The Masmuda ( ar, المصمودة,

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 ...

: ⵉⵎⵙⵎⵓⴷⵏ) is a

tribal

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

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 ...

and one of the largest in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

, along with the Zanata and the

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

. They were composed of several sub-tribes:

Berghouata The Barghawatas (also Barghwata or Berghouata) were a Berber tribal confederation on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, belonging to the Masmuda confederacy. After allying with the Sufri Kharijite rebellion in Morocco against the Umayyad Caliphate, t ...

Ghomaras The Ghomara (, ''Ighmarn'') are a group of tribes in northern Morocco of about 12,000 people, living between the rivers Oued Laou and Ouringa, east of Chefchaouen and south of Tetouan, in the Western Rif. The river Tiguisas runs through their t ...

(Ghomarids),

Hintata The Hintata or Hin Tata were a Berber tribal confederation belonging to the tribal group Masmuda of the High Atlas, Morocco. They were historically known for their political power in the region of Marrakesh between the twelfth century and sixteent ...

s (

Hafsids The Hafsids ( ar, الحفصيون ) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. who ruled Ifriqiya (western ...

Tin Mal Tinmel ( Berber: Tin Mel or Tin Mal, ar, تينمل) is a small mountain village in the High Atlas 100 km from Marrakesh, Morocco. Tinmel was the cradle of the Berber Almohad empire, from where the Almohads started their military campaigns ...

el, Hergha, Genfisa, Seksiwa, Gedmiwa, Hezerdja, Urika, Guerouanes, Bni M'tir, Hezmira, Regraga, Haha les Banou Maghus, Gilawa and others. Today, the Masmuda confederacy largely corresponds to the speakers of the Shilha (Tachelhit)

variety, whereas other clans, such as

Regraga The Regraga are a sub-tribe of the Masmuda Berber tribal confederacy. They are also one of three tribes that formed the population of Essaouira, Morocco. The Regraga came from the Jbel Hadid mountains and introduced Islam to the region; the other ...

have adopted

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 ...

History

The Masmuda settled large parts of

, and were largely sedentary and practised agriculture. The residence of the Masmuda aristocracy was

Aghmat Aghmat (Tashelhit: ''Aɣmat'', ''Āghmāt''; pronounced locally ''Ughmat, Uɣmat'') was an important commercial medieval Berber town in Morocco. It is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". The city is located approximately 30&n ...

in the

High Atlas High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...

mountains. From the 10th century the Berber tribes of the

and Zanata groups invaded the lands of the Masmuda, followed from the 12th century onwards by Arab

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...

(see

Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of th ...

Ibn Tumart Abu Abd Allah Amghar Ibn Tumart ( Berber: ''Amghar ibn Tumert'', ar, أبو عبد الله امغار ابن تومرت, ca. 1080–1130 or 1128) was a Muslim Berber religious scholar, teacher and political leader, from the Sous in southern M ...

united the Masmuda tribes at the beginning of the 12th century and founded the

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...

movement, which subsequently unified the whole of the Maghreb and

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

.Nelson 19-20 After the downfall of the Almohads, however, the particularism of the Masmuda peoples prevailed once more, as a result of which they lost their political significance.

Sub-tribes

The author of the book "Mafakhir al-Barbar" (roughly translates as: ''The prides of the Berbers''), cites the sub-tribes of the Masmuda as follows: *

Haha Haha or ha ha is an onomatopoeic representation of laughter. Haha and variants may also refer to: People * Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (born 1992), American football player * Haha (entertainer) (born 1979), Entertainer Places * Saint-Louis-du ...

*Ourika *Hezmira *Guedmiwa *Henfisa *Hezerga *

Doukkala Doukkala () is a tribal confederation of mostly Arab origin, and is also a natural region of Morocco made of fertile plains and forests. Nowadays it is part of the Casablanca-Settat administrative region. The region is a plain stretching fr ...

*Beni Magus *Tehlawa

History

Sub-tribes

References

See also