Hassane

The Hassane is a name for the traditionally dominant warrior tribes of the Sahrawi-Moorish areas of present-day Mauritania, 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-descended zawiya (religious) and znaga (servant) tribes, extracting from these the horma tax in exchange for armed protection.[1]

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 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.

  1. ^ "Archived copy". lcweb2.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)