The Hassane is a name for the traditionally dominant warrior tribes of the Sahrawi-

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

areas of present-day

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

, southern Morocco and Western Sahara. Although lines were blurred by intermarriage and tribal re-affiliation, the Hassane were considered descendants of the Arab Maqil tribe Beni Hassan (hence the name). They held power over Sanhadja

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

-descended zawiya (religious) and znaga (servant) tribes, extracting from these the

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. The powerful Hassane warrior tribes would extract it from low- caste Znag ...

tax in exchange for armed protection. Occasionally, such as in the case of the important Reguibat tribe, Zawāyā Berber groups would rise to Hassane status by growing in power and prestige and taking up armed raiding; they would then often

Arabize Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...

culturally to fit the prevailing image of Hassane tribes as original Arabs. A good example of a Hassane tribe is the Río de Oro-centered Oulad Delim, which is considered as among the purest descendants of the Beni Hassan.

See also

References

Further reading