Mzab () is a tribal confederation south of

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, part of the

Chaouia Chaouia may refer to: * Chaouia (region), a historical and ethno-geographical region of Morocco * Chaouia-Ouardigha, an administrative region of Morocco * Shawiya people, a Berber ethnic group of Algeria * Shawiya language Shawiya, or Shawiya Be ...

. The bulk of Mzab are of

Arabized Berber Arabized Berber denotes an inhabitant of the Maghreb region in western North Africa, whose native language is a local dialect of Arabic and whose ethnic origins are Berber. Most populations in the Maghreb are of Berber heritage, including thos ...

origins while the rest are of Hilalian Arab origins. The Moroccan Mzab are not to be confused with the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n Berber tribe that has the same name (see

M'zab The M'zab or Mzab ( Mozabite: ''Aghlan'', ar, مزاب) is a natural region of the northern Sahara Desert in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. It is located south of Algiers and there are approximately 360,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate). Geology ...

). ''Mzab'' is

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

for the

Mozabite people The Mozabite people are a Berber ethnic group inhabiting the M'zab natural region in the northern Sahara in Algeria. They speak Mozabite (''Tumẓabt''), one of the Zenati languages in the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. Many also speak ...

. Located in the historical breadbasket of Morocco (the Chaouia), Mzab's land is mostly used for wheat production, but is also famous for sheep husbandry (Sardy is the most common sheep race). Mzab's land is also nicknamed ''Al-'Alwa'' (Arabic: العلوة) which means height in Arabic because it's a plateau, which is part of the phosphate plateau that produces most of Morocco's highly prized mineral phosphate ore. The capital of Mzab is

Ben Ahmed Ben Ahmed (Moroccan Arabic: بن أحمد) is a town in Settat Province, Casablanca-Settat, Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Med ...

. Mzab is divided into many smaller tribes, the most important of which are: *

(Capital) *Sidi Hajjaj *Hamdawa حمداوة *Oulad Mrah *Khzazra الخزازرة *Oulad Jabi *Oulad Fares اولاد فارس *Beni Brahim بني براهيم *Maarif المعاريف *Mkhalkhliya المخلخلية *Oulad Belbagi اولاد بلباجى *Beni Arif بني عريف There was also a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

presence in Mzab, but all Jews left in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The ''Mellah'' الملاح and the ''Hajraat'' الحجرات (rocks in Arabic) still testify of this presence. Jewish tourists from amongst the Moroccan diaspora still visit the Hajraat sites every year. The site is a few kilometres from the Shrine of Sidi Mohamed El Fekkak, where an annual "Moussem" harvest festival is hosted.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tribus du Maroc - قبائل المغرب - Mzab

Arab tribes in Morocco Arabized Berbers