KABYLES OF NORTH AFRICA — LISSATJER. 527 



Herodotus (i, iv, especially 168) relates in legendary manner that 

 north Africa, from Egypt to the Pillars of Hercules, was originally 

 inhabited by the Libyans, who, however, were divided into many 

 tribes whose names can not now be positively identified. Sallust 

 (De bello Jugurtino, 18), who drew from the lost writings of King 

 Hiempsal II of Numidia, relates that the aborigines of north Africa 

 near the seacoast consisted of Libyans, while south of these were the 

 Gaetules. Later, however, Armenian, Median, and Persian immi- 

 grants from western Asia, who supposedly had gone with Hercules 

 to Spain and after his death were scattered, invaded north Africa 

 and were entirely absorbed by the natives. The Persians amalga- 

 mated with the Gaetules and called themselves Nomads, whence the 

 name Numidians originated ; the Armenians and Medians united with 

 the Libyans, who corrupted the name Medians into Moors. Later, 

 however, the Numidians subjected all the other tribes and formed a 

 people under one name. Thus the region was found by the first 

 historic invasion of the Phenicians. 



From this people descended the modern Berbers, who according to 

 the genealogical tribe legends of the Berani, a Berber tribe of fair 

 complexion, were called in antiquity Barbara, 1 they themselves, how- 

 ever, being designated as Kabyles, after the native word " Kabila," 

 that is, " a union of several Gurbi (small huts) on one point." 



Without discussing the legendary etymology of the name of the 

 people, we may conclude from this account that even before the in- 

 vasion of the Phenicians there was an invasion from western Asia, 

 and that the aborigines of the Libyans and of the Gaetules did not 

 represent a pure stock. If it is now recalled that after the Phe- 

 nicians there immigrated Greeks, Romans, Jews, Vandals, Byzan- 

 tines, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, and French, who more or less inter- 

 mixed with the natives, it seems impossible to distinguish and anthro- 

 pologically determine the aborigines from the present inhabitants. 



Fortunately some Kabyle tribes have from ancient times protected 

 themselves by their love of freedom from subjection, and through 

 their pride, from any intermixture. Retreating to the highest points 

 of the Atlas, whither enemies could not pursue them, they preserved 

 their independence, the purity of their race, and their old language, 

 the " Tamazirt," although they exchanged their own original script, 

 the " Tifinagh," for the Arabic, and their original religion for the 

 Islam. 



The language of the Kabyles, the Tamazirt, which has been thor- 

 oughly studied by Basset, belongs to the great Libyan family, of 

 which already 40 dialects are known, among which is included the 

 ancient language of the Guanches in Teneriffe. It extends from 



1 Cles, Sallust, Der Krieggegen Jugurtha. Berlin, Langenscheidt, p. 112 ff. 



