The bulk of the population of Roman Africa was invariably
composed of three chief elements: the indigenous Berber tribes,
the ancient Carthaginians of Phoenician origin and the Roman
colonists. The Berber tribes, whose racial unity is attested by
their common spoken language and by the comparatively numerous
Berber inscriptions that have come down to us, bore in ancient
times the generic names of Numidians, Gaetulians and Moors or
Maurusiani. Herodotus mentions a great number of these
tribes. During the Roman period, according to Pliny, there
were settlements of 26 indigenous tribes extending from the
Ampsaga as far as Cyrenaica. The much more detailed list of
Ptolemy enumerates 39 indigenous tribes in the province of
Africa and 25 in Mauretania Caesariensis. Ammianus Marcellinus,
Procopius and Flavius Cresconius Corippus give still further
names. Besides the Afri (Aourigha) of the territory of
Carthage, the principal tribes that took part in the wars
against the Romans were the Lotophagi, the Garamantes, the
Maces, the Nasamones in the regions of the S.E., the Misulani
or Musulamii (whence the name Mussulman), the Massyli
and the Massaesyli in the E., who were neighbours of the
Moors. The non-nomads of these Libyan tribes dwelt in huts
made of stakes supporting plaited mats of rush or asphodel.
These dwellings, which were called mapalia, are the modern
gourbis. African epigraphy has revealed the names of some
of their deities: deus invictus Aulisva; the god Motmanius,
associated with Mercury; the god Lilleus; Baldir Augustus;
Kautus pater; the goddess Gilva, identified with Tellus, and
Ifru Augustus (Tissot i. 486). The Johannis of Corippus
mentions three native divinities: Sinifere, Mastiman and
Gurzil. There were also local divinities in all the principal
districts. The rock bas-reliefs and other monuments showing
native divinities are rare, and give only very summary
representations. Dolmens, however, occur in great numbers
in Tunisia and the province of Constantine. Tumuli, too,
are found throughout northern Africa, the most celebrated
being that near Cherchel, the Kubr-er-Rumia (``tomb of
the Christian lady''), which was regarded by Pomponius
Mela as the royal burying-place of the kings of Numidia.