Population
Total People: estimate worldwide 2-2.5 million
In Morocco: 1.6 million
Urban Percent in Morocco: ±15%
Other: There are perhaps up to 400,000 in Europe. In the city of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, it is estimated there are 60,000 Rif Berbers, constituting 8% of the population of that city.

General Description
One of the main identifying factors of the Rif Berbers is their language, Tarifit. There are five dialects that are mutually intelligible.
The original Berbers may have migrated from as far away as Palestine or Egypt in the early unrecorded centuries BC. The Berber languages are distinct from Arabic, and most similar to the Hamito/Semitic tongues spoken in the Middle East. Arab influence followed the fall of Rome in the seventh and succeeding centuries.
Rif Berber life is based mainly on the cultivation of cereal crops - barley, wheat, and corn. Until recently the Rif region was the most neglected part of Morocco, and a traditional holdout against the central Moroccan government. The Aith Waryaghar has been a powerful Rifian tribe. They are sedentary farmers in the region south of Al-Husaima. In the 1920s the Aith Waryaghar were prominent in the Abdel Karim revolt against Spain. This event was notable as a unique unification of the Rif tribes in opposition to the Spanish Colonial government. Such unification has not existed since that time, but still serves as a model for how the Rifis put aside tribal differences to fight a common enemy.
Abdel Karim came from the Ait Waryaghar tribe and is perceived as a hero in their culture. His role has made this particular tribe quite influential.
In more recent times, the central Moroccan government has systematically sought to dilute or erase the linguistic uniqueness of the Rifs by prohibiting Tarifit from being spoken or taught in public schools and by importing Arabic speakers for government positions in the area, and similarly taking Berbers with government functions into Arab areas, where they have been forced to integrate with the Arab language at the expense of their linguistic heritage.

Language/Literacy Information
Adult literacy: 10-15% male, less than 1% female
Primary language: Tarifit - 100% speakers
Second language: Moroccan Colloquial Arabic - <75% speakers (men), <50% (females)
Third language: Spanish/French - <5% speakers (men)
Other: The strongest tie that binds the people together is their language. There are five mutually intelligible dialects.

Economics
GNP per capita: US$1,650 (1992, for Morocco)
Occupations/Income sources: Agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting/fishing, foreign labor opportunities, smuggling, small enterprise.
Agriculture: Mainly barley, some wheat, rye, maize (corn) and kif. The Rif supplement their primary diet of barley bread with other products such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash, peppers, fruits (including prickly pears) and nuts. These they grow in small gardens or orchards surrounding their homes. The 1967 estimate for gross annual per capita output from all farming activities was about US$60. Due to the deterioration of tribal identity and traditional life-styles this figure is not expected to have increased.
Animal husbandry: Cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, mules, chickens, dogs (for shepherding and protection) These are subject to the first priority, agriculture.
Foreign Labor opportunities in Europe attract as much as 1/3 of the adult male population for the better part of each year. The Rif have traditionally migrated seasonally in order to take advantage of labor opportunities. Since the border with Algeria closed in the mid 1950s, and then again in the 90s, seasonal migration patterns have shifted to western Europe. Work in Europe provides a relatively large cash supply to the Rif worker, as well as exposing them to western culture and distancing them from traditional values.
Products: Tourism in Morocco is a constantly growing industry. Growing hashish for sale to tourists also provides much desired cash for the Rifs in the far west of the region. The most famous hashish fields in the world lie to the west of the Rif. Hashish is openly smoked, even though Moroccan law forbids the sale and transport of drugs. The Rifs do not normally grow hashish, but they do sell and deal it.
Handcrafts: Items of clothing, jewelry, hand crafts are sold in most village and city market places.
Major Trade Partners: France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Benelux
Art forms: Woven goods (in the Ait Waryaghar valley), Facial tattoos among the women of most tribes is a common art form, but is dying out in the present generation.
Unemployment: <20% in Morocco (1996), but in the Rif region unemployment exceeds 50% in some areas.
Modernization/Utilities: In these mainly rural communities there is a rapid electrification of villages - also the proliferation of satellite dishes in urban centers. Solar power is becoming more common even in areas not connected to electricity otherwise. There are no trains, but many buses and taxis, and some truck transportation is available.

Living Conditions/Community Development Status
Basic diet: Barley breads and cereals, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Some beef and goat meats, usually at festivals and celebration times.
Food: Sixteen percent of all children ages 0-4 years suffer moderate underweight conditions, only about four percent are severely underweight.
Clothing: Rural women wear colorful long dresses in the home and long, coat-like djellabas, head scarves and sometimes face veils outside of the home. Middle-aged men traditionally wear a long djellaba cloak made of wool or cotton with wide sleeves and a hood. A white djellaba (long coat) is worn on days when they go to the mosque. Younger men will usually wear western style clothing. Facial tattoos amongst the women of most tribes is a common art form, but is dying out in the present generation.
Shelter: The majority of Rif houses are made of stone with flat rooftops. Poorer villagers in some areas live in houses constructed of mud brick materials. In the past houses used to be placed on ridges or other strategically defensible positions, and also at least 300 meters from the next door neighbor.
Health care: In rural areas of Morocco access to modern health services has been limited, and only 29% of all births in Morocco are attended by trained medical personnel. The under 5 mortality rate has been reduced by 50% since 1960, as has the infant mortality rate. In 1996 the under 5 mortality rate was 119 per 1000. The life expectancy of the average Moroccan is 68 years.
Water supplies: 25% of the rural population in Morocco is provided with safe water sources. Apart from two rivers there are a few streams which are dry most of the time, except after rainfall. In the Rif, the local streams and rivers are used extensively for drinking water and irrigation. Only in drought years is there a serious water shortage.
Other: Rural development in the Rif region is mainly by government projects designed to increase agricultural productivity and reforest cleared lands. These projects have met with local skepticism and in some cases hostility as they are perceived as unwelcome intrusions upon Rif culture and tradition from the urban governmental power structures. Projects are being attempted with little success. Pragmatism is strong in the Rif mind, which means that there has to be evidence that something will work before there is ownership of projects, education etc.

Society
Family structures: The Rif Berbers follow a mainly traditional Muslim patrilocal family structure. The homestead consists of the man, his wife, his sons and their wives and his unmarried daughters. They all live together until the man in the house dies. Then they divide the land; each son sets up his own homestead and the cycle continues. Men and women live in very separate worlds. Except within the immediate family, men and women are rarely together in the same room.
Neighbor relations: The tradition of feuding between kinship groups has shaped much of the present Rif community. Homesteads are spaced 300 meters apart on the average. That gives both privacy and independence. It is common, however for a mans relations and neighbors to gather together and aid him in the construction of his house. Following the completion of the structure the man will give a feast for his friends, and offer sacrifices. This tradition strengthens the communal sense of kinship while at the same time reinforcing the independence of the individual.
Rule/Authority/Selection: Today the Rif Berbers are subject to Moroccan civil law. Blood feuds have been outlawed by the Moroccan government for much of the twentieth century. In one sense this has weakened the power of the clan chieftains, since their power and protection are no longer essential to their kinsman. The clans have adapted to meet the economic and social needs of the people, continuing the traditional tribal authority structure. The power and authority of any one leader is directly related to his stature among the other kinship group leaders. Traditionally this system has given power to the wisest and strongest men, and encouraged alliances between strong families (usually through marriage). There is some distrust and suspicion of outsiders.
Judicial system/Trial punishment: The government of Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. The laws are strict and follow the Islamic traditions in most matters. As tribal autonomy weakens the central Moroccan government is left with an ever increasing burden to insure law and order in the remote areas of the Rif.
Crisis/Conflicts - History/Status: The Berbers have always been resistant to outside domination. Although they accepted Islam, they never gave in to Arab political rule. Throughout their long history the Berbers have united only long enough to revolt against one dominating government in favor of another which promised them more autonomy. Recently, when the French government was forced to turn over control of Morocco to the Sultan Mohammed V in 1957, regions like the Rif did not receive the rural freedoms which they had hoped for, rather they fell under the authority of the urban elite. Today this tension remains and the Rif feel little national patriotism or desire to partake in Moroccan government. The Spanish influence along the Mediterranean coast in this otherwise French dominated area is another peculiarity of the Rif. Spanish is the most useful trade language after Moroccan Arabic, and many of the older men in more urban areas along the coast speak it fairly well.
Festivals: Marriage festivals, Islamic holidays, fasts and feast are observed, as well as some early pagan rituals like those occurring at the summer solstice.
Recreation: Smoking, indigenous music, dancing (segregated men and women). A favorite pastime of men in the Rif is smoking and drinking tea together. Only during the month of Ramadan is smoking prohibited at all. Football (soccer) is a popular pass-time for younger boys. For many men, the visit to the weekly souq (market) is a regular social activity.
Public Association: There is a modernizing of attitudes in the rural areas and dress codes are changing. Also there are changes such as public association of men and women, once a taboo, is now more frequent. Still a lot more women in Rif households stay at home and do not frequent the market and public places.
Other: Many look abroad for solutions to their problems. Surveys have shown a high percentage of people would prefer to leave Morocco in order to see their dreams fulfilled.

Children/Youth
Education/Type of Schooling: Primary school 68%; Secondary school 36%; University 10%. In the rural areas public education is compulsory up to Grade 6, mandatory for both sexes, but not enforced in the rural communities. Education has been in the past a male privilege, but it does not have a high priority.
Labor/Tasks: Traditionally children have worked at home because it was more important that they were involved in activities of economic benefit to the household than that they received an education. However, as more Rifs look toward future jobs in Europe where literacy is paramount, education takes a higher priority.
Problems: The biggest problems are poverty and overpopulation; too many children, insufficient agricultural production and increasing migration of young men to western European economic centers. Unemployment is a serious problem in the Rif region. For some, drugs may be a recourse for those who have lost hope; an escape from the wounds of unemployment, the inability to marry, and the absence of success and status in their society.
Greatest needs: The need for jobs and livelihoods for the young people approaching working age is intense. Without new jobs the trends toward black market smuggling and the growing of hashish for sale to Europe will increase. There is also a need for educational reforms beginning on a small scale and in the context of the Rif culture.

Religion
Islam is adhered to by 99% of the population. It is often said that Islam surrounded the Berbers, but never conquered them. While it is true that the Berber people have a strong identity in their tribal dialects, and have never completely accepted Arabic as their own, none the less, Islam is the most powerful and pervasive force in their society. Many folk traditions have mixed with orthodox Islam and created a complex syncretism of Folk Islam. Cults of saint worship, sacred shrines and sites, and veneration of marabouts all have contributed to the Berber religious life. Marabouts are part of the cult of saint worship. They are wise men, living or dead, who have some special privilege with Allah. They are able to bless or curse, and their tombs become shrines where followers come to pray for intercession with Allah. In especially rural areas there are many who regularly frequent the mosques.
Religious practices/ceremonies: Fasting during the month of Ramadan, Aid L’Kbir (sheep sacrificing feast), s’bua (naming ceremony on the 7th day), circumcision etc., plus visiting the saints tombs, dedication of new houses and other large acquisitions eg. a car.
Redemptive Analogies/Bridges: Analogies found in Islam are useful in the Rif.
Spiritual Climate/Openness: The Rif are religiously loyal, whether more orthodox or folk. There is some undercurrent of resentment toward the Arab-Muslim hierarchy.
Other: There is a strong and increasing influence of materialism with more income and exposure to the west. Access to information is exploding horizons and creating new desires. This is also in some sense stifling spiritual hunger and intensity.

History of Christian Presence Amongst This People Group
By the end of the 2nd century AD, four Catholic bishoprics had been established in the Tangier-Rabat-Fez triangle. They suffered much persecution and Islam finally triumphed. Different mission efforts were attempted during the middle ages, mainly by Franciscan missionaries, but were unsuccessful in establishing a permanent evangelizing mission. The first Protestant workers entered Morocco in 1884 with the North Africa Mission. Their emphasis often was in providing health care, public preaching and scripture distribution. The first Protestant workers among the Rifs came to the region in the 1980s.

Current Church Development
There are groups meeting together of believers and seekers among the Rifs, at various stages of formation. Some meetings integrate men and women; others are segregated. The follow-up of contacts made through Arabic (not Tarifit) Christian radio broadcasts and correspondence courses continues to be a principle source of new believers. Follow-up is now a partnership effort of both Rif believers and those from outside.
Christians: Among the Rif world-wide there are less than 70 known believers.
Scriptures available: The task of Bible translation is a high priority. A series of Old Testament biographies has been completed and recorded for mass distribution. The Gospel of John is available in both print and cassette, as will be the book of Daniel in late-2000. Matthew’s Gospel is scheduled for completion by mid-2001, and the target for the completed New Testament is 2006.
Christian Radio: Broadcasts of recordings of Rif Scripture are being made from small FM transmitters in southern Spain, with questionable effectiveness and range. A seeker-sensitive program in Tarifit is scheduled to begin from more powerful transmitters in late-2000. Also, Arabic broadcasts from TWR (Monte Carlo) are understood by many Rifs.
Recordings Available: All the translated scripture has been recorded and dramatized on tape.
Films/Videos: The Jesus Film and four additional films in Tarifit have been produced are are being distributed in the region. Additional films are presently planned or in production.
Satellite Media: Satellite receivers are becoming very widespread, and various satellite ministries are able to be received in this area. The Rif films have been broadcast by satellite television on several occasions.
Other: Web sites are under construction.
Response to Christians: Somewhat open to the New Testament but closed to Christianity and western religious structure.
Resistance/Receptivity: Western structure and other beliefs are seen as both anti-Islamic and also destructive to traditional Rif culture and values. As a people they have been quite hostile and resistant to the Gospel, but there are notable exceptions. There has been a strong response to mother-tongue materials in Tarifit and other languages. Other factors significantly affecting Rif attitudes toward the Gospel have been their contact with Christian influences in the west through migration, and satellite television.

Current Needs
Community development, health and sanitation, and appropriate technical support.
Education that teaches ethnic pride and traditional values; thereby reducing the generation gap.
Local industry with technical and economic advances to stem the tide of laborers leaving the Rif.
Introduction of policies to increase Rif involvement in Moroccan political matters in order to get equal representation and benefits for the peoples in the Rif.

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