "where the sunset is", so called the countries of Africa to the west of Egypt. Several Egyptian pharaohs and the "Popes" were from the Berber peoples. The Berbers became the founders of the Almoravid Empire, one of the most powerful Muslim empires.

Before joining Maghreb countries — North Africa Arabs in the 7th-8th centuries Berbers were the undivided masters of the entire territory west of Egypt (Maghreb countries), and today this long-suffering people is artificially divided by the borders of the countries of North Africa.

The name "Berbers" is unknown to most of the Berber peoples themselves, since it was given to them by Europeans by analogy with the "barbarians" because of the incomprehensibility of their language. Self-name of the Berbers: amazig, amahag, amazir and even amazai, which means "free man."
There is a theory about the origin of self-name Amazigi from amazon - warlike women from the Scythian tribes. Father of "History" Herodotus in the 5th century BC described the Amazons' conquest of the north of Libya.

It is known that in the battles against the Arabs, along with the Amazigh men (Berbers), they fought warlike women - amazigs. Queen of the Amazighs Kahina, led the army and terrified the Arabs so much that the Arabs gathered an army a hundred times larger than the enemy's troops to defeat the Amazighs. Queen Kahina ordered to destroy and burn all the cities and settlements in Ores so that the Arabs did not get anything, and to retreat. Such a tactic of warfare - to retreat, depriving the enemy of food - is akin to the Scythian one. Translated from of the ancient Berber language "Kahina" means "Beloved", "kohana"!

The self-name of one of the Berber tribes - matmata, from the word "mother-mother", the progenitor. The Amazigh still retain a respectful attitude towards the woman-wife, towards the woman-mother and mother-in-law! The Berbers never called themselves Berbers. The most terrible disgrace of the family in all Berber tribes was considered the insult of a woman, mother, progenitor.
The ancient Egyptians called the Berbers "Mashuesh" - this name remains today for one of the Libyan tribes - Masila in Numidia in Algeria and Tunisia and Masasila in the west of Algeria and Morocco. The root of the word "ma" is "mother", "Makosh", Herodotus called them Maxies, and the country Mazies (Libya).

The prefix "mass - maz, mes - mez" was added to the names of the Numidian kings (Massinis), and today it is found in the surnames of residents of the Maghreb countries: Mazari, Mazuni, Mazali, Mzali, Mesali, Mesis, and in the names of settlements and villages Amagaz (a-Magess, in eastern Cavilia).

Traditions and mother worship most pronounced in Berber tribe "Tuareg" , they trace their ancestry to their mother. Tuareg ancestors left the Arab conquerors in the hottest regions of the Sahara desert and dug deep caves in the rocks there, and settled in cool houses, dugouts. Tuareg Berbers were called "Troglodytes" - "underground inhabitants". Due to the Tuareg's special affection for the blue color - indigo in all details of clothing, they are often called "Blue People".

Among the Tuareg Berbers, the main thing in the family is still a woman. Mother the leader could and now can veto any decision of her son, if she did not like it.
Relations between women and men in Berbers are freer than among Arabs. Berbers tolerate a bride who has lost her virginity before marriage, while Arabs do not. Tuareg woman chooses her husband, not vice versa , and a man unlike other Islamic societies, has only one wife. Until recently, the Tuareg groom, after the wedding lasting 7 days, went to the bride's house ... Alcoholic drinks during the wedding are completely excluded.

Tuareg women do not cover their face with a veil , and play an important role in society. Particular attention is paid to girls' education, they are taught to read and write from early childhood, since, precisely, women are the keepers of traditions, the ancient writing of the Tuareg Berbers. The alphabet on the Berber carpet is "tifinagh".

Kabila -people, Berber groups in northern Algeria and make up a fairly large community in this country - about 40% of the total population, are considered the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria. They speak the Kabyle language of the northern branch of the Berber-Libyan languages, by tradition they are engaged in agriculture, their appearance, national dress, embroidery symbolism strikingly resembles Slavic.

Many words in the Berber dialects of the Amazigh and Kabil coincide with the Old Church Slavonic words.

Berber women perform at the Kavelia festival (Kabylie is an area in North Africa at the junction of Libya, Algeria and Tunisia)
The appearance of "pure" Berbers, ornament, symbolism, traditional clothes and melodies the most ancient chants differ little from the South Russian and Central Russian clothing, the symbolism of embroideries and songs.

Berber girls are very beautiful, they have regular facial features, expressive eyes, a straight nose and a domineering look, resembling the look of a bird of prey. On the bridge of the nose, cheeks and chin, Berber women apply ritual signs-amulets. Excellent physique, long legs and sensual fingers give their movements a special grace and strength.

Berbers do not show their intimate relationships in public. Strong feelings raging in their souls, they chastely hide with a relaxed look and calm dignity - this behavior is accepted by their moral foundations. Berbers show their care and love for children and parents openly.

In all Berber peoples only women, keepers of traditions, sing Berber lullabies in the evening and tell fairy tales to children; during the day it is forbidden to tell fairy tales. The central character of animal tales is the Jackal (wolf). Maghreb Berber Tales they tell about robbers, about simpletons and rogues, about guessing mysterious riddles that helped the hero of a fairy tale to win, about unfaithful wives and stupid husbands.
Among the plots fairy tales Maghreb stories about an orphan, tales of the famous Berber rogue and Deceiver Doke - Si Johe in Morocco and Algeria, close to the Central Asian Khoja Nasreddin.

Berber girls and boys quite freely and peacefully communicate without noise, din and fights, they are obedient and respectful to their parents, never rude to them, listen without interrupting.

The Berbers have many folk proverbs and sayings, and the traditions of musical and poetic competitions are preserved.

On holidays, in the local village squares, short playful songs are sung, very similar to ours. ditties, encouraging their listeners to participate in singing and dancing, the male and female choirs dance to the accompaniment of a tambourine. Welcomed improvisation, and writing on the go, they also have fun and laugh. The music of all Berber-speaking groups is based on diatonic scales.
Interestingly, among many Berber peoples (Tuaregs) you can often find the image cross - the oldest symbol of the sun, adopted by the tribes and peoples of the sun. For many thousands of years before Christianity, the cross meant that the Sun heats the earthly world in all four directions.

Women of many Bereber peoples adorned their faces with mysterious (sacred) holy signs of the sun, and henna patterns were drawn on the palms of their hands.

After the Berbers adopted Islam, the new Arab government forbade them to wear sacred generic marks on their face and body. In order to preserve the holy patrimonial signs, women transferred sacred signs to traditional ornaments in clothes, jewelry and carpet patterns... Women were keepers in the old days ancient writing and the secrets of carpet patterns. the whiteness of their skin. Unlike the Arabs, the Berbers did not count gold. precious metal, they hated it, considering it a devilish metal, harmful to human health.

Gold among the Berbers was intended only to decorate the dead, both among the Scythians and among the Egyptians.

Berber peasants, like Slavic ones, very hospitable and set a table for the guest rich in treats, pastries, sweets, fruits and vegetables.
Their diet contains a lot of fruits, vegetables, olives, meat, sweets. The guest will definitely be offered Berber soup seasoned with lemon, couscous, similar to Kazakh beshbarmak and Uzbek pilaf, brik - pancakes with cottage cheese. If Tunisia offers you “to drink something”, it means you were offered a cup of coffee or a very strong one, similar to “chefir”, berber tea, which is drunk from small glasses. Black and green tea Berbers are grown high in the Atlas Mountains. Berebrov's national drinks include a special drink made from milk with pine nuts, which is also called tea.

Berber national embroidery

And this is a Ukrainian woman from Transcarpathia - a Ukrainian Madonna in dresses decorated with "Berber patterns"

BERBERS, a group of peoples, the indigenous population of North Africa. Make up about 50% of the population of Morocco, about 25% of the population of Algeria; also live in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, etc. The total number is about 30 million people, including 3 million people in Europe (2005, estimate). They speak Berber-Libyan languages: Berbers of Morocco [tamazigt (tamazight, imazighen, beraber) and schilkh (language - tashelkhit) of the Atlas Mountains; reefs, senkhazha and other Zenet groups], Algeria (Zenet peoples Shaviyya, Shenois; Kabila, the so-called Berbers of the Saharan oases), Tunisia (djerba, sened, etc.), nefus and Zuara in Libya - in the languages ​​of the northern group; Avjila (Audjila), Sokna and other Berbers of the oases of Libya, Siua in the north-west of Egypt - in the languages ​​of the eastern group; tuaregs - in the languages ​​of the southern group; Zenaga in Mauritania - in the languages ​​of the Western group. Believers are mainly Sunni Muslims (mainly Maliki), Kharijism is widespread (Djerba in Tunisia, Mzab region in Algeria, Sijilmas in Morocco, etc.), there are Jews and Christians.

O ancient history for the ancestors of the Berbers, see the article Libyans. After the Arabian conquests of the Maghreb from the end of the 7th century and especially in the 11-12th centuries, they were Arabized and Islamized, the Berbers were pushed into the mountainous and desert regions.

The main traditional occupations are nomadic and semi-nomadic cattle breeding (camels, small and large horned livestock), arable farming (barley, millet, wheat, gardening). In the oases they are engaged in agriculture, horticulture, transit caravan trade. Tribes (takbilt) are governed by chiefs (agellid, amgar) and councils of elders (Berber imzran, Arab jmaa), divided into clans (leff, ighs). The center of the tribal territory among the sedentary groups is a fortified settlement (Berber - tigremt, dshar; Arabic - Kasba, ksar); granary towers are characteristic. Communal land use (arsh) is preserved, temporary inter-clan alliances (tiuizi), mutual assistance, for example, in grazing (tawallat), are common. Nomads live in tents (Berber takhamt, Arabic hima), the sites have a circular layout (duar, mduar). Religious and mystical Marabout brotherhoods with a developed system of professional and corporate associations dating back to Sufi orders-tarikat.

Oral creativity. Oral poetry is most developed among the Kabil and Schilchs. Lyric poems are popular: separate (asefra) and combined in poetic cycles (tizrarine). In epic poetry, the valor and courage of the ancestors, the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the saints are glorified. Shilkh poetry contains epic poems of religious and satirical content (tamdgaazzhi). In imayt poems, we are talking about friendship, love and love suffering. Short poems (taiffert) tell about the life of fellow tribesmen, wars and holidays. Izlan poems are devoted to everyday life. Khadi is a religious poem (The Poem of Saby, the hero of which went to hell to save his parents).

Fairy tales are numerous and varied. Fairy tales about animals are intended for everyone, everyday ones - mainly for a male audience. Maghreb Berber fairy tales are told only by women in female and children's audiences. There is a ban on telling fairy tales during the day. The central hero of animal tales is the Jackal (there are several cycles about him). Household tales they tell about thieves, robbers, about guessing riddles, about cheats, about unfaithful wives, about fools, etc. Popular tales about an orphan, tales about the famous Berber rogue (Si Joha in Morocco, Si Jeha in Algeria), close to the Central Asian Khoja Nasreddin. Among the plots of fairy tales are both widely known throughout the world and purely Berber ones. There are many proverbs and sayings.

Musical and poetic genres - aferdi (chanting of riddles), tasheraft (shepherd's songs), atemshi, or izli (songs-poems), akhvash (mass song-dance, Morocco); achellil, tagerrabt (circular holiday songs-dances, Algeria). Responsive singing with dances accompanied by an instrumental ensemble, usually consisting of wind and membrane phones, is characteristic. Among traditional instruments(part Arab origin): reed - zorna, gaita; reed flute kasaba (gasba); drum table; tambourines - bendir, tarija; guinbrie lute (its predecessor is the ancient Egyptian lute with a long neck). The main instruments of the Tuareg are 1-string bowed imzad (anzad; female instrument), 1-string plucked googey, flat ganga drums, timpani-stupa tindi. In the mountains of the Middle Atlas, a special kind of playing the tambourines is practiced - solo virtuoso improvisation, accompanied by complex rhythmic figures against the background of a reference rhythm, in the northern foothills - polyrhythmic playing of drums and tambourines. The traditions of musical and poetry competitions are preserved; between the performances of soloists-improvisers, the male and female choirs dance to the accompaniment of tambourines. The music of all Berber-speaking groups is based on diatonic scales; in the south of Morocco and Tunisia, the pentatonic scale is used. By the end of the 20th century, urban dance and song forms spread - female (huvara) and male (dabka; timed to the Muslim calendar, include playing an hourglass-shaped drum - agval).

Lit .: Julien C.-A. History of North Africa. M., 1961. T. 1-2; Menteshashvili 3. A. Berbers in the social and political life of Morocco (50-70s of the XX century). M., 1982; African lion. Africa is one third of the world. L., 1983; Gaudio A. Civilization of the Sahara. M., 1985; Lot A. Tuaregi Ahaggara. M., 1989; Vidyasova M.F.Social structures of the pre-colonial Maghreb. M., 1987; Landa R. G. From the ruins of Carthage to the heights of the Atlas. M., 1991; Dyakov N. N. Morocco: history, culture, religion. SPb., 1993. N.N. Dyakov; I. G. Kushke, O. V. Rusanova, A. S. Alpatova (oral creativity).

The stories of some peoples read like adventure books ..

One of these peoples is BERBERS ..

The main inhabitants of Morocco are not Arabs - the Amazahs (Greek Berbers). Where the tribes of these light-skinned, thin tall men and graceful beautiful women once appeared in Africa is still not known.

But this happened many hundreds of years before these lands were conquered by the Arabs and even before the arrival of the Phoenicians. Now many of the Amazahs have assimilated with the local population of Arab or African appearance, but there are also many "pure" representatives.

(Famous people of Amazonian descent: Zidane Zinedine, Isabelle Adjani, Edith Piaf ...)

Berbers (from the Greek βάρβαροι, Latin barbari; self-name amazakh - ruler, free, noble man) Is a common name for the indigenous people of North Africa from Egypt in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west and from Sudan in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. They speak Berberg languages. By religion, they are now mostly Sunni Muslims, but they have retained a number of ethnic customs. The name "Berbers", given by the Europeans by analogy with the barbarians, due to the incomprehensibility of their language.

It is controversial, but very likely the relationship between the Berbers and the GUANCHES.

Probably, the self-name of the Amazakhs is the same as what the ancient Egyptians called "Mashuesh" (one of the Libyan tribes), Herodotus - Maxies / Mazies (about Libya), also in antiquity the inhabitants of the northern Berbers were called Masily in Numidia (Algeria and Tunisia) and Masasily ( west of Algeria and Morocco). The prefix "mas, mes - maz, mez", which was applied to the names of the Numidian kings (Massinisa, for example), is still found in the surnames of North Africans: Mazari, Mazuni, Mazali, Mzali, Mesali, Mesis, etc. Also, the name of the village Amagaz (pronounce a-Magess), eastern Cavilia.

Among the numerous Berber peoples, the main ones can be distinguished:

1. Amatsirgi- live in northern Morocco, on the extreme northwestern coastal strip of the mainland (the so-called Reef, from which its population, famous for its sea robbers, was known as the reef pirates) and the northernmost part of the Atlas to the Tella province.

2. The Shillou People in southern Morocco, it occupies part of a large plain along Um-er-Rebiya and Tenzift.

3. Kabila- the people in Algeria (of the Kabyles, Zinedine Zidane is the most famous).

4. Shauya- people in Algeria, inhabited by Ores. The main city is Batna.

5. Tuaregs- Berbers of the Sahara, inhabiting the deserts, live separated by vast spaces.

Most Berbers today live in the mountains. There are many Berber villages. Houses made of piled local red stone or huts of the same clay color are located in the green of the river valleys on the slopes of the mountains.

FIRST HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Garamants (Greek Γαράμαντες) are the ancient people of the Sahara. They are first mentioned by Herodotus (about 500 BC) as "a very great people" (judging by archaeological data, their state arose much earlier, at the end of the 2nd millennium BC). They had a Caucasian appearance.

In the VIII century BC. NS. the state of the Garamantes already included the entire present Fezzan, the southern regions of Tripolitania and a significant part of Marmarica. The Garamante civilization was highly advanced technologically. Herodotus wrote about them as warlike, desperate and cocky tribes who penetrated, on chariots drawn by four horses, deep into the steppe, even then, the expanses of northern Africa.

The state of the Garamantes was annexed by Rome in 19 BC. NS. The Garamans were finally assimilated by the Arabs in the 7th century AD. NS. The Garamants spoke the language of the Berber group and used the so-called ancient writing of Tifinagh (another name is "Old Libyan").

Tifinagh or Tifinig, most likely descended from the ancient Berber

According to some researchers, many words of the Berber dialects have Indo-European roots. Nevertheless, scholars attribute the language of the Berbers to the Semitic-Hamitic.

Of course, the languages ​​of neighboring peoples mix, and the influence of the Semites on the Berbers is centuries old.

KABILA (from Arabic qabîlah - tribe)—

people of the Berber group in the north of Algeria. They speak the northern branch of the Berber-Libyan languages. Writing based on Latin graphics. French and Arabic are also widespread.

Attempts are being made to revive the ancient writing of Tifinagh (another name is "Old Libyan"), preserved in embroidery, etc. (its keepers are mostly women). Kabila make up the majority of members of the local parties "Unification for Culture and Democracy", "Front of Socialist Forces" and others.

They live mainly in Algeria in the Big and Small Kabylia mountains (the historical region of Kabylia) to the east of Algeria. Population in Algeria approx. 3 million people (2007, estimate). They also live in France (676 thousand people), Belgium (50 thousand people), Great Britain (over 3 thousand people). The total number is 4 million people, according to some sources - up to 6 million people.

The settlements are usually located on the top of the mountain and have 2 streets: an inner one for women and an outer one for men; Houses closely set to each other face outward with blank walls.

The inhabitants of the settlement form a community (taddart, jamaat), headed by a leader (amin, amekkran); it is subdivided into groups (adrum), including several related (in the 4-5th generation) patrilineal associations (tararrubt), consisting of large patriarchal families (aham - literally a big house).

Pre-Islamic folklore has been preserved. The Cavilian folklore has its own phoenix bird, it is a falcon (or hawk), or rather a female falcon, that is, a falcon, Tha-Nina (tha is a feminine article, like the French La). In its symbolism and meaning for us, it is not inferior to our firebird. She is a symbol of rebirth, feminine beauty and just a feminine name.

The protective symbols applied by henna are designed to protect a woman in the most important periods of her life - wedding, pregnancy, then childbirth. Drawings on the face, neck, décolleté - mainly North Africa, Morocco - this is another tradition called harquus ("harkuz").

For harquus, not henna is used, but other dye mixtures, black. Harquus designs are often seen on the faces of tribal belly dancers, and matching body ornaments in the form of designs and tattoos complement the look.

TUAREGI (self-name - imoschag, imoshag) -

people of the Berber group in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Algeria and Libya. In the past, an extremely aggressive people-invader.

By religion, the Tuaregs are Sunni Muslims. However, they retained many pre-Islamic customs, such as matrilineal clan organization and ortho-cousin marriage on the maternal side. Despite the fact that modern Tuaregs profess Islam, where polygamy is allowed, a real Tuareg marries only once in a lifetime.

Women are respected in Tuareg society. Girls learn to read and write from an early age, and it is permissible for a man to be illiterate.

The main occupation is hoe farming (cereals, legumes, vegetables), combined with the breeding of small ruminants. Some of the Tuaregs inhabiting the Algerian Sahara and the Tenere Desert roam with herds of camels and goats.

The ancient Tuagers were white and caste. Slaves and blacksmiths have nothing to do with the Tuareg of the higher castes. They are usually dark-skinned, while the Tuaregs themselves are light-skinned and tall, thin. They considered life to be just a toy, so they were not afraid to lose it or take it away from others, therefore they were distinguished by their free disposition.

The position of a woman was determined by the number of lovers and admirers. Tuaregs raided neighboring tribes, capturing people into slavery. (Colin M. Turnbull. Man in Africa)

There is a legend about the origin of the Tuareg people. According to her, the "mother-progenitor" Tin-Hinan came to them from Morocco on a white camel with her maid Takamat. It is not known how they got to Ahaggar, here Tin-Khinan became the queen.

The most beautiful, young and strong male admirers came to her for copulation, then she killed them. The queen and the maid gave birth to children, laying the foundation for the Tuareg family. From Tin-Hinan came a noble tribe, and from a servant - a tribe of vassals. In 1925, in the area of ​​the ancient fortification of Abalessa in Ahaggar, a rich burial of a woman was found, many Tuaregs believe that it was Tin-Khinan.

In the XI century. Arab conquerors invaded the territory of the Tuareg settlement in North Africa, once again displacing the Tuareg area westward. During this period, the Tuaregs were subjected to Islamization and Arabization. Ironically, modern Tuaregs have assimilated into the black population.

In the Middle Ages, the Tuaregs were engaged in the trans-Saharan trade, created several short-lived state formations, such as the Sultanate of Agadez; controlled important transshipment points of trade, such as Takedda (a city-state in the territory of Niger, in an oasis in the west of the Air Highlands, which existed in the Middle Ages.).

During the colonial era, the Tuaregs were incorporated into French West Africa. Unlike many other peoples, the Tuaregs for a long time resisted the new government (Tuareg uprising 1916-1917). So, for example, the colonial power in the colony of Niger was able to subdue the Tuareg tribes only by 1923. The French colonial power ruled the Tuaregs through clan leaders, trying to use inter-clan conflicts.

The Tuaregs became the inspiration for the Fremen people in Frank Herbert's epic series Dune.

Here are mainly photographs of the Kabyles (hereditary Amazighs) and several Tuaregs (assimilated Amazighs):

Drawings, which adorn themselves amazakh beauties.

So as not to be bored, here are the main elements of Russian folk ornament.

And here is how Amazahan girls decorate their bodies in those places that are hidden from prying eyes.

It so happened that the photographer paid more attention to the women of the tribe. It is impossible to blame him for this, because the Berber girls are incredibly beautiful, but I noticed another detail:

The role of the women of the Amazigh people is absolutely inconsistent with the prevailing notions of the Berber tribes. It will occur to you, looking at these faces, that they are in the position of disenfranchised slaves, as is customary among the Arabs?

No. Obviously, the women of the Amazighs, if they do not lead men, are not at all impaired in their rights. And there is a great care for the children. Amazakh girls feel like princesses, unlike children in Muslim Arab countries.

It is a matter of great respect that these wild blacks have preserved the identity of their culture no matter what.

With a feeling of annoyance, I realized that in everyday life they are more like Russians than Russians themselves.
This is already very serious. There are six-rayed sun crosses on the girl's cheekbones. In Slavic symbolism, I know almost the same:

Pay attention to the phrase: - "Used as a NATURAL amulet". Well, it just happened.

By chance, modern blacks use the same symbolism as our ancestors in Russia thousands of years ago.

Zinedine Zidane is also of Berber descent

Doesn't it look like anything? Among the Russians, such a headdress is called a magpie.

Below is a Slavic woman

This portrait was taken in one of the dug houses where Berbers live in Tunisia
I was struck by the appearance of this woman. Something about him is ours, Slavic
See how the scarf is tied.

It is amazing how a huge people, despite all their historical troubles, not only preserved themselves, but also multiplied so that, standing at any point of the Atlas Mountains, you can see up to a dozen Berber villages at once. And how many Berbers live in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria today!

Does anyone else believe that the cross is a Christian symbol? And does it mean an object that has become an instrument of execution? Well, well ... I wonder what would have happened on the domes of Christian churches if Jesus had been hacked to death with an ax?

The feeling that I was in the same class with this guy does not let go. His ancestors were hereditary Cossacks from the village of Kholmskaya in the Kuban. I've been there, half of the village wears the same face and hair. Just like the black man in this photo.

Historians consider the Phoenicians to be the founders of literal writing, they say they taught the whole world to write. Now take a look at the Amazonian alphabet, and be imbued with the realization that the Amazahs lived on their lands in Morocco before the Phoenicians got there. It turns out that the seafarers, traders and pirates saw the AzBuka exactly from the Berbers?

All his life, with his striking articles, he fought for the strengthening of the Russian state, bravely exposing corrupt officials, liberal democrats and revolutionaries, warning of the threat looming over the country. The Bolsheviks who seized power in Russia did not forgive him for this. Menshikov was shot in 1918 with extreme cruelty in front of his wife and six children.

Mikhail Osipovich was born on October 7, 1859 in Novorzhev, Pskov province, near Lake Valdai, in the family of a collegiate registrar. He graduated from the district school, after which he entered the Technical School of the Naval Department in Kronstadt. Then he took part in several long sea voyages, the literary fruit of which was the first book of essays, published in 1884 - “Through the ports of Europe”. As a naval officer, Menshikov expressed the idea of ​​combining ships and airplanes, thereby predicting the appearance of aircraft carriers.

Feeling a vocation for literary work and journalism, in 1892 Menshikov retired with the rank of captain. He got a job as a correspondent in the newspaper "Nedelya", where he soon attracted attention with his talented articles. Then he became a leading publicist for the conservative newspaper Novoye Vremya, where he worked until the revolution.

In this newspaper, he led his famous column "Letters to Neighbors", which attracted the attention of the entire educated society of Russia. Some called Menshikov "a reactionary and a Black Hundred" (and some still call him). However, all this is malicious slander.

In 1911, in his article "Kneeling Russia" Menshikov, exposing the machinations of the Western backstage against Russia, warned:

“If a huge fund is going to America in order to flood Russia with murderers and terrorists, then our government should think about it. Really, even now our state guards will not notice anything in time (as in 1905) and will not prevent trouble? "

The authorities did not take any measures in this regard. And if they did? It is unlikely that then Trotsky-Bronstein, the main organizer of the October Revolution, would have been able to come to Russia in 1917 with the money of the American banker Jacob Schiff!

Ideologist of national Russia

Menshikov was one of the leading publicists of the conservative trend, acting as the ideologist of Russian nationalism. He initiated the creation of the All-Russian National Union (VNS), for which he developed a program and charter. This organization, which had its own faction in the State Duma, included moderate-right elements of the educated Russian society: professors, retired military men, officials, publicists, clergymen, famous scientists. Most of them were sincere patriots, which many of them later proved not only by their struggle against the Bolsheviks, but also by their martyrdom ...

Menshikov himself clearly foresaw the national catastrophe of 1917 and, like a true publicist, sounded the alarm, warned, and sought to prevent it. “Orthodoxy,” he wrote, “liberated us from ancient savagery, autocracy from anarchy, but the return to savagery and anarchy before our eyes proves that a new principle is needed to save the old. This is a nationality ... Only nationalism is able to return to us the lost piety and power. "

In the article "The End of the Century", written in December 1900, Menshikov called on the Russian people to preserve the role of the power-forming people:

“We Russians slept for a long time, lulled by our power and glory, - but then one heavenly thunder after another struck, and we woke up and saw ourselves under siege - both from the outside and from the inside ... We do not want someone else's, but our - Russian - land should be ours. "

Menshikov saw the possibility of avoiding a revolution in the strengthening of state power, in a consistent and firm national policy. Mikhail Osipovich was convinced that the people, in council with the monarch, should rule the officials, not they. With the passion of a publicist, he showed the mortal danger of bureaucracy for Russia: "Our bureaucracy ... reduced the historical strength of the nation to nothing."

The need for fundamental change

Menshikov maintained close relations with the great Russian writers of that time. Gorky admitted in one of his letters that he loves Menshikov, because he is his "enemy after heart", and enemies "tell the truth better." For his part, Menshikov called Gorky's "Song of the Falcon" "evil morality," because, according to him, the world was saved not by the "madness of the brave," bringing the uprising, but by the "wisdom of the meek", like Chekhov's Lipa ("In the ravine").

There are 48 letters from Chekhov to him, who treated him with unwavering respect. Menshikov visited Tolstoy in Yasnaya, but at the same time criticized him in his article "Tolstoy and Power", where he wrote that he was more dangerous for Russia than all revolutionaries put together. Tolstoy answered him that while reading this article he experienced "one of the most desirable and dear feelings for me - not just goodwill, but direct love for you ...".

Menshikov was convinced that Russia needed radical changes in all areas of life without exception, only this was the salvation of the country, but he had no illusions. "There are no people - that's what Russia is dying on!" - Mikhail Osipovich exclaimed in despair.

Until the end of his days, he gave merciless assessments to the smug bureaucracy and the liberal intelligentsia: “In essence, you drank everything beautiful and great for a long time (below) and devoured (above). They unwound the church, the aristocracy, the intelligentsia. "

Menshikov believed that each nation should persistently fight for its national identity. “When it comes up,” he wrote, “about the violation of the rights of a Jew, Finn, Pole, or Armenian, an indignant outcry rises: everyone is shouting about respect for such a shrine as nationality. But as soon as the Russians say about their nationality, about their national values: indignant cries are raised - misanthropy! Intolerance! Black Hundred violence! Rough arbitrariness! "

The outstanding Russian philosopher Igor Shafarevich wrote: “Mikhail Osipovich Menshikov is one of a small number of perceptive people who lived in that period of Russian history, which seemed to others (and still seems to be) cloudless. But sensitive people even then, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, saw the main root of the impending troubles, which later fell on Russia and are still experienced by us (and it is not clear when they will end). Menshikov saw this basic flaw in society, which carries the danger of future deep upheavals, in the weakening of the national consciousness of the Russian people ... ".

Portrait of a modern liberal

Many years ago Menshikov vigorously exposed those in Russia who, like today, reviled her, relying on the "democratic and civilized" West. “We,” wrote Menshikov, “do not take our eyes off the West, we are mesmerized by it, we want to live just like that and no worse than“ decent ”people in Europe live. Under fear of the most sincere, acute suffering, under the yoke of a felt urgency, we need to furnish ourselves with the same luxury that is available to Western society. We must wear the same dress, sit on the same furniture, eat the same dishes, drink the same wines, see the same spectacles that Europeans see. In order to satisfy their increased needs, the educated stratum makes ever greater demands on the Russian people.

The intelligentsia and the nobility do not want to understand that high level consumption in the West is associated with its exploitation of a significant part of the rest of the world. No matter how Russian people work, they will not be able to achieve the level of income that in the West is obtained by pumping unpaid resources and labor of other countries to their advantage ...

The educated stratum demands extreme stress from the people in order to ensure a European level of consumption, and when this does not work out, it is indignant at the inertness and backwardness of the Russian people. "

Didn't Menshikov draw a portrait of the current Russophobic liberal "elite" with his incredible perspicacity more than a hundred years ago?

Courage for honest work

Well, aren't these words of an outstanding publicist addressed to us today? “The feeling of victory and conquest,” wrote Menshikov, “the feeling of domination on one's own land was not at all suitable for bloody battles only. Courage is needed for all honest work. Everything that is most precious in the struggle with nature, everything brilliant in science, arts, wisdom and people's faith - everything moves precisely through the heroism of the heart.

Every progress, every discovery is akin to revelation, and every perfection is a victory. Only a people accustomed to battles, saturated with the instinct of triumph over obstacles, is capable of something great. If there is no sense of domination among the people, there is no genius either. Noble pride falls - and a person becomes a slave from a master.

We are held captive by slavish, unworthy, morally insignificant influences, and it is from here that our poverty and incomprehensible weakness among the heroic people comes from ”.

Was it not because of this weakness that Russia collapsed in 1917? Isn't that why the mighty fell apart in 1991 Soviet Union? Is it not the same danger that threatens us today if we yield to the global onslaught on Russia from the West?

Revenge of the revolutionaries

Those who undermined the foundations Russian Empire, and then in February 1917 they seized power in it, did not forget and did not forgive Menshikov for his position as a staunch statesman and fighter for the unity of the Russian people. The publicist was suspended from work at Novoye Vremya. Having lost his home and savings, which were soon confiscated by the Bolsheviks, in the winter of 1917-1918. Menshikov spent in Valdai, where he had a dacha.

In those bitter days, he wrote in his diary: “February 27, December 12, 1918. Year of the great Russian revolution. We are still alive, thanks to the Creator. But we are robbed, ruined, out of work, expelled from our city and home, doomed to death by starvation. And tens of thousands of people have been tortured and killed. And all of Russia has been thrown into the abyss of a shame and disaster unprecedented in history. What will happen next is scary to think about - that is, it would be scary if the brain was not already full and filled to insensibility with impressions of violence and horror. "

In September 1918, Menshikov was arrested, and five days later he was shot. A note published in Izvestia said: “The well-known Black Hundred publicist Menshikov was shot by the emergency field headquarters in Valdai. A monarchist conspiracy was revealed, led by Menshikov. An underground Black Hundred newspaper was published calling for the overthrow of the Soviet regime. "

There was not a word of truth in this message. There was no conspiracy and Menshikov did not publish any newspaper at that time.

They took revenge on him for his former position as a staunch Russian patriot. In a letter to his wife from prison, where he spent six days, Menshikov wrote that the Chekists did not hide from him that this trial was an "act of revenge" for his articles published before the revolution.

The execution of the outstanding son of Russia took place on September 20, 1918 on the shores of Lake Valdai opposite the Iversky Monastery. His widow, Maria Vasilievna, who witnessed the execution together with the children, later wrote in her memoirs: “Arriving in custody at the place of execution, the husband faced the Iversky Monastery, clearly visible from this place, knelt down and began to pray. The first volley was fired to intimidate, but this shot wounded left hand husband near the brush. The bullet tore out a piece of meat. After this shot, the husband looked around. A new volley followed. They shot in the back. The husband fell to the ground. Now Davidson with a revolver jumped up to him and shot at point-blank range twice in the left temple.<…>The children saw the execution of their father and cried in horror.<…>Chekist Davidson, having shot in the temple, said that he was doing it with great pleasure.

Today Menshikov's grave, miraculously preserved, is located in the old city cemetery of the city of Valdai (Novgorod region), next to the Church of Peter and Paul. Only many years later, the relatives achieved the rehabilitation of the famous writer. In 1995, Novgorod writers, with the support of the Valdai public administration, opened a marble memorial plaque on Menshikov's estate with the words: "Shot for convictions."

In connection with the anniversary of the publicist, the All-Russian Menshikov Readings were held at the St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University. “In Russia, there was no and there is no publicist equal to Menshikov,” said Mikhail Nenashev, chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement, in his speech.

Vladimir Malyshev

Berbers are the most mysterious and ancient people of all living on Earth. It was the Berbers who created a civilization in North Africa, the heirs of which were the ancient Egyptians, and the Berber culture became the ancestor of the culture of the Maghreb countries. ... El-Mágrib - “where the sunset is”, as the countries of Africa to the west of Egypt were called. For centuries, the royal dynasties of the Maghreb were aristocratic dynasties of the Berbers, from the Berbers comes the family of Moroccan kings ...

Berbers (from the Greek βάρβαροι, Latin barbari - "barbarians") - this is the name of the indigenous population of North Africa, in the Maghreb countries. According to Berber experts, various Berber peoples make up at least 60% of the population of Morocco, 45% of the population of Tunisia, about 25% of the population of Algeria, they also live in Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and other countries. The total number of Berbers is about 30 million people, in Europe there are 3 million Berbers - in France (1.2 million people), Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia.

The name "Berbers" is unknown to most of the Berber peoples themselves, since it was given to them by Europeans by analogy with the "barbarians" because of the incomprehensibility of their language. The self-name of the Berbers: amazig, amahag, amazir and even amazai, which means "free man."
Conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century, the Berbers profess Islam, mostly Sunni Muslims, supporters of Sufism and mystical teachings, but there are Jews and Christians among the Berbers. For several centuries, the Berbers managed to resist total Islamization, maintain their independence and combine Muslim and Christian traditions with their own cults, original language and culture, which remains almost unchanged today.

Despite the fact that in terms of real numbers, the Berber peoples are far from everywhere in the minority in the Maghreb countries, they are in the position of national minorities, and they are fighting for their rights exclusively by peaceful methods. In Europe, the international cultural Berber movement Amazig was created, which proclaimed the goal of achieving equal status in the countries inhabited by Berbers, for the Berber language the status of the state language along with the Arabic language.

Moroccan Berbers demand rights call children by Berber names and use Berber place names (from ancient Greek τόπος "place" + ὄνομα "name") in the Maghreb countries.

Among the numerous Berber peoples of the Maghreb, the main nationalities can be distinguished:

1. Amazahs- live in northern Morocco, on the extreme northwestern coastal strip of the mainland (Reef, "reef pirates") and the northernmost part of the Atlas Mountains to the Tella province.
2. Mashuesh, Mazies, Matmata- peoples living in large communities, they decide everything together, value the inner warmth of relations and help each other in every possible way.
3. Shilu, Berber people, occupying part of a large plain along Um-er-Rebiya and Tensift, in southern Morocco.
4. Kabila(from the Arabic "qaba'il" - tribe) - living in Algeria. The area of ​​Kavelia (Kabylie) in North Africa.
5. Shauya- people in Algeria, inhabited by Ores (Ares). Shauya are famous for their "evil eye", and their secret knowledge inspires superstitious fear, ethnoscience, magic, they decorate their faces with characteristic sacred tattoos, from combinations of crosses, dots and ovals.

6. Tuaregs (traglodytes), their self-name - Imoschag, Imoshag- the ancient Berber people living in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso. They live separated by vast expanses of the Sahara desert and inhabit the farthest corners of the desert.
7. Garamant(Greek Γαράμαντες) is an ancient Berber people living from the end of the 2nd millennium BC. NS. in the Sahara, and was first mentioned by Herodotus in 500 BC. e., as "a very great people." Berbers consisted of warlike, desperate and cocky tribes of Berbers who penetrated into the steppe expanses of North Africa on chariots drawn by four horses. In the VIII century BC. NS. the state of the Garamantes included the entire present Fezzan, the southern regions of Tripolitania and a significant part of Marmarica. In 19 BC. NS. the state of the Garamantes was captured and subordinated to the Roman Empire. In the 7th century A.D. NS. the garamants were conquered by the Arabs. The Garamants spoke the language of the Berber group and used the ancient Berber script - "Tifinagh", which is called "Old Libyan", or Berber-Libyan language.

According to glottochronology, in the 6th millennium BC, in the Nile Valley, the speakers of the Proto-Berber language separated from the close language of the Proto-Egyptians. Since the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, the Pra-Berbers - Libyans are recorded in the texts of the Ancient Kingdom and Egyptian art, as about the western neighbors of Egypt. The proto-language of the Berber-Libyan languages ​​split at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, after the defeat of the Sea Peoples and their Libyan allies from the Egyptians. Part of the Libyan tribes left the borders of Egypt and settled in the west and south-west of Egypt. Berbers were part of the population of powerful Egypt. In history Ancient egypt there were even a few Berber pharaohs, it is known that!

Modern Berbers claim to be direct descendants of the Etruscans and Romans. All Berber peoples are Caucasian, white-skinned, with blue eyes, balding early, they are absolutely not like either Arabs or Africans of the Negroid race.

One of the greatest military leaders and statesmen of antiquity Hannibal (247-183 BC) Berber blood flowed. Hannibal was born in Carthage in the family of the commander nicknamed Hamilcar Barca - "lightning" given to him for his swiftness and tactics of fighting against the Roman troops in Sicily. Hannibal's army, which fought the Romans in Spain and defeated the Romans in several battles in Italy in 218 BC, had a whole cavalry corps of Berber warriors. Hannibal's warriors fiercely hated the Romans and more than once crushed the Roman armies, for which the Romans considered them treacherous.

Before the Arab invasion in the 7th century, there were 9 Berber-Jewish principalities in northern Africa: Borion, Nafusa, Ores, Ludalib, Al-Kurdan, Shivava, Talmesan, Wad Draa and Tahir. Ores in Algeria became the center of the Judeo-Berber principalities, which, led by the legendary Berber Queen Kakhina, for a long time repelled the attacks of the armies of the Arab conquerors.
Among the Berbers, elements of "folk Islam" are widespread - the cult of saints, religious and religious guild associations, brotherhoods dating back to Sufi orders - tariqahs.

TUAREGS are Sunni Muslims. However, the Tuareg Berbers retained many pre-Islamic customs- veneration of the cult of the mother - the progenitor of the clan, the keeper of the ancient language and traditions, among the Tuaregs polygamy is prohibited. Girls learn to read and write from an early age, and it is permissible for a man to be illiterate. Some of the Tuaregs inhabiting the Algerian Sahara and the Tenere Desert roam with herds of camels and goats, and breed small cattle.
The main traditional occupations of all Berber peoples are nomadic and semi-nomadic cattle breeding (camels, small and cattle). For a long time, the Berbers maintained communal plowed land use ("arsh" - earth measure), hoe farming, cultivated cereals, barley, millet, wheat, legumes, vegetables and horticulture.
The Berbers maintain tribal relations, at the head of the tribal union is an elective council of elders - imzran and the leader (aglid, amgar). Inter-clan unions (tiuizi), and cooperation in grazing (tawallat). The center of the tribal group is the fortified village of Tigremt or Dshar.

In ancient times, the Tuareg society was divided into castes. The Tuaregs themselves, thin, fair-skinned, tall warriors, raided neighboring tribes, capturing people into slavery, slaves were dark-skinned and constituted the lowest caste of society.

Hamsa means "five" - a protective palm-shaped amulet is considered a symbol of good luck and happiness, appeared before Islam. The Phoenicians associated her with the "Hand of Tanith", the wife of Baal or the Lord, the moon goddess and patroness of Carthage... And in Cyprus she was associated with Aphrodite.

Berber lyubyan - amber and hamsa - hand of Tanit

The ancient legends of the Tuareg tell about the "mother-progenitor" Tin-Hinan, who came to them from Morocco on a white camel with her maid Takamat, and became a queen. The most beautiful, young and strong male suitors came to the queen Tin-Khinan, but the queen treated the men in the same way as the legendary Amazons, she killed them in the morning. Queen Tin-Khinan and servant Takamat gave birth to children, laying the foundation for a family of the upper and lower caste of Tuareg, their black and white descendants are still united by one tribal name. In 1925, in the area of ​​the ancient fortification of Abalessa in Ahaggar, a rich burial of a woman was found, many Tuaregs believe that this is a tomb Queen Tin-Khinan.
In the 11th century, Arab conquerors invaded the territory of the Berber-Tuareg tribes in North Africa, and they retreated west and into the farthest corners of the Sahara desert, but were still subjected to violent Islamization and Arabization.

In the Middle Ages, the Tuaregs created several state formations that did not last long - the Sultanate of Agadez controlled important transshipment points, the city-state of Takedda in Niger.
In the colonial era, the Tuaregs, despite resistance, were conquered by the French and their lands were included in French West Africa, in the colony of Niger. The Tuaregs raised uprisings in 1916-1917, the colonial power was able to subjugate the Tuareg tribes only by 1923. The French colonial power ruled the Tuaregs through clan leaders, using the contradictions between the tribal clans.

Berbers build houses from unbaked clay, decorating them with patterned windows, and Berber valleys are called valleys of a thousand fortresses, since their houses are more like impregnable fortresses.
Contrary to the opinion widespread in the literature about the militancy of the Berbers, they are very peaceful and harmless farmers, in contrast to the militant traders of the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, and Arabs. The Berbers were always ruled by someone, first the Egyptians, then the Phoenicians, then the Romans, Greeks, Arabs. Defending their freedom, independence, language, culture and way of life, the Berbers have learned to fight.

All nationalities and tribes of the Berbers are united by a common tricolor flag, the colors of which represent the sea, mountains and desert. Many famous and famous people from different eras come from from Berbers, e.g. Christian theologian Saint Aurelius Augustine, famous military leader Hannibal.

A significant diaspora of Berbers lives in France, from which a number of famous personalities e.g. French singer Edith Piaf - real name Edith Giovanna Gassion.

The nickname Piaf, colloquially meaning "sparrow", became the stage name for this truly great artist of the 20th century. For the sake of her beloved, Piaf converted to Orthodoxy.

The famous Algerian footballer Zinedine Zidane comes from the Berber family of Kabyles.

Zinedine Zidane is a French footballer and coach of Algerian origin, head coach of the Spanish club Real Madrid. Considered one of the greatest players in football history.