Berber village celebrates new year 2966
(17 Jan 2016) TUNISIA BERBER NEW YEAR
SOURCE: AP TELEVISION
RESTRICTIONS: MIDDLE EAST EXTRA CLIENTS ONLY
LENGTH: 4.35
AP Television
Tamezret, Tunisia - 16 January 2016
1. Various of traditional music band performing for Amazigh New Year's celebrations
2. Wide of landscape in Tamezret
3. Wide of entrance of conference room
4. Close of poster for Amazigh New Year's celebrations
5. Wide of conference
6. Mid of Amazigh and Tunisian flags
7. Cutaway of Karima Azzouz during conference
8. SOUNDBITE (French), Karima Azzouz, Head of the celebrations' organising committee:
This is to make others discover our heritage and also to think how to bring forward and to improve (the preservation) of this heritage with other performers and participants because it is vital to have exchange with others.
9. Wide of band
10. Mid of musicians in Amazigh traditional clothing
11. Mid of people holding Tunisian and Amazigh flags while watching the performance
12. Various of the procession
13. Wide of the group walking through the village
14. Mid of people holding plates of traditional meals people cooked for the occasion, to be shared by everyone
15. Close of plate of couscous with eggs and vegetables
16. Mid of Nouri Nemri, a local Amazigh activist, holding more food plates
17. Wide of local museum founder Ali Ben Mamou walking with the procession
18. SOUNDBITE (French), Ali Ben Mamou, Amazigh museum founder:
People thought that speaking Arabic and pretending to have an Arab identity was better for the religious and spiritual aspect. People thought it was an advantage to be Muslim and Arab, so people started to deny their identity and their origin to adopt the Arab identity.
19. Mid of women in traditional clothing bringing more food to the procession
20. Wide of procession in the village
21. Mid of woman dancing with the Amazigh flag
22. Wide of two men dancing
23. Various of the procession in the village
24. Wide of the village
25. SOUNDBITE (French), Ali Ben Mamou, Amazigh museum founder:
We always thought that the real history of this country started with the arrival of the Phoenicians, followed by the Romans, the Arabs, the Byzantines, the Greeks, the French, the Spaniards and then the Ottomans. But in reality, the identity and the origins of this country are over 3,000 years old.
26. Wide of courtyard where people gathered after the procession
27. Various of people eating
28. Top shot of yard
29. Wide pan of people dancing
30. Mid of Amazigh activist Nouri Nemri dancing
31. SOUNDBITE (French), Nouri Nemri, Amazigh activist:
It is also an important strategy to fight the Salafist ideologies because Amazigh people are more tolerant, they love peace and are more open to all civilizations and religions.
32. Various of people dancing
33. Close of Amazigh flag flying in the wind
LEADIN:
The Amazigh community in Tunisia have been seeing-in their new year with music, food and dancing.
Marking the new year was banned during the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, so now many Amazighs - or Berbers as they're also known - are making the most of being able to celebrate freely.
STORYLINE:
The sound of a traditional Berber horn pipe heralds the new year for these tribal performers.
The band make up just one part of a packed day of celebrations for Yennayer, the Amazigh's community's new year.
In the small village of Tamezret, 460 kilometres (285 miles), south of the Tunisian capital, locals are gathering to party.
Falling on 12 January, the year is now 2966, according to the Amazigh calender.
It's measured from 950 B.C. when the Amazigh king Sheshonq became Pharaoh of Egypt after defeating Ramses III and founding the 22nd dynasty.
For Ali, he is Amazigh by birth, not choice.
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