The Amazigh People and Their Way of Life

Poor people sleep in clay huts or tents made of goat fur. In larger villages, their houses are made of stone.
A normal Amazigh house has a flat roof that allows more floors to be added as needed, it is made of rammed earth or clay. They normally have three or four floors. On the bottom floor the oxen and goats live together being fed through a hole in the ceiling. Kitchen waste is dropped through the hole and is an eco-friendly method of waste disposal.
The clothing of these ancient people differs from area to area. Partly due to historical influence; practicality when doing work in their community or for dealing with the harsh climate, the style of the dress, mainly for the women, varies widely.
After colonisation by the Romans, the people wore a haik – a large cloth wrapped around their body, similar to the Roman toga.
Further colonisation converted the people to Muslim and this is reflected in their style of dress.
Scarves are worn to cover their heads and veils called mandeels hide their faces. Men wear cloth turbans on their heads. Most of the people wear ankle length tunics or loose trousers called chalwar, under their haiks.
The women of the south dress excessively in colourful dresses and headscarves rather than the restraining and all-embracing haik. This bulky outfit is too difficult or dangerous to wear when they are doing manual tasks such are collecting firewood or growing crops.
Though the clothes worn today by many Amazighs have prehistoric origins, those that have moved to the cities for work or maybe to get an education, now wear Western style clothing.
Amazigh cuisine has developed very little over the course of time.
The traditional food for the poor is a cake made of assorted grains and a drink mixed together from crushed goat cheese, dates and water.
Their primary food is couscous. By using this grain as a base, many different dishes are cooked using other ingredients grown or traded. These include: chicken, olives, lemon, tuna,