The Amazighs or Berbers (also called Amazigh people or Imazighen, "free men", singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group

indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Amazigh languages. In actuality, Amazigh is a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups that share similar cultural, political, and economic practices. It is not a term originated by the group itself. Among the amazigh language, the Tashelhit or Tachelhit Berber is spoken in the High Atlas, the Anti Atlas, the Souss plains, and in major cities of Morocco. It has some more than 10 millions speakers, which makes it the worlds largest Berber language. Also, the Amazigh people have many values that we are going to explain.

For almost three thousand years the Amazigh peoples of North Africa have clung to their distinct identity and language, sheltering in the mountains and in desert oases from infringing invaders. Most of the North African population is originally of Amazigh stock that has been largely arabised. There remain 20 million people who are still distinctly Amazigh, speaking their ancient dialects as a first language (although most Berbers are bi-lingual) and clinging to their old culture. There are some real differences between Amazigh and Arabs, but they also have many crosscultural links. Arabic is the official language of all Maghreb states and it is also the language of religion and culture. Living in a mountainous environment and in a tribal society divided by many dialects, they have a intense love of independence. Their origin is shrouded in mystery. Some think they crossed over from the Iberian Peninsula many thousands of years ago, others that they have always lived in North Africa. Many invaders and colonists reached the Maghreb, including Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks and French.

The name Berber evolved from the Greek custom of calling all non-Greek speaking people Barbarians. The Berbers call themselves "Imazighen", the free. The Imazighen originally lived all over the Maghreb from western Egypt to the Atlantic. The culturally distinct Amazigh communities of today survive in pockets in the mountains and in the Sahara desert, scattered over a large area from the Siwa Oasis in Egypt to the Atlantic and from the Niger river and the Sahel in the south to the Mediterranean. Their density increases from east to west, Morocco being the state with most Amazigh living in it. Today they are concentrated mainly in the Rif and the Atlas mountains (and also in the Sous plain) of Morocco and in the Kabyle and Aures mountains as well as the Mzab and other Saharan oases of Algeria. Small communities are still found on Djerba Island and in a few mainland villages in Tunisia, in the Jebel Nafusah mountain and the Ghudamis and Ghat oases of Libya, and in the Siwa oasis in Egypt. Many Amazigh are farmers who grow wheat, barley, fruits, nuts, vegetables and olives for oil in the lowlands in winter and graze flocks of sheep and goats in the mountains during the summer. Some are still nomads who migrate with their camels and herds around the desert plateaus and oases. Their fortified villages are often located high on the mountain ridges and are composed of houses, a mosque, a fortified threshing floor (kasbah) and a gathering place for the assembly of elders (Jama'ah) which controls village life. Most Amazighs are Sunni Muslims of the Maliki School, with Sufi orders very popular amongst them. In morocco : Shluh, 5.1 million in the High and Anti-Atlas and the Sous, speaking Shilha (Tashilhait). Berraber, 3.2 million in the Middle Atlas speaking Tamazight. Riff, 1.8 million in the north speaking Rif (Tarifit, Zenatiya). Others: Harratin, Zenaga, Tuareg, 0.3 million.

The Chleuh live in the western High Atlas and the Anti Atlas Mountains of southwestern Morocco. They also live in the plains and valleys which lie between them. Most parts of the mountains are well watered, and between November and May the region is blanketed in snow. Vegetation is almost nonexistent along the southern slopes. But wherever they live, a majority of the Chleuh raises crops and livestock. (The varieties and breeds depend on local conditions of the climate and soil.) The people live in villages of all sizes, using the limited soil and water resources with care. They build small dams and cultivate terraces where cereals and other crops are grown. No other group in Morocco starting from tribal origins has achieved as much as the Chleuh. A high degree of unity is the key to their success. This unity extends beyond tribal boundaries to encompass all who speak Tachelhit, their native language. Most of the Chleuh are farmers and shepherds. On the plots of ground that are not regularly irrigated, they grow for example barley. On the lower slopes, they herd sheep and goats. Surplus farm and animal products are sold at weekly markets. In the villages, the Amazigh way of life has remained unchanged over the centuries. Most Chleuh villages contain between 50 and 500 people. They typically live in two-story, mud brick homes with flat roofs. In the more rugged mountain areas they live in sturdy goat skin tents. Urban men and women wear western clothing, sometimes with long hooded robes, or jellabas, over them. Men wear turbans, or skull caps, called taguiyas, and women wear veils or head scarves. Rural women dress colorfully, but modestly, wearing several layers of clothing. The Chleuh don't really value education because they believe that hard work is of higher value. Only a small number complete more than a few years of public schooling. In rural areas; however, many male children attend Islamic schools where they are taught the Koran. A typical family consists of close relatives living under the authority of the male head of the family. A new bride, often as young as 14, will move into the home of the husband's family after marriage. Since the late 19th century, many Chleuh have left their poor, overpopulated valleys, in hopes of finding new resources in the northern cities of Morocco and abroad ( Europe especially , France, Belgium, Netherlands ). Some have become profitable grocers, shopkeepers, or wholesalers. Others have entered the fabric trade. Today, some of the most important businessmen in Casablanca are Chleuh

The tachelhit is one of the language parts of the Amazigh in Morocco. It is primarily oral like all the other Moroccan Berber languages. The Tamazight of central Morocco and the Ruffian one of the north of the country are the two languages which, with the tachelhit, constitute the Berber Moroccan. The chleuh presents some variations of one area to the other, but the various speakers understand themselves. In the same way, the grammatical structure and the vocabulary, close to the other Amazigh languages, permit a common comprehension. Phonetic characteristics: * Three vowels: /a/, /i/, /u/ (= or); * Consonant system characterized by three essential elements: tension, emphases and labialization.

Of all that I was able to see, of all that I knew, of everything of what I believed to understand, there is not equal as the case of the Amazigh people to which I belong.

Their will to acquire itself praiseworthy qualities; the nobility of the soul which carried them in the front row among nations, qualities by which they deserved the praises of the universe; Braveries and quickness to defend them for hosts and customers; Indulgence for the defects of others; Sweetness of character, patience in adversity Hospitality, kindness for the unfortunates; Charity, respect for the old men; Magnanimity; Loyalty in the promises, in the commitments and in the treaties

All what we said are a multitude of universalist values that have Amazigh people, also, Amazighity was always in collaboration with the other civilizations and served positively. The hospitality, the sweetness of the character or then the hatred of the oppression are not qualities which fall of the sky, they are forged in the pains in the rhythms of ages. The nobility of the soul, the indulgence to the defects of the others and the patience in adversity are virtues filed by the consequence of a long lived experience Lived by a brave society in its measures with the others. The loyalty to treaties and the victories taken away on the princes of the earth can be only the line of big people. Today still the subconscious of the Amazigh takes the reference of its judgments and its thoughts from this inheritance how much precious. Thats can be proved by the facts, the gestures and the everyday language based by these heritage.

Amazigh people have many values that we proud, and as what the historian Marie-France entitled its book: The Berber is light of the west! But there is one problem is that Imazighen did not know still enumerated and define the qualities which they have. Consequently, they are not any more masters of their state to be, they know that the world ignores them because of their disguises. Who of us was able to refer to his own inheritance, to its own thought or to its own values? Who of us was able to release himself from fantasies, Arabic or divergent, to show the others whom we are really?