The Berber New Year 2965 By B. Yazid, G. Mangelsen This year is not only 2015, but also 2965 on the Berber calendar. Why this difference of 950 years? Why do Berbers celebrate their New Year on the 12th of January? Throughout history, Berbers referred to mythological phenomena, historical events, or religious explanations to count the dates, before adopting the Roman calendar. The Berber Calendar is the surviving form of the ancient Roman calendar, which was later reformed by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar in 46 BC. The later, continued to be used until the revisions made by pope Gregory in 1582. The Gregorian universal calendar appeared, consequently, the first day of the Berber calendar “Yennayer” shifted to the 12th of January. The Berber calendar was employed mainly for agricultural purposes, throughout antiquity. It covers the regulation of seasonal agricultural works, the farming periods, as well as the indication of each season’s cycle. However, due to the climatic and biological differences between the desert and other northern territories, differences in the subdivision of the seasons exist. Names of months were derived from Latin, and Yennayer itself matches the Latin word Ianiarius (January). However, the etymological signification of “Yennayer” could be deciphered very easily in the primitive Berber language, by converting the word into Tifinagh scripts. Therefore, Yennayer, or Ianiarius means One month, or One pagan God. (Yen: « ⵏ « One, Ayur: « ⵔ » Month, Moon). Since 1960’s, after the revival of the Berber identity, the Berber Academy of France proposed an initiative to create a Berber era calendar. They began counting the years starting from the year 950BC, which remains a very significant date in the history of Berbers. The approximate year when the Berber Pharaoh Shishak took over the Egyptian throne and founded the 22nd dynasty. A king who descended from a line of chieftains of the Berber tribe of the Meshwesh. Since that time, the Berber rule in Egypt lasted more than 230 years. Under his rule, there was a great revival of the Egyptian glory, as well as inauguration of major building programs in the cities. According to the bible, the same king Shishak conquered Judah and Jerusalem in Israel, with an army of 1200 chariots and 60 000 horsemen mostly composed of Libyan Berbers. The result of the military campaign was capture of the fortified cities of Israel, and the plunder of King Solomon’s treasures. On the 12th of January of every year, people across the region of North Africa celebrate the coming of the New Year “Yennayer” with many festivals. Women play a great role in this, as they do the home cleaning, and most importantly, they clean the furnace, and change its small stones inside it (known as INIYEN) with new ones. Small children appear in new haircuts, wearing new clothes. A magician man comes to visit the villages, announcing the coming of the sacred day. He demands from all women to bring a cock or a hen for the sacrifice, and order them to paint their hands with “Henna”. Historically, those birds were known to represent courage and generosity among ancient nations like the Romans and Greeks. Still, the widespread tradition that characterizes this day is the preparation of various special meals with particular foods. By tradition, Berber families make their dinner “Imensi n-yennayer”, with a dish that contains “poultry” meat. “Couscous”, a traditional dish of semolina (wheat) cooked with vegetables like (carrots, potatoes, turnips) is served for guests. Cakes and biscuits, as well as dried vegetables like dates figs are prepared too. All happens, with a friendly atmosphere characterized by sincere brotherhood and mutual love. Yennayer, one of the oldest pagan festivals in the world, still continues to be celebrated as it has for thousands of years across the region of North Africa. It is a symbol of the long history of the Berber nation, and the great attachments of the local communities to their common ancestral identity. 13/01/2013
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 10:24:00 +0000