Ayyur () is a lunar deity in Berber traditional religion and was the chief god of Numidia in ancient times. The name ayyur literally means "the moon" in Berber languages. The name also refers to the lunar month. The deity is "represented by a personage whose head is radiated as that of an astral deity would be".
History Herodotus wrote in the fifth century BC that the Berbers sacrificed to the sun and moon. In addition, Ibn Khaldun reports that at the time of the Arab invasion of their territory, "those of the Berbers who had not been converted to the Christian faith worshipped the sun and the moon, as well as statues of deities". The name Ayyur appears in several inscriptions left by the Berbers of antiquity.
Among the local iconographic particularities in Cuicul, Mons and Sitifis, Saturn and the deities of the Sun (Tafukt) and the Moon (Ayyur) are highly venerated and occupy the same register or are put on the same level.
Symbology In Berber tradition, the moon is associated with fertility, culture, beauty, femininity and humidity. Among the Tuaregs, the link with water and fertility is even more explicit, as evidenced by a ritual recorded in the Hoggar at the beginning of the 20th century by Charles de Foucauld on the occasion of the new moon.
Moon in different Berber dialects +Berber DialectWord for Moon/MonthWord for moonlightTamazightayur / ayurentiziri (moon/full moon)Chaouiayur / iyurentiziriKabyleayyur > aggurtiziriMozabiteyur / iyarentiziriOuaraglayur / iyaren (Crescent of moon)tiziri (Moon when not crescent)Beni SnousyurtiziriRifiayur / yyurtiziriTachelhitayyûr / yîren -Ghadamesûyer / uyerâwen (Crescent Moon)tiziri (Full moon)Tuaregéôr / éôren -ZenagaYR / ŽR, lexical form: é'žir and é'žžer -
Prayer to the moon god Traditionally, the Tuareg people prayed to Ayyur at the new moon. They fire guns in the new month, saying:
"Grant us victory over our enemies, whoever they may be! Give us your protection in this world and in the hereafter! God grant that you will be a blessed month. May he who plunged you into darkness make you appear to his light!" (Charles de Foucaud…, Textes touaregs en prose, Aix-en-Provence, Édisud, 1984 [texte n° 172, « Nouvelle lune », p. 293]).
References
Bibliography
S. Chaker, « Lune », dans Encyclopédie berbère, vol. 28-29 : Kirtēsii-Lutte, Édisud, 2008 (DOI 10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.368), p. 4444-4447