The name Berber is a variation of the Latin original word Barbarian, earlier in history applied by the Romans specifically to their northern hostile neighbors from Germania. The Barbary coast, on the coast of northwest Africa was named after the Berbers because they and Arabs pirated ships going to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Berbers call themselves "Imazighen", meaning the free. Berbers are non-Arabic tribes that are often referred to as Arab-Islamic. Over the last several hundred years many Berber peoples have converted to Islam.

The Berbers are known to have been in North Africa at least in 3000 B.C. They are thought to have come across northern Africa. Many early Roman, Greek, and Phoenician colonial accounts mention a group of people collectively known as Berbers living in northern Africa. Other waves of Berber immigration came in the 3rd and 11th centuries. Some Berbers trace their lineage to Yemen. 

Many people dress in Berber style blue robes. These are carpet sellers in Ourzazate, in the heart of Morocco & Berber territory. Morocco‘s mixture of races and culture includes Berbers intermarrying with Arabs and other Africa tribal people. An artist who also runs a Jewish artifact ―museum‖ in Ourzazate.

Berbers are often portrayed as nomadic people crossing the desert on camels, but most are farmers in the mountains and valleys throughout northern Africa. Some do trade throughout the region. Historically Berber merchants were responsible for transporting goods by camel caravans. There were basically five Trans-Saharan trade routes which extended across the Sahara from the northern Mediterranean coast of Africa to the great cities, which are situated on the southern edge of the Sahara, such as Timbouctou in Mali. From there the goods were distributed throughout the world.

Traditionally, Berbers raise sheep, cattle and goats. Some Berbers work in flourmills, do woodcarving, quarry millstones, and make pottery or jewelry. Women generally do the cooking and caring for the home and children, weaving, and pottery. Today, many Berbers work in Spain or France as migrant workers and send money home to their family.

Most Berbers are at least nominal followers of Islam, and many strictly observe Islamic traditions. Most of the feasts are observed and celebrated, but the fasting that is required during Ramadan is often excused for those who travel. Most Berbers are Sunni* Muslims of the Maliki school. Like most followers of Islam in northern Africa, many Berbers believe in the continuous presence of various spirits (djinns).

James Jereb, in his book The Arts and Crafts of Morocco, describes Berber designs as "a testimony not only to the meditative and aesthetic power that decoration holds for them, but a faith in supernatural power. Many pieces are valued not because of appearance alone--perhaps because of their form or the way in which they are decorated but because they may contain a power known as baraka, a concept deeply embedded in Moroccan religious beliefs and crucial to the understanding of all artistic traditions in Morocco.

Berber symbols are included in the design of everyday objects to protect the object as well as the person who uses or wears it. These motifs appear in all aspects of the Berber artisanal tradition, including pottery, leatherwork and textiles, not to mention all types of personal adornment. Berbers found many ways to adorn themselves with jewelry, tattoos and henna.
It is mostly Berber women who are tattooed. Because tattoos are forbidden by Islam, many women have found other outlets for placing their protective motifs by including them in textiles they weave and in jewelry and henna. Thus, the designs that are drawn in henna on the hands and feet of a bride on the eve of her marriage are these same protective and nurturing symbols that have evolved throughout centuries of use. 

A Berber Amulet is a piece of jewelry usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection against evil or disease. A Talisman is similar but the definition says it‘s marked with magic signs or believed to give its‘ bearer supernatural powers or protection. The Hamsa (Khamsa). One of the most popular amulets used throughout the Middle East & North Africa is the open hand which is used as a defense against the evil eye‘. It is a protective amulet that represents blessings, power, and strength. The symbolism of the hand raised, palm outwards is to repel some threatened evil. The 5 fingers represent the five pillars of Islam and are said by some to represent the most sacred people in Islam – Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Husain.  It is believed to have originated with the ancient practices of the Phoenicians. An eye is often designed into the center of the hand. The renewed interest in Kabbalah and mystical Judaism is a factoring in bringing the hamsa pendant back into vogue. 

Embroidered veils & head coverings called Tahruyt • With the decline of tattooing as a means of conveying expressive and social functions, its artistic forms and symbolism have been transferred to the embroidered "veils" or head coverings, called tahruyt, worn by Amazigh women in some areas of southern Morocco. In the early and middle twentieth century, these long, sparsely decorated, indigo-dyed cotton cloth head coverings were worn simply as modesty garments. Indigo is today primarily imported into the region, but it was cultivated in southern Morocco from as early as the sixteen century until as late as the 1960s. The use of indigo head coverings distinguishes Amazigh women in southern Morocco from many other Amazigh groups in the Middle Atlas and High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, who once commonly wore wool shawls rather than any type of "veil" or head covering.

South of the Atlas Mountains the climate becomes drastically hotter and drier, making it practical for women to wear some type of covering to protect them against harsh sun and sandstorms. Indigo-dyed cotton coverings are ubiquitous throughout the Saharan regions of Africa, as the use of indigo was thought to have cosmetic and medicinal benefits, conditioning women‘s skin and improving their complexions. The Kel Tamacheq women, popularly referred to as Tuareg, an Amazigh group living in the desert regions of Niger, Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Mali, commonly wear indigo-dyed head coverings and clothing. Hassaniya Arab women living throughout Mauritania and northern Senegal also cover themselves with indigo head coverings.

In the 1970s, coinciding with the disappearance of tattoos, Amazigh women began to embroider elaborate vegetal motifs on their tahruyt, demonstrating the living and dynamic nature of their arts. Women begin by embroidering a central band, called a tanammast, which forms a ground line for the other embroidered motifs that appear to rise up or grow out of it.
The tanammast divides the cloth of the tahruyt into two equal halves and women align their patterns symmetrically so that the motifs are always balanced bilaterally, the designs on both the top and bottom of the tanammast serving as mirror images of each other.  As with those used in weaving, these embroidered motifs associate women with the natural world.

The women I spoke with consistently described the motifs adorning their head coverings as "flowers," "bird tracks," "shafts of wheat," "trees," or other natural objects associated with fertility, plenty, and prosperity. For instance, the neon green zig-zag designs embroidered on the border hanging over the woman‘s left shoulder in the Cover picture was said to resemble pigeon prints. In southern Morocco, oral poetry and songs often compare women to pigeons.