THERE ONCE WAS A MAN: A REVIEW

Abstract

Virtually no studies exist on Berber culture and society in English; studies of the Berber language in English are even rarer. This comes as no surprise when one considers that France either colonized (Algeria), invaded (Egypt), or made a protectorate (Morocco) of every country with a Berber-speaking population, making French the principal language of Berber studies. In the course of their conquests, however, French officials made a point of documenting the 'manners and customs' of their subjects. In the nineteenth century in particular, Berber life became the source of great debate and mythology both within the community of Europeans who went to North Africa and those who lived in the metropole. Not to be outdone by continental language speakers, English speakers also joined the fray with greater intensity. Debates and dissertations on Berber culture and society appeared in the newly independent United States, as members of the American Philosophical Society considered the implications of European colonization and what it meant for the study of foreign cultures. Like their European counterparts, members of the Philosophical Society who met in Philadelphia wondered about Berber identity and origins. By the late nineteenth century, however, this scholarly debate had begun to fade in the United States. Europeans would continue the discussion amongst themselves and those who lived in the countries subject to their colonial authority. French scholarship remains the point of reference for such discussions. For the small and (hopefully) growing community of people interested in Berber studies who do not read