The Imraguen, or Imeraguen ( Berber: Imragen), are an ethnic group or tribe of

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

and

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...

. They were estimated at around 5,000 individuals in the 1970s. Most members of the group live in

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

villages in the

Banc d'Arguin National Park The Banc d'Arguin National Park ( ar, حوض أركين) of Bay of Arguin lies in Western Africa on the west coast of Mauritania between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and is the former mouth of the Tamanrasset River. The World Heritage Site is ...

, located on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast of Mauritania.

History

The name ''Imraguen'' (

Berber orthography Berber orthography is the writing system(s) used to transcribe the Berber languages. In antiquity, the Libyco-Berber script (Tifinagh) was utilized to write Berber. Early uses of the script have been found on rock art and in various sepulchres. Fo ...

: ''imragen'') is a Berber word meaning "fishermen", or «people who fish while walking on the sea».,Fishermen who "walk on water" burn their nets
''Panda.org'', 5 May 2004 or «those who harvest life».
''Webislam.com'', 17 June 2006 The Imraguen are believed to descend from the

Bafour people The Bafour or Bafur are a group of people inhabiting Mauritania and Western Sahara. Their origins most likely ultimately lie in the Mandé peoples, only to later be absorbed by groups such as the Wolof, Serer, Fulani, or Tuareg. Historian James ...

. According to the Documentation of the human population of the territory, the Imraguen people lived on the Banc d'Arguin National Park for thousands of years, and its population had probably been larger. Militarily powerless, the Imraguen were traditionally reduced to the degrading lower-

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

status of

Znaga The Sanhaja ( ber, Aẓnag, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; ar, صنهاجة, ''Ṣanhaja'' or زناگة ''Znaga'') were once one of the largest Berbers, Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata, Zanata and Masmuda con ...

, forcibly ruled and

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

ed ( horma) by more powerful Berber, Hassane and Zawia tribes, such as the

Oulad Delim The Oulad Delim () are a Bedouin Sahrawi tribe of Arab descent which originated in Yemen. They are descended from Delim bin Hassan, who was from the Ma'qili tribe of Beni Hassan which settled in the Sahara in the 12th century. They were formerly ...

and

Ouled Bou Sbaa The Oulad Bou Sbaa (var. Oulad Bou Sbaâ, Oulad Bousbae, from ''awlād abū sib'a'', children of Abu Sib'a, the "Father of the Lions") is a Chorfa/Zaouia tribe, who claim descent from Abu Sib'a, the Idrissid 16th century tribal chief. They live in ...

. In 2008, the Imraguen people occupied 9 small villages along the coastline. Jean-Pierre Turquoi
Mauritanie : au pays des Imraguen
''Lemonde.fr'', 11 April 2008 Some Imraguen populate the abandoned

La Güera La Güera ( ar, الڭويرة ''al-Gūwayra''; also known as ''La Agüera'', ''Lagouira'', ''El Gouera'') is a ghost town on the Atlantic coast at the southern tip of Western Sahara, on the western side of the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula which i ...

fort, which is also the south point of the Western Sahara zone claimed by Morocco.

Fishing

A few generations ago, the Imraguen people used to whistle the dolphins to bring them near the shore and catch all the mullets that always followed the dolphins. The Imraguen people are the only ones authorized to fish in the Banc d'Arguin area, as long as they use their traditional fishing techniques. The number of fishes caught for each species is limited and strongly reinforced by the Mauritanian authorities. In 2004, the Imraguen people agreed to preserve the shark and ray species in the Banc d'Arguin National Park (which became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1989) and traded their nets for money. The Imraguen people blame the new oil and gas explorations around the Banc d'Arguin area, along with a new road adjacent to the area, as the main factors for the reduction of fish reproduction in the area. At the Arkeiss village, it is possible for tourists to practice "sports fishing" in the Banc d'Arguin and gather up to 5 kilos of fish.

Language

The Imraguen speak

Hassaniya Arabic Hassānīya ( ar, حسانية '; also known as , , , , and ''Maure'') is a variety of Maghrebi Arabic spoken by Mauritanian Arabs and the Sahrawi. It was spoken by the Beni Ḥassān Bedouin tribes, who extended their authority over most of M ...

with some Berber vocabulary related to fishing;Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices their dialect is referred to as the Imraguen language.

Religion

The Imraguen are

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s of the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

rite.

References

External links

Banc d'Arguin National Park Protected Areas Programme
{{Authority control Sahrawi tribes Ethnic groups in Western Sahara Ethnic groups in Mauritania Mandé people