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.
17-449: 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
34-538: A bank account linked to PUNS. Under King Hassan II , he was appointed in 1977 as Minister of Saharan Affairs, and later as mayor (President of the Municipal Council) of Laayoune from 1983 until 2006, when he was succeeded by his brother, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid . He was viewed as very close to the King Hassan's right-hand man, the minister of interior Driss Basri , who held responsibility for
51-467: A government body behind Morocco's proposed autonomy plan for Western Sahara . Khalihenna Ould Errachid was born on 23 November 1951 in a tent near Laayoune within the Reguibat tribe. His father, a respected herdsman in the tribe, was a veteran of a tribal revolt against France during their conquest of Morocco in 1937. He arrived in school at the age of 9, yet was an academically gifted pupil, and
68-654: A press conference in Paris , Ould Errachid declared that "if it weren't for phosphates , nobody would vindicate the territory. What Morocco seeks is not the Sahrawi welfare, but the exploitation of phosphates. We want independence, and the circumstance is given that in the future state of Western Sahara there are phosphates deposits." During the United Nations visiting mission to Spanish Sahara in May–June 1975, and before
85-460: A process of rapid expansion, and set the Reguibat on the course towards total transformation into a traditional warrior tribe. In the late 19th century, they had become well-established as the largest Sahrawi tribe, and were recognized as the most powerful warrior tribe of the area. The grazing lands of the Reguibat fractions extended from Western Sahara into the northern half of Mauritania ,
102-466: Is a Sahrawi tribal confederation of mixed Arab and Sanhaja Berber origins. The Reguibat speak Hassaniya Arabic , and are Arab in culture. They claim descent from Sidi Ahmed al-Reguibi , an Arab Islamic preacher from Beni Hassan who settled in Saguia el-Hamra in 1503. They also believe that they are, through him, a chorfa tribe, i.e. descendants of Muhammad . Religiously, they belong to
119-631: The Madrid Agreement , Ould Errachid fled from El Aaiún to Las Palmas , and then took another plane to Morocco. Few days after, on May 19, Ould Errachid declared his allegiance to the King of Morocco, Hassan II in Fez . Ould Errachid claims that he helped organize the Green March in 1975. Several sources alleged that he left Western Sahara with between 160,000 and 6,000,000 pesetas taken from
136-502: The Maliki school of Sunni Islam . Their population in 1996 exceeded 100,000 people. Initially an important Arabic zawiya or religious tribe with a semi-sedentary lifestyle, the Reguibat gradually turned during the 18th century towards camel-rearing, raiding and nomadism , in response attacks from neighboring tribes which provoked them into taking up arms and leaving the subordinate position they had previously held. This started
153-657: The Spanish Legion's brutal crackdown on the protest which led to a dozen deaths and Bassiri's abduction. After Bassiri's abduction, Khalihenna went into hiding in Laayoune. He was arrested three days later by Spanish colonial authorities but was quickly released on the intervention of his Spanish teachers. After obtaining his baccalaureate and a scholarship, he undertook his superior studies in an industrial engineering school in Madrid . In 1974, Ould Errachid started
170-659: The Algerian oasis markets of the Touat and Gourara regions. Reguibat Sahrawis were very prominent in the resistance to French and Spanish colonization in the 19th and 20th century, and could not be subdued in the Spanish Sahara until 1934, almost 50 years after the area was first colonized by Spain. Since the 1970s, many Reguibat have been active in the Polisario Front 's resistance to Moroccan rule over
187-632: The Saharan territories, where Polisario waged a guerrilla war against Morocco until the 1991 cease-fire (still in effect, pending final resolution of the conflict). Following the death of King Hassan in 1999, and the dismissal of Basri by the new king Mohammed VI 's new government a few years later, Ould Errachid believed his political career was over. In 2006, King Mohammed VI created the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) to promote Morocco's autonomy plan. As head of
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#1732772225033204-566: The edges of southern Morocco and northern Mali , and large swaths of western Algeria (where they captured the town of Tindouf from the Tajakant tribe in 1895, and turned into an important Reguibat encampment). The Reguibat were known for their skill as warriors, as well as for an uncompromising tribal independence, and dominated large areas of the Sahara Desert through both trade and use of arms. The Reguibat have been trading in
221-587: The pro-Spanish Sahrawi National Union Party (PUNS). The PUNS, which had been created with the approval of the Spanish authorities, was the only authorized political party in Spanish Sahara (also in the rest of Spain, except the ruling Falange movement) between 1974 and 1975, had been created to counter the territorial claims from neighbours Morocco and Mauritania , as well as the Sahrawi nationalism Polisario Front , created in 1973. In April 1975, during
238-539: The purest descendants of the Beni Hassan. This Mauritania -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Western Sahara article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about ethnicity is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Reguibat tribe The Reguibat ( Arabic : الرقيبات ; variously transliterated Reguibate , Rguibat , R'gaybat , R'gibat , Erguibat , Ergaybat )
255-537: The royal council, Khalihenna Ould Errachid made a public comeback, and was featured prominently in Moroccan diplomacy . Khalihenna Ould Errachid considers the Polisario Front as an obstacle to a peaceful solution due to what he saw as deep dependency on Algeria. The Polisario refuses to acknowledge CORCAS and refuses Morocco's autonomy plan, opting for full independence instead. In 2008, a transcript from
272-465: The still non-sovereign Western Sahara territory. Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz was Reguibi, as is the Moroccan CORCAS leader Khalihenna Ould Errachid . Khalihenna Ould Errachid Khalihenna Ould Errachid ( Arabic : خليهن ولد الرشيد ; born 23 November 1951) is a Moroccan Sahrawi politician. He is the president of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS),
289-494: Was quickly spotted by the Spanish colonial administration. He attended both elementary school and high school in Laayoune. Interested in politics from a young age, Ould Errachid was a rising nationalist, who attended reunions in his family home organized by Muhammad Bassiri in the 1960s. On June 17, 1970, Bassiri organized a large-scale demonstration in Zemla , a district of Laayoune which Ould Errachid took part in, he witnessed
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