The memory of the Berber story-teller seems to be
incredibly capacious and retentive, and the tales were recited over and
over again without a variation. As is to be expected these tales are very
varied, and many of them are of a didactic, if not ethical, cast. They are
instructive as revealing the social life and character of these mountain
and desert tribes.
We find the spirit of the vendetta pervading these tales with more than
Corsican bitterness and unreasoning cruelty, every man being allowed to
revenge himself by taking the life or property of another. This private and
personal warfare has done more than anything else to check the advance in
civilization of these tribesmen. The Berbers and Kabyles are fanatical
Mahometans and look upon Christians and Jews as dogs and outcasts. It is
considered honorable to cheat, rob, or deceive by lies one who does not
worship Allah. The tales illustrate, moreover, the degraded position of
women. A wife is literally a chattel, not only to be bought, but to be sold
also, and to be treated in every respect as man's inferior--a mere slave or
beast of burden.
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