The funeral rites of the ancient Amazighes
The Amazighes, before the advent of Islam, already buried their dead and practiced funeral rites. Their tombs varied from the simple pit topped with earth or stone mounds, to the superb royal mausoleum.
The position of the body in the tomb varied from region to region. We thus found bodies extended full length, in a bent position or knees brought up to the chin. It was thought that this position was intended to reduce the space occupied by the dead, but it probably corresponded to a birth rite, with the deceased taking the form of the fetus in the womb of the mother.
Sometimes the body received a first burial: we waited for it to break loose, then we proceeded to a second burial. It was not uncommon for the remains of different people to be interred in the same tomb.
The Amazighs had great respect for their dead. Like many peoples of antiquity, they feared that abandonment or bad treatment would favor their return in the form of ghosts or evil spirits. By treating them well, on the contrary, they ensured their protection and benefited from their knowledge of the hereafter.
Funeral practices
Funeral rites are so numerous among the Libyans that it is said about them that it is a true funerary religion. In reality, these are archaic practices that neither Punic influence nor Romanization have been able to erase. Certain rites, such as animal sacrifices or communication with the dead, have come down to us in more or less altered forms.
The burial: It takes various forms: stone mound covering a pit, or on the contrary a mausoleum erected to the glory of a sovereign.
The needs of the dead: It was believed that the dead continued to live in the afterlife, so they met their needs by depositing food, weapons, and pottery in the burial.
Animal sacrifices: before or after the burial, as is still practiced in certain regions of the Maghreb, animal sacrifices were performed. In prehistoric tombs, human bones are often mixed with animal bones: ox, sheep, goat, gazelle...
Magical protection : to protect the corpse from annihilation, it is adorned with magic objects, copper jewelry, or shell necklaces. When the corpse had undergone decarnation, the skeleton was painted red, the color of life and strength.
Finally, there is a practice that allowed the two worlds to communicate.
incubation
The incubation ritual allowed Amazighs to communicate with their dead. This divinatory practice, attested in all Mediterranean civilizations, consisted in praying, then falling asleep on the grave of the dead person who then communicated through dreams, his will. We also fell asleep in the temples, and we received, always by the same means, messages from the gods.
A pagan rite, incubation was forbidden by Islam, which replaced it with the istikhara, a prayer of request (made to god) by the dream. But the old rites remained, and it was still found at the beginning of the last century, in certain regions of North Africa. In Morocco, we spent the night at the foot of the tombs of the saints, in the Hoggar, the women slept near the old tombs, to receive the news of their absent husbands.
Mira B.G
Sources :
S. Gsell, "The History of Ancient North Africa ", 1925
Camp, " Berbers on the margins of history" , 1980
Mr. Akli Haddadou, “Guide to Berber culture ”