A cat begging for food from a butcher in the old medina. Fez, Morocco, 2018.

The Berbers (Imazighen, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family.They are the descendants of the pre-Arab populations of North Africa from the Egyptian frontier to the Atlantic and from the Mediterranean coast to the Niger River. Originally, Berber was a generic name given to numerous heterogeneous ethnic groups by the Romans that shared similar cultural, political, and economic practices. It was not a term originated by the group itself. While Berbers are stereotyped as nomads, and indeed some tribes are, the majority are typically farmers. It is difficult to estimate the number of Berbers in the world today, because many do not define themselves as Berber. However the Berber language is spoken by an estimated 14 to 25 million people. High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, 2018