Bidhan
With Bidhan , also Bidan ( Arabic بيضان, DMG Baiḍān ( pl .), Sg. M. Baiḍānī ) are the Arab- Berber ethnic groups of the Moors who live in the Sahara ( Mauritania , Western Sahara , Mali , Morocco , Algeria and Niger ). This article provides an overview of the social structure of this people. The meaning of the word Bidhan comes from the Arabic word for 'white' Arabic أبيض, DMG abyaḍ .
Settlement area and society
The Bidhan are of Arab-Berber descent, although over the centuries many have married among the African peoples. These Moors occupy dispersed areas in West Africa , southern Morocco, Niger, the Atlantic coast and Mali. They speak Hassania , (also: Hassaniya or klam hassan), an Arabic dialect . The greatest concentration of this group is in Mauritania , which owes its name to this main group. The complex social relationships of Moorish society are based on a rigid hierarchical social and ethnic division. The social distinctions reflect the impact of heritage, crafts and racing. Moors differentiate between the free status of the upper class (warriors and religious scholars) on the one hand, and those who pay tribute, craftsmen and slaves on the other. The non-Moorish peoples ( Soudans , "Black Africans") are not included in this division.
The two ruling groups in Moorish society are the warriors; mainly of Arab descent of the Beni Hassan tribes , hence their name Hassan or Lerab (العرب) and the religious leaders Zawaya (الزوايا) or Telba (الطلبة), also called marabouts, are the heirs of the religious Moors of the Almoravids . These two groups represent the Moorish nobility and mixed the least with the black African peoples. The vassals of the tributary Zenaga belong to the elite and follow the Hassan and Zawaya in status. They are the descendants of the Berbers defeated by the Arabs and their Arabic dialect shows a greater Berber influence. Although these three social classes are called the "white" Moors ( Bidhan ), the Zenaga have intermingled with the Africans to a greater degree.
The craftsmen Lemalmin (المعلمين, maʿllem , m., Maʿllemīn , Pl., "Blacksmith") are viewed as members of a self-contained caste who marry with one another and lead their own social life. The bards and entertainers, called ighawen (iggāwen) in Mauritania and griots elsewhere in West Africa, are also members of a separate caste. The "black" Moors Haratin , the descendants of the subjugated slave class, belong to the lower social rank .
Original myths were passed on to heighten perceptions of social status and to justify elements of this sophisticated system of stratification. The artisans and musicians in the society of the Moors would be of Semitic ( Arab ) rather than Berber or African origin. It is thought that the 'Imraguen fishermen', a caste group living near Nouadhibou , may have descended from the 'Bafour' indigenous people, an indigenous black ethnic group who emigrated south before the expansion of the desert. The small hunter groups of the Nmadis could be the remnants of the first people to inhabit the Sahara and are of Berber origin.
Bidhan nobility
The contact between the elites of the Moors, warriors and marabouts is symbolic. Traditionally, the bellicose have protected the unarmed religious tribes, while the marabouts offered political, spiritual and moral support to the warriors. The warriors generally enforce their interests through fighting and wars and often have no mastery of any other craft, while the marabouts represent the intellectual class. They work in agriculture and trade and see themselves as the bearers and protectors of the Islamic-Arab culture. The majority of the warring tribes were pacified under the French; they have moved on to ranching and trading. Although the role of the warring tribes changed from physical protection to political and economic leadership, the alliance of the traditionally warring groups with those religious tribes remained.
Zenaga
Zenaga, also called lahma , are descendants of the vassals who pay tribute to the nobility, have an ethnic and cultural tendency towards the Berbers and, like the nobility, are divided into martial and religious tribes. They were traditionally an aid to the nobility. Zenaga work in stockbreeding and take care of the families of the nobility. They paid individual and group tribute 'legarama' for their nobility, who in return granted them protection and spiritual support. Those Zenaga who lived with the warring tribes are called friends ('Les-hab'), while those who live with the spiritual are called 'Et-lamiz'. Although the French colonial administration had banned the tribute (custom), individual tributes in the form of military or educational services were performed in some areas and the group tributes were paid in the form of merchandise until the 1960s.
Craftsmen and entertainers (artists)
The two professional castes of Moorish society are the skilled craftsmen (maʿllemīn) and the entertainers (iggāwen). The craftsmen not only practice, as their name suggests, the blacksmith's trade and work in the metal sector, but also in the jewelry trade, wood processing, bronze and leather processing, pottery, shoemaking and weaving. All jobs except leather work, weaving and tailoring were done by men. These three are the job of the craftswoman ( maʿllema , Pl. Maʿllemat ). Although the elite viewed the artisans as subjects, they were accepted into the middle of the community and almost equaled because of their valuable products and services.
The entertainers, poets and musicians form a special group. The society of the Moors, like the majority of the Islamic societies, attaches great importance to poetry and music, at the same time some Moors fear the poets and musicians, to whom they attribute secret knowledge and mystical powers that could be physically or politically threatening. As a result, the noble families often seek the vicinity of the entertainers in order to express their elite status by enjoying entertainment and protection. Fishermen, salt miners and nomadic hunters are economically and socially on the fringes of Moorish society and are i. A. Considered outside the caste system.
Black bidhan
Black Moors differ from the “Black Africans” in their cultural inclination towards the White Moors and in their cultural distance from Black Africa. Mostly their ancestors were slaves in Moorish society. Even after independence in 1960, Moorish society continued to accept the institution of servitude, distinguishing between three status types: full slaves, partial slaves and the former slaves called haratin (Sing. Hartani ). The conditions of slavery varied from benevolent to harsh and cruel. The white Moors had full rights over their slaves, including the right to sell or locate them. Servitude was banned several times, most recently in 1980. The term abd (slave) was officially replaced by the term for Freimann hartani , but the black Moors are still considered a slave class. Their status and role in society have changed little.
Islamic law requires Muslim slave owners to release their slaves by the fifth generation at the latest. However, the Haratin usually remained in their former owner's camp and continued to occupy the servant role. Whether as a slave or a freeman, the black Moors tended their masters' animals, served in the household, planted palms and millet or worked in the harvest of gum arabic.
Relationship and marriage
The main relationship among the Moors is patrilineal, a social system of order in which the descent is determined by the paternal line, all children bear the father's name and belong to his tribe. Among the sedentary people, the smallest patrilineal unit is a related group of men who, with their wives, sons and unmarried daughters, form the extended family, called khayma or ´ayla . In nomadic groups, the significant unit is the camp group, made up of several related ancestral units and their extended families. The tribe 'Ghabila', the sub-tribe Vakhez , and the ancestral unit 'Khayma' are groups of an ever-increasing inclusive, which are all based on the principle of patrilineal descent.
The marriage is almost always endogamous, within the same clan (tribe). Islamic marriage rules are generally followed with the preferred marriage model between first cousins and the strict prohibition of marriage between family members. In general, tradition emphasizes marriage within the same tribe first, then at the same social level. Polygamy is accepted by many groups, but practiced quite rarely. Successive marriages, on the other hand, are commonplace, especially among the elites. Marriage to a widow or divorced woman requires less effort than a first marriage. Although levirate marriage is permitted, the marriage of a widow to the brother of her late husband, widows live i. A. with one of her sons before they remarry.
See also
Web links
- ZDF documentation on zdf-enterprises.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Info on tom-brain.ch
- ↑ Info on sahara-portal.com
- ↑ Report ( Memento of the original from October 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on motorradreiseforum.de
