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The Arabs:
The Libyans are very friendly people, regardless of their ethnic
background, colour or social status. They respect privacy and
generally will not hassle foreign visitors as is the custom elsewhere
in North Africa! The Libyan population is estimated at just over
5 million people, plus under 1.5 million immigrant workers. The
Arabs are the majority inhabitants of Libya, who brought Islam
to the region during the seventh century; the Arabs of Libya
are members of the Sunni sect of Islam.
During the eleventh century a political conflict
broke out between the ruling dynasties of Egypt, resulting
in the arrival of Bani Hilal and Bani Salim from the Arabian
peninsula. The major Arab cities include Tripoli, Benghazi, Sebha,
Sabratha, Musratha, Zawiya, Khums, Tobruk and Darna as well as
all the coastal cities and towns with the exception of Zwara
(Zuwarah).
The Berbers:
The Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants
of Libya. They are a Hamitic group of tribes, who share their
linguistic ancestry with ancient Egyptian, Chadic, and Omotic
languages of East Africa. Hamitic languages and Semitic languages
(like Phoenician, Akkadian, Hebrew and Arabic) are both members
of the Afrasiatic phylum, originally called Hamito-Semitic
Phylum. The majority of the Berbers belong
to the Khariji or the abadite
sect of Islam. The Berbers of Libya can be subdivided
into three groups:
the Western Berbers: those tribes inhabiting
the coastal city of Zwara and the various cities and villages
of Nafousa mountain; the
Eastern Berbers: those tribes inhabiting the oasis of Jalo
& Aujila in Eastern Libya; and the Tuareg: the various
nomadic tribes of the Sahara desert and of the oases of Ghadames
and Ghat. The Tuareg people are a Berber people who
speak a Berber language, which they call Tamasheght or Tamaheqt,
and hence their name (in their own language), Kel Tamaheqt" means
"the Speakers of Tamazight" or "the Speakers of
Berber Language". The
Tuareg tribes are nomadic by nature and as such their traditional
home is the great Sahara herself. The largest towns (or oases)
inhabited by the Tuareg in Libya include Ghadames and Ghat.
The Twareg dance
An old Targi passing by a team of young
dancers, at first he fails to imitate them, but then he
succeeds in out-performing their best; and so, out of shame,
forcing the youngsters to leave the place, one by one.
Experience and subtlety is the theme of the dance. The Tuareg
are highly spirited nomadic Berber people who originally
controlled the whole of the Sahara, including parts of Libya,
Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Tuareg language "Tamasheght" is a member of Berber
(Tamazight) which includes about 40 major languages. Only
a handful of families still live a nomadic life in the Acacus
region, but their peace and privacy are now threatened by
tourists who seek them as a tourist attraction. Some eco-conscious
tourists, however, do show some signs of respect and support,
like offering help, fuel, buying some of
their traditional hand-made jewellery, and asking them
if they can take photos before doing so. The Tuareg are
also called the "Blue People
of the Sahara" simply because of the indigo fabric which
stained their skin blue. The most distinguishable feature of
Tuareg people is the "veil", or tagelmoust in
Tamasheght, which sadly is slowly disappearing from
the lives of modern city Tuareg. The origin
of the veil is not understood, but it is possible that its original
use was to protect against desert sand and wind during travel
from one caravan station to another, and that after few generations
it became part of the culture where Tuareg men wear it even while
eating inside their tents - they pass food and drinks under the
veil. This hypothesis may explain why Tuareg women do not wear
the veil, as they do not take part in these caravans and hence
they are not exposed to desert sand and wind as their men are.
19th Century Tuareg Group
The name Tuareg, according to Ibn Khaldun
and other sources, comes from Berber Targa, the ancient name
of Fezzan and a subdivision of Sanhaja Berber group, who
were still inhabiting Fezzan during the time of Ibn Khaldun.
The Tuareg people refer to themselves by various names including
"Kel Tamashegh" or "Kel Tamaheq" (the People
of Berber) and
"Kel Tagelmoust" (the people of the Veil). The typical
tall Tuareg nomad is highly
dignified, grave, walks with long, slow steps, in unison with
his camel, and, like all spearmen, carries himself erect. Their
eyes are generally dark and piercing. Captain Denham describes
the Tuareg women as having a copper complexion, large black
eyes, finely shaped noses, and long plaited hair. Like his
forefathers in the days of Herodotus, the modern nomad is
conspicuously robust and healthful, eats and drinks sparely
by necessity, and can walk 60 miles in two days on a handful
of dried dates and a few cupfuls of water. The loneliness
of the Sahara tends to intensify the sense of liberty to
which the nomad is born heir. This sense of freedom is now
in serious danger of becoming extinct.
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Tebo
The Tebo (or Tebu, Tibu, Tibo, Tibbo, or
Tibbos) are a group of tribes found along the southern side of
the Harouj mountain and to the east of Fezzan, all the way to
the Egyptian border, including the Tibesti Massif, the Kofra
and Bezzima Oases, as well as in northern Chad, Niger and Sudan.
The Tebo of the Kufra were invaded by the Senussi clans
in 1840s, and subsequently some of the inhabitants
fled to the southern regions were they joined other Tebo tribes.
The principal region of Tebo is Bilma, north of Lake
Chad. The number of the Tebo in Libya was estimated to be around
5000 Tebbos, but the larger part of the group live in Chad and
Niger. The Tbawi language is a member of the Nilo-Saharan language
family. The main Tebo tribes include Kechad (of the towns of
Abo and Tibesti), the Febabos (south south west of Aujilah),
the Borgou (further south), the tribe of Arno, and the Gunda
Tibbo (further southward).
Early explorers remarked that the Tibbos are not like
other central African tribes and that they appear to have been
infused with other northern races (or tribes). Their bodies
are slim and their walk is light and swift. Their facial features
include sharp eyes and thick lips, and their hair is not as
curly as that of other African tribes. Tebo females are light
and graceful, whose striking features include aquiline noses
and fine lips. Their hair is plaited on each side of the
face.
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The Jews
The Jewish community existence in Libya goes back to the time
of the pharaoh. Under Roman rule the Jews were living
in harmony with the natives, until the first century, when
the Israeli zealot Jonathan incited the poor to revolt in Cyrene
(in 73 BC), only to be crushed by the Romans. A second revolt
followed in 115 in Cyrene, Egypt and Cyprus. The number
of Jews in Libya during the Italian occupation was estimated
at about 25000 Jews, mainly living in the old city of Tripoli
(al-h'ara), which was characterised
by its narrow and roofed lanes. When the Germans occupied Benghazi
the Jews were subjected to an ordeal that saw them persecuted
and even deported, and as a result many Jews fled to other North
African states and Europe for refuge.
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Immigrants
After the 1969's revolution, Libya witnessed
a massive influx of foreign workers, primarily invited
to take part in rebuilding Libya. Many of these workers came
from Tunisia (construction workers and labour), Egypt (teachers),
Palestine (teachers), Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (doctors and nurses).
Then after Libya's
call for pan-African unity and a common currency, a second
wave of immigrants, estimated at one million workers, began to
arrive in late 1990s, mainly from other neighbouring
African countries like Sudan, Niger, Chad and Mali. High Libyan
wages for unskilled workers, which reached nearly $300 a month,
were also attracting a large number of immigrants from sub-Saharan
Africa. It was reported that this wave of legal immigrants eventually
led to other waves of illegal immigrants,
and soon afterwards Libya became a transit route for organised
criminals who smuggle illegal immigrants into Libya and then
from Libya into Europe via Sicily and Italy. One of the
main smuggling routes was the 800 miles desert route between
Niger and Libya, via the cities of Agadez and Timbuktu. With
the increase in Libyan unemployment (currently stands at about
35%) and the spread of prostitution and heavy drugs, which never
exited in Libya before, many Libyans began to have a second thought
about immigration. The General people's Committee,
which enforces the will of the Libyan people, reacted in the
year 2000 by ordering a crackdown on the employment of foreign
illegal workers and began a wave of mass deportation of immigrants
who had no official visas. As a result, tens of thousands
of Nigerians, Ghanaians, Chadians, and many more from Niger,
Gambia and Sudan were deported. The total number of illegal
workers before the wave of deportation reached about 1.2 million
worker; while the number of legal workers is estimated at about
3/4 (three quarters) of a million workers.
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