The vernacular is not barbaric

The beautiful city of Chefchaouen in the midst of the mountainous region.

Even their Indigenous name has been colonized. “The Berbers,” originally known as the Amazigh, are the Indigenous people of North Africa. Many households celebrated the Moroccan triumph in the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2022, while the Berbers refused. Why? The team’s accomplishment was historical and unifying for Arabs, Muslims, and Africans. I was curious to look into, “Who are the Berbers?”

As we rewind to December 2022, it must be noted that this was the first World Cup where an African country reached the semi-finals, after their victory over Portugal. Ten players from the Moroccan team prostrated (putting their foreheads to the ground as part of the Islamic prayer) to thank God. I saw three flags: Moroccan, Amazigh, and Palestinian. Munir Mohamdi, the goal keeper for the Moroccan national team, made a statement and tied the Amazigh flag around his waist. Jawad El Yamiq, the center-back for the team, walked across the pitch with the Palestinian flag. Seven hundred million people witnessed this.

MoroocansMoroccans and other Arabs in diaspora celebrating World Cup Victory in Astoria, Queens.
Moroccans and other Arabs in the diaspora celebrating Morocco’s World Cup victory in Astoria, Queens. Image by the author.

While a significant amount of positive representation occurs on the pitch, negative perception is a reality, particularly in the West. The players, in their effort to represent the Amazigh and the Palestinians, sparked a discussion on Instagram about a group called “the Berbers.” A quick search led me to this line: “The Berber people prefer to describe themselves as Amazigh, which means ‘the free.'”[1] It’s the same people, yet with a different name. Berber stems from barbarian. Amazigh means free, the individual, being oneself. While the Arab world now refers to them as the Amazigh, the Western world continues to refer to them as they have in the past: as barbaric and uncivilized.

I visited the city of Chefchaouen, where I met the Amazigh. They are the pre-Arab inhabitants of Morocco and Algeria. Fortunately, unlike many other Indigenous groups, they didn’t experience genocide. Instead, today, they live adjacent to the Arabs, even marrying them. The Amazigh are a culturally wealthy and architecturally brave group that created construction systems, building technologies, and materials that have survived generations. These systems have withstood the man-made climate crisis the Western world has been confronting. With a 200-year history, the sixth extinction’s responsibility falls on the West. Like many Indigenous groups, the Amazigh haven’t contributed to such events yet have existed longer. As the advanced world takes on “advanced” solutions, they lack the lens to the Amazigh, a culture and a people that have lived sustainably for over 20,000 years. Their cultural wealth is a testament to their resilience and the value they place on their heritage.

Their architecture in the northern region is built to withstand winter’s rain and chilly winds. The Amazigh are scattered throughout the country as the Riffis, Susi tribes, and Purest Berbers.[2] These different tribes are so dispersed that 300 dialects have emerged from the original Tamazight language.[3] Music is passed down from generation to generation. Older men and women of the tribes are known to sit in a circle in the center of town, grab their bendir (a circular drum), and entertain the whole village.[4] They hold on to their Indigenous languages, music, and architecture despite a history of colonization.

The Romans, Greeks, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabs have all met the Amazigh. The one thing the Amazigh were accepting of was religion. Many converted to Judaism and moved to occupied Palestine. But many more converted to Islam and still follow its rulings today.[5] W. B. Harris, a British journalist famed for his writings about Morocco, claimed to have respect for the strong ties the Amazigh have with Islam, even compared to the Arabs.[6] However, these outside influences never successfully colonized the Amazigh due to their resistance. A resistance that should be admired and never referred to as barbaric.

A photo of the narrow, cobblestone alleyway in Chefchaouen, Morocco, flanked by vibrant blue  and brown walls, decorative doors, and traditional iron window grilles of the dwellings under bright sunlight.
Narrow cobblestone alleyway between dwellings showcasing the vibrant blue and brown finishes of the city. Image by the author.

The Arab conquest took place in the seventh and eighth centuries. Both groups lived in harmony until the sixteenth century, when Arab rulers increasingly suppressed the Amazigh. This was significant when the French entered North Africa in the nineteenth century and attempted to divide the populations. The existing groups put their differences aside to fight European colonialism, leading to modern-day dynamics. Indigenous groups live very much in their original tribes, in more remote areas, while the Arabs have established major cities. Amazigh culture has stayed connected to the original Indigenous groups, but many have chosen to live in Arab cities. Today, they still trace their lineage back to the original Amazigh.

If the Western world is wrong about something as simple as the group’s name, one must wonder: what else are they getting wrong? During my travels to Chefchaouen, I had an opportunity to learn about Amazigh architecture. Chefchaouen is a globally known city built in the Atlas Mountains. Its beautiful indigo facade has made it known worldwide as “the Blue City.” Much of what we see stems from Amazigh dwellers who inhabit it. They manufacture plaster and brick that are sourced locally and resilient to the weather. Amazighs are connected to the land and continue to use the same practices. This strong connection has led to a sustainable system that has survived thousands of years, as opposed to the practices of the West, where materials are imported. Today, due to the choices made by the West, a human-made climate crisis is causing panic. Current solutions look to new materials that are created instead of the origins of those materials. A city like Chefchaouen has much to teach us. But instead, such groups are often looked down upon. 

Chefchaouen is on the western Rif, south of the city of Tétouan. The city was initially built in 1471 as a defensive presence along the coast from the threat of Portuguese forces. It defended not only their people but also their land and culture. As a result, the city was built to be sustainable. Is this not a vernacular reference worthy of adoption in the West?

A photo of a narrow alley in Chefchaouen, Morocco, with blue-painted walls, cobblestone pavement, and small potted plants along the pathway.
Vibrant blue narrow alleys define the attractions of the city’s tourism industry. Image by the author.

Amazigh buildings are made of kiln brick, which consists of mud, shrubs, and bushes. Locals developed plaster that could help transfer the load to the ground and create a protective external binder from the intense rain commonly experienced in this region. It is also used on the building’s facade as a binder between individual dimension stones. This plaster has an indigo finish, which became the city’s essential signature. Westerners visit the city for its blue aesthetic and picture-worthy looks, yet pay no attention to the community-rooted reasons behind the blue finish. This aesthetic boosted the city’s economy as a tourist destination. The crafts culture, local materials, and vernacular building techniques have created a sustainable collective dwelling system. However, as these techniques fall within the category of vernacular architecture, they are typically dismissed.

Today, the Western world tries to address climate concerns by altering facade materials, zoning laws, or even by specifying LEED points. However, the system within Chefchaouen promotes self-efficiency and looks to local resources. Moreover, the West has attempted to preserve popular tourist locations with unnatural materials. Chefchaouen has been advertised as the “Blue City.” The tourist boom has led to its abandonment by some Amazigh. Because of Indigenous population loss, European contractors have come in to fill the cracks with reinforced concrete.[7] These concrete patches have failed while the original materials and application processes have survived for generations.[8] This application of European problem-solving to Indigenous architecture is an example of modern colonization expressed through architectural form. Rather than using foreign material, it would be preferable to approach this as a learning experience, based on a careful study of the city’s vernacular precedent, including materials and techniques used by the Amazigh people. But this can only begin to take place once associations with barbarism are lifted. The Amazigh people have inadvertently provided an accurate model: others can learn from the simplicity and buildability of their vernacular architecture, instead of imposing foreign materials and “solutions” that create further problems. A step “backwards” may be more appropriate. If we never adjust how we refer to them, we will never adjust to learn from them; we will never alter our climate crisis. Ironically, this will lead to more destruction.


[1] Amanda Ferguson, “The Berber People | Culture, Religion & History,” Study.com.

[2]W. B. Harris, “The Berbers of Morocco,” The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 27 (1898), 63.

[3] “Moroccan architecture Tours – Atlas and Sahara Tours – Morocco,”  Moroccan Architecture & History Tours.

[4] Daniela Frendo, “Dancing and Dining with Berbers in Morocco,” Grumpy Camel.

[5] Michael Brett, “Berber,” Geography & Travel, Definition, People, Languages, and Facts,” in Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Sep 2024.

[6] Harris, “The Berbers of Morocco,” 61.

[7] Luisa Rovero and Fabio Fratini, “The Medina of Chefchaouen (Morocco): A Survey on morphological and mechanical features of the masonries,” Science Direct.

[8] Rovero and Fratini, Ozil, “The Medina of Chefchaouen (Morocco): A Survey on morphological and mechanical features of the masonries.”

*Cover Image: The beautiful city of Chefchaouen in the midst of the mountainous region (Photo by the author).

[Cover Image description: A city surrounded by hills with blue and white buildings, sky in the background.]

Edited by Teja Šosterič; reviewed by Deniz Karakas.

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