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Reguibat tribe

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Reguibat
Women of the Reguibat
EthnicityArab-Berber
Nisbaal-Reguibi
LocationWestern Sahara, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria
Descended fromSidi Ahmed al-Reguibi
Population>100,000 (1996)[1]
LanguageHassaniya Arabic
ReligionSunni Islam

The Reguibat (Arabic: الرقيبات, romanized: Rgībāt; variously transliterated Reguibate, Rguibat, R'gaybat, R'gibat, Erguibat, Ergaybat) is a Sahrawi tribal confederation of mixed Arab[2][3][4] and Sanhaja Berber origins.[1][5][6][7] The Reguibat speak Hassaniya Arabic, and are Arab in culture. They claim descent from Sidi Ahmed al-Reguibi, an Arab Islamic preacher from Beni Hassan who settled in Saguia el-Hamra in 1503.[8] They also believe that they are, through him, a chorfa tribe, i.e. descendants of Muhammad.[9] They are divided into two main geographical divisions - the Reguibat as-Sahel and Reguibat Lagouacem - who are in turn divided into sub tribes.[9][10] Religiously, they belong to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam.

Their population in 1996 exceeded 100,000 people.[1] David Hart estimated their population to number from 200,000 to 300,000 in 1962 but this could be too high.[9][10]

Origin

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The eponymous founder and ancestor of the Reguibat is said to be Sidi Ahmed al-Reguibi who turned up to the Draa valley from Fez in 1503. Sidi Ahmed al-Reguibi claimed sharifian descent which attracted many disciples - a lot of whom of Sanhaja origin - from his wanderings between the valleys of Draa, El-Gaada and the Saguia el-Hamra.[10]

History

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Initially an important Arabic zawiya or religious tribe with a semi-sedentary lifestyle, the Reguibat gradually turned during the 18th century towards camel-rearing, raiding and nomadism, in response attacks from neighboring tribes which provoked them into taking up arms and leaving the subordinate position they had previously held. This started a process of rapid expansion, and set the Reguibat on the course towards total transformation into a traditional warrior tribe.[11] In the late 19th century, they had become well-established as the largest Sahrawi tribe, and were recognized as the most powerful warrior tribe of the area.[11]

The grazing lands of the Reguibat fractions extended from Western Sahara into the northern half of Mauritania, the edges of southern Morocco and northern Mali, and large swaths of western Algeria (where they captured the town of Tindouf from the Tajakant tribe in 1895, and turned into an important Reguibat encampment).[11] The Reguibat were known for their skill as warriors, as well as for an uncompromising tribal independence, and dominated large areas of the Sahara Desert through both trade and use of arms.[11] The Reguibat have been trading in the Algerian oasis markets of the Touat and Gourara regions.[2]

A long war started with the Tadjakant who were a tribe that founded the city of Tindouf in 1820. Ghazis happened until the end of the 20th century when in 1895 an assembly of the Reguibat including both the Reguibat as-Sahel and Reguibat Lagouacem decided on a full scale mobilisation of all able-bodied men with a warrior of the Oulad Moussa selected as dahman (the leader of the troops). This led to an attack on Tindouf by 1000 men of the Reguibat and the Reguibat were victorious. The Reguibat fought in other wars and assisted other tribes. For example, they assisted the Oulad Bou Sbaa in resisting a force from the Adrar and the Hodh led by Sidi Ahmed al-Kunti and sided with the Oulad Tidrarin in their rebellion against the Oulad Delim until the peace the Reguibat made with the Oulad Delim in 1892.[10]

Reguibat Sahrawis were very prominent in the resistance to French and Spanish colonization in the 19th and 20th century, and could not be subdued in the Spanish Sahara until 1934, almost 50 years after the area was first colonized by Spain.[10][11]

Since the 1970s, many Reguibat have been active in the Polisario Front's resistance to Moroccan rule over the still non-sovereign Western Sahara territory.[10] Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz was Reguibi, as is the Moroccan CORCAS leader Khalihenna Ould Errachid.

Socio-political Organisation

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There was not a single shaykh ash-shuyukh of the Reguibat. Rather, they have two shaykhs of equal standing representing the two main territorial divisions - the Reguibat ash-Sahel and Reguibat Lagouacem. Under each shaykh, there was a body of 20 councillors who were called the ait arba'in (the people of the forty). This is a Berber term and the ait arba'in is traditionally a feature of Berber political organisation meaning that the Reguibat adopted it some time ago. The ait arba'in was chosen by the shaykh of the territorial divisions and they carried out his edicts as well as the qadi's. The ait arba'in was operative on a full scale only during war time. They today do not exist.[9]

Subdivisions

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The two divisions of the Reguibat

According to the tribe's genealogists, Sidi Ahmed al-Reguibi married a woman of the Sellam called Kaouria Mint Mohammed. They had three sons: Ali, Amar and Qacem. These three sons engendered the main clans and subtribes of the Reguibat who is divided into two main geographical divisions:[9][10][12]

  • Reguibat as-Sahel, who inhabit the west. They descend from Ali and Amar and were traditionally branded by the letter kaf (ك).
    • Oulad Moussa
    • Souadd
    • Lemouedenin
    • Oulad Daoud
    • Oulad Borhim
    • Oulad Cheikh
    • Thaalat
    • Oulad Taleb
  • Reguibat Lagouacem (also known as the Reguibat ash-Sharg), who inhabit the east. They descend from Qacem and were traditionally branded by the letter qaf (ق).
    • Ahel Brahim Ou Daoud
    • Lebouihat
    • Laiaicha
    • Foqra

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Olson, James Stuart (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 494. ISBN 978-0-313-27918-8.
  2. ^ a b Division, American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Areas Studies; Army, United States (1965). U.S. Army Area Handbook for Algeria. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 89.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Sabatier, Diane Himpan; Himpan, Brigitte (2019-06-28). Nomads of Mauritania. Vernon Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-62273-582-2.
  4. ^ Suwaed, Muhammad (2015-10-30). Historical Dictionary of the Bedouins. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-4422-5451-0.
  5. ^ Barbier, Maurice (2003-06-01). Le conflit du Sahara occidental: Réédition d'un livre paru en 1982 (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. pp. 16–18. ISBN 9782296278776.
  6. ^ Gaudio, Attilio (1993). Les populations du Sahara occidental: histoire, vie et culture (in French). KARTHALA Editions. p. 36. ISBN 9782865374113.
  7. ^ Mohsen-Finan, Khadija (1997). Sahara occidental: les enjeux d'un conflit régional (in French). CNRS éditions. p. 17. ISBN 9782271055149. ......ainsi les Reguibat, qui sont berbères Sanhadja, sont principalement guerriers et accessoirement pasteurs......
  8. ^ Damis, John James (1983). Conflict in Northwest Africa: The Western Sahara Dispute. Hoover Institute Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8179-7781-8.
  9. ^ a b c d e Hart, David M. (1962). "The Social Structure of the Rgībāt Bedouins of the Western Sahara". Middle East Journal. 16 (4): 515–527. ISSN 0026-3141.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Pazzanita, Anthony G. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara. United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. pp. 367–371. ISBN 978-0-8108-5540-3.
  11. ^ a b c d e Trout, Frank E. (1969). Morocco's Saharan Frontiers. Geneva: Librairie Droz. pp. 225–228. ISBN 978-2-600-04495-0.
  12. ^ Pazzanita, Anthony G. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara. United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. pp. 561–562. ISBN 978-0-8108-5540-3.

Further reading

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  • John Mercer (1976), Spanish Sahara, George Allen & Unwid Ltd (ISBN 0-04-966013-6)
  • Anthony G. Pazzanita (2006), Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, Scarecrow Press
  • Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff (1980), The Western Saharans. Background to Conflict, Barnes & Noble Books (ISBN 0-389-20148-0)
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