The Berber flag (
Berber language: Akenyal Amaziɣ, ⴰⴾⴻⵏⵢⴰⵍ ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵗ) or Amazigh flag is a
flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
that has been adopted by many
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
populations including protestors, cultural and political activists.
The flag was inaugurated in
Wadya, a town of
Kabylia situated in
Tizi Ouzou, a province of
Algeria, by an elder Algerian Kabylian
veteran,
Youcef Medkour
Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...
.
History
Mohand Arav Bessaoud
Mohand Arav Bessaoud (born 24 December 1924 in Taguemount El Djedid, Algeria; died 1 January 2002 in Isle of Wight) was a Kabyle Algerian writer and activist. He was described as the spiritual father of Berberism ("Dda Moh"), and a strong suppor ...
, Algerian activist and founder of
Berber Academy, designed the flag in 1970.
It was used in demonstrations in the 1980s, and in 1997, the
World Amazigh Congress at Tafira on
Las Palmas in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
made the flag official.
Description
The flag is composed of blue, green, and yellow horizontal bands of the same height, and a
Tifinagh letter ''yaz'' or ''aza''.
Each colour corresponds to an aspect of
Tamazgha, the territory inhabited by the Berbers in
North Africa:
* Blue represents the sea.
* Green represents the mountains.
* Yellow represents the desert.
* The red of the letter ''z'' (
ⵣ
Tifinagh ( Tuareg Berber language: or , ) is a script used to write the Berber languages. Tifinagh is descended from the ancient Libyco-Berber alphabet. The traditional Tifinagh, sometimes called Tuareg Tifinagh, is still favored by the Tuar ...
in Tifinagh) represents resistance and the martyrs/free man of the Imazighen.
The letter ''z'' represents the word ''Amazigh'', the root of which it is taken from.
See also
*
Berberism
*
Berber latin alphabet
*
Tifinagh
*
Berber mythology
*
Mohand Arav Bessaoud
Mohand Arav Bessaoud (born 24 December 1924 in Taguemount El Djedid, Algeria; died 1 January 2002 in Isle of Wight) was a Kabyle Algerian writer and activist. He was described as the spiritual father of Berberism ("Dda Moh"), and a strong suppor ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berber Flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
Berberism
Flags of indigenous peoples
Proposed flags
Ethnic flags
Flags introduced in 1998