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The Hassane is a name for the traditionally dominant warrior tribe
Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups ....
s of the Sahrawi
Sahrawi

Most frequently in English language usage, the term Sahrawi is usually used in reference to populations from the disputed Western Sahara territory, sometimes with a nationalist connotation....
-Moorish areas of present-day Mauritania
Mauritania

Mauritania , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest....
 and Western Sahara
Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west....
. Although lines were blurred by intermarriage and tribal re-affiliation, the Hassane were considered descendants of the Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
 Maqil
Maqil

The Maqil or Maquil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes of Yemeni origin who migrated westwards via Egypt during the 13th century. The Beni Hassan tribes claim to be descendants of Maqil, once living in Tunisia....
 tribe Beni Hassan
Beni Hassan

Beni ?assan was a Bedouin group, one of several Yemeni Maqil Arab tribes who emigrated in the Middle Ages to northwest Africa and present-day Western Sahara and Mauritania....
 (hence the name), and held power over Sanhadja Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
-descended zawiya (religious) and znaga
Znaga

The Znaga or Zenaga tribes were at the bottom of Sahrawi-Moorish society in today's Mauritania and Western Sahara in North Africa. They performed demeaning duties for their Hassane and Zawiya overlords, and were additionally exploited through payment of the horma tax in exchange for protection, as they could not bear arms....
 (servant) tribes, extracting from these the horma
Horma

The horma was a tribute paid by subservient tribes to their protectors in traditional Sahrawi-Moorish society in today's Mauritania and Western Sahara in North Africa....
 tax in exchange for armed protection. Occasionally, such as in the case of the important Reguibat
Reguibat

The Reguibat is a Sahrawi tribe of mainly Sanhadja Berber people origins, although a number of Arab tribes have merged with the Reguibat during the last two centuries....
 tribe, Zaouiya Berber groups would rise to Hassane status by growing in power and prestige and taking up armed raiding; they would then often Arabize
Arabization

Arabization describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic language and/or incorporates Arab culture....
 culturally to fit the prevailing image of Hassane tribes as "original" Arabs.

A good example of a Hassane tribe is the Río de Oro
Río de Oro

R?o de Oro , is, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spain province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it was originally taken as a Spanish colonial possession in the late 19th century....
-centered Oulad Delim
Oulad Delim

The Oulad Delim is a Sahrawi tribe of mainly Arab origins, formerly considered of Hassane status, i.e. part of the ruling warrior stratum. They speak Hassaniya Arabic Language....
, which is considered as among the purest descendants of the Beni Hassan.








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Encyclopedia


The Hassane is a name for the traditionally dominant warrior tribe
Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups ....
s of the Sahrawi
Sahrawi

Most frequently in English language usage, the term Sahrawi is usually used in reference to populations from the disputed Western Sahara territory, sometimes with a nationalist connotation....
-Moorish areas of present-day Mauritania
Mauritania

Mauritania , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest....
 and Western Sahara
Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west....
. Although lines were blurred by intermarriage and tribal re-affiliation, the Hassane were considered descendants of the Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
 Maqil
Maqil

The Maqil or Maquil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes of Yemeni origin who migrated westwards via Egypt during the 13th century. The Beni Hassan tribes claim to be descendants of Maqil, once living in Tunisia....
 tribe Beni Hassan
Beni Hassan

Beni ?assan was a Bedouin group, one of several Yemeni Maqil Arab tribes who emigrated in the Middle Ages to northwest Africa and present-day Western Sahara and Mauritania....
 (hence the name), and held power over Sanhadja Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
-descended zawiya (religious) and znaga
Znaga

The Znaga or Zenaga tribes were at the bottom of Sahrawi-Moorish society in today's Mauritania and Western Sahara in North Africa. They performed demeaning duties for their Hassane and Zawiya overlords, and were additionally exploited through payment of the horma tax in exchange for protection, as they could not bear arms....
 (servant) tribes, extracting from these the horma
Horma

The horma was a tribute paid by subservient tribes to their protectors in traditional Sahrawi-Moorish society in today's Mauritania and Western Sahara in North Africa....
 tax in exchange for armed protection. Occasionally, such as in the case of the important Reguibat
Reguibat

The Reguibat is a Sahrawi tribe of mainly Sanhadja Berber people origins, although a number of Arab tribes have merged with the Reguibat during the last two centuries....
 tribe, Zaouiya Berber groups would rise to Hassane status by growing in power and prestige and taking up armed raiding; they would then often Arabize
Arabization

Arabization describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic language and/or incorporates Arab culture....
 culturally to fit the prevailing image of Hassane tribes as "original" Arabs.

A good example of a Hassane tribe is the Río de Oro
Río de Oro

R?o de Oro , is, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spain province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it was originally taken as a Spanish colonial possession in the late 19th century....
-centered Oulad Delim
Oulad Delim

The Oulad Delim is a Sahrawi tribe of mainly Arab origins, formerly considered of Hassane status, i.e. part of the ruling warrior stratum. They speak Hassaniya Arabic Language....
, which is considered as among the purest descendants of the Beni Hassan.

See also


Tribal castes and terms:
  • Zaouiya (religious tribes)
  • Znaga
    Znaga

    The Znaga or Zenaga tribes were at the bottom of Sahrawi-Moorish society in today's Mauritania and Western Sahara in North Africa. They performed demeaning duties for their Hassane and Zawiya overlords, and were additionally exploited through payment of the horma tax in exchange for protection, as they could not bear arms....
     (subservient tribes)
  • Haratine (former slaves, freedmen)
  • Abid
    Abid

    Abid * Abid Ali , all-rounder Indian cricketer* Abid Ali Abid , Urdu language and Persian language critic and poet* Abid Ali Kazi , cricket statistician and historian...
     (slaves)
  • Igaouen (griot
    Griot

    A griot or jeli is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral history. As such, they are sometimes also called bards....
     bards and magician
    Magic (illusion)

    Magic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats, using purely natural means....
    s)


Other:
  • Mauritania
    Mauritania

    Mauritania , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest....
  • Western Sahara
    Western Sahara

    Western Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west....
  • Hassaniya Arabic
  • Arab
    Arab

    An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
  • Berber
    Berber people

    Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
  • Sahrawi
    Sahrawi

    Most frequently in English language usage, the term Sahrawi is usually used in reference to populations from the disputed Western Sahara territory, sometimes with a nationalist connotation....
  • Moors
    Moors

    In the Spanish language, the term for Moors is Moro; in Portuguese language the word is mouro. There seems to have been some confusion about the relationship of the word moro/mouro to the word moreno , both from Greek language ma?ros, i.e....


Further reading


  • 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)