Berber Chest – Ida Ou Nadif Tribe, Anti-Atlas Mountains Morocco

Engraved wooden chest. paint. Mid 20th century – cm. 21,0 high x cm. 18,5 width x cm. 23,0 long (8.26” x 7.28″ x 9.05”). The Imazighen (singular Amazigh) also known as the Berbers are among the original peoples of North Africa. Their myths, legends and history span 9,000 years, back to the Proto-Mediterraneans. They have achieved unity by keeping up their unique language and culture which are, like their land, both African and Mediterranean. The Berbers of Morocco share this duality, reflecting the diversity of their nature stormy history. Through contact with other peoples of the Mediterranean, they created kingdoms but also vast territories organized into powerful, democratic, war-mongering, tribal communities. Both aspects of this social political organization have left a mark on recent historical events and the two millennia of the country’s history.