The inhabitants of the Serra Algarvia, traditionally called "Serrenhos", have origins that date back centuries ago, according to the author of this article, who uses both historical facts and his own childhood memories from the forties.
The history began with the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century, when about 7,000 Berbers, led by General Tariq, landed in Algeciras, followed a year later by a larger Arab army, under the command of General Musa. Between Arabs and Berbers there was no ethnic connection, only the Muslim faith in common, and disputes arose early between them, with the Arabs claiming the best territories for themselves, leaving the Berbers relegated to the poorest and most isolated lands.
It was in this context that the Serra Algarvia became the refuge of the Berbers, who dispersed there in small hamlets, living from the difficult sustenance that the land provided them. The author describes how, in the forties, he saw the Serrenhos arrive in town on market days, with their mules, and notes that their facial features were similar to those found today in any Algerian or Moroccan souk.
The author argues that until the mid-20th century, sedentariness was dominant in these inland areas, which meant that the populations remained practically without ethnic contamination for centuries, being direct descendants of the ancient Berbers. He also points to the existence of a dialect of their own in the region, with origins in ancient Arabic, which influenced the speech of the older populations of places such as São Bartolomeu de Messines and the Serra de Monchique, including expressions and terms of Arabic origin that have been progressively replaced by schooling.
