The Haratin (, singular Ḥarṭānī), also spelled Haratine or Harratin, are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahara, Senegal, Mali, Tunisia and Algeria.
The Haratin speak Maghrebi Arabic dialects and Berber languages. They are believed to largely descend from native ancient black populations that inhabited the Sahara."With the spectacular evolution of genetic analysis methods in recent years (particularly with regard to DNA), it is now possible to evaluate in an increasingly precise way the specific and original characteristics of these populations, which for too long have been considered as a by-product of slavery when they are one of the oldest components of the Saharan population."
They form the single largest defined ethnolinguistic group in Mauritania where they account for 40% of the population (~1.5 million). In parts of Arab-Berber Maghreb, they are sometimes referred to as a "socially distinct class of workers".
The Haratin have been, and still commonly are socially isolated in some Maghrebi countries, living in segregated, Haratin-only ghettos. They are commonly perceived as an endogamous group of former slaves or descendants of slaves. They converted to Islam under the Arabs and Berbers and were forcibly recruited into the Moroccan army by Ismail Ibn Sharif (Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727) to consolidate power.
Traditionally, many Haratin have held occupations in agriculture – as serfs, herdsmen, and indentured workers.
Name and etymology The origin and meaning of the name Haratin (singular Hartani) is controversial. Some claim that it comes from the Berber word ahardan (pl. ihardin) referring to skin color, more specifically "dark color". This word is absent from the Arabic language and has been used by the Sanhaja tribe and Zenata tribe before the arrival of the Beni Ḥassān. Others claim it comes from the Arabic phrase al-Hurr al-Thani literally "the second free man" but having the meaning of "second class free person". Neither of these claims have much proof. Alternatively, it has been suggested the name may come from the Arabic verb haratha meaning "to cultivate" which may have seemed plausible since the Haratin were known to be cultivators in the south of Morocco.
According to historian Remco Ensel – a professor of anthropology specializing in Maghreb studies, the word "Haratin" in Morocco is a pejorative that connotes "subordination, disrepute" and in contemporary literature; it is often replaced with "Drawi", "Drawa", "Sahrawi", "Sahrawa", or other regional terms. In southern Morocco, Haratin prefer Drawa contesting servile descent and taking offense to the name Haratin. Because of this, Sudanese scholar Mohamed Hassan Mohamed argues Haratin is an imposed identity. They also use the terms Ayt Drā () or Ayt Tmourt (). Ayt is a Berber term meaning "people of" or "children of". The usage of this term indicates that there was acculturation into Berber culture. The Haratin claim that these names are an assertion of their ancient presence in southern Morocco.
History
The Haratin form an ethnic group distinct from Arab and Tuareg populations, as well as from the contemporary ethnic groups of sub-Saharan Africa.. In Mauritania, however, where there are nearly 1.5 million Haratin, they have developed a separate sense of ethnic identity.
Origins Despite it being commonly believed that the Haratin are entirely descended from Sub-Saharan slaves, they in part descend from groups native to southern Morocco and the northern Sahara. French academic André Adam attributed their origin mostly to inhabitants of the Sahara:
According to Nina Epton, who did field work in the Draa, there was a Haratin tradition that they descend from Ham, the son of Noah:
During the Roman occupation of Mauretania, the Godala Berber tribe fled to the south towards the Draa oasis and enslaved the local Haratin population.
Legal status They have historically inherited their slave status and family occupation, have been endogamous, and socially segregated. Some communities differentiated two types of slaves, one called 'Abid or "slave" and Haratin or "freed slave". However, per anthropologist John Shoup, both 'Abid and Haratin were not free to own land or had equivalent property rights. Regardless of whether they were technically free or not, they were treated as socially inferior in the communities they lived in. Being denied the right and the ability to own any land, they historically survived by accepting a patron-client serf relationship either as domestic servant or as share-cropping labor (khammasin).
Black Guard
They became a common target of mandatory conscription by the Moroccan ruler Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif (himself having a Haratin mother) as he sought to build a military that had no social or cultural attachment to any other Arab or Berber group in Maghreb. He conscripted the majority of able-bodied male Haratin and 'Abid that were present in Morocco at the time. This army was then commonly coerced into a series of wars in order to consolidate Ibn Sharif's power.
Culture
The Haratin speak Maghrebi Arabic dialects and Berber languages.
Music In Mauritania, a lot of the music of the Haratin is dedicated to religion. For example, there is the Madih which are evening songs of men and women gathered around the tidinet lute, a kettledrum and a cyclical drum which are songs of praise for the Islamic prophet Muhammad. There is also dhikr which are devotional recitations accompanied instrumentally. The Bonjé (ambience) music genre consists of dance songs, praise songs and songs to welcome people. A famous opening piece of both the Madih and Bonjé is Bismillahi Bismirasul (In the name of God, in the name of the Prophet).
Architecture The scholar Jeanne Marie Gentilleau identifies the "Haratin house" in the Draa valley as a house-granary designed for family living, protecting harvests and sheltering of animals. Gentilleau describes this house in the qsar as having a singular and central opening at the front which is the entrance to the hallway. The house has three levels to it and each are dedicated to one or more functions. The house is adapted to the pre-Saharan climate as well as the activity of its inhabitants who are oasis farmers.
Haratin communities The Haratin people are spread west of the Sahara Desert, mostly in Mauritania, Morocco, and Western Sahara. However, a small number are also spread across several countries, such as Senegal and Algeria.
Mauritania
In Mauritania, the Haratin form one of the largest ethnic groups and account for as much as 40% of the Mauritanians. They are sometimes referred to as "Black Moors", in contrast to Beidane, or "White Moors". The Haratin of Mauritania also primarily spoke Hassaniya Arabic.
The Haratin of Mauritania, according to anthropologist Joseph Hellweg, who specializes in West African studies, were historically part of a social caste-like hierarchy that likely developed from a Bedouin legacy between the 14th and 16th century. The "Hassan" monopolized the occupations related to war and politics, the "Zwaya" (Zawaya) the religious roles, the "Bidan" (White Moors) owned property and held slaves (Haratins, Black Moors). Each of these were immovable castes, endogamous, with hereditary occupations and where the upper strata collected tribute (horma) from the lower strata of Mauritanian society, considered them socially inferior, and denied them the right to own land or weapons thereby creating a socio-economically closed system.Anthony G. Pazzanita (1999), Middle East Journal, Political Transition in Mauritania: Problems and Prospects, Volume 53, Number 1 (Winter, 1999), pages 44-58Katherine Ann Wiley (2016), Making People Bigger: Wedding Exchange and the Creation of Social Value in Rural Mauritania, Africa Today, Johns Hopkins University Press, Volume 62, Number 3, pages 48-69Melinda Smale (1980), Women in Mauritania, USAID: Mauritania, Office of Women in Development, Agency for International Development, OICD Washington DC, page viii-ix, xviii-xix, 12-17, 35-36, 43; Quote: "Caste is the most specific of these crucial concepts. When applied to West African societies, it is used in the very general meaning of the division of societies into hierarchically rank-endogamous-occupational groups; the relation between these groups having ritual as well as economic significance. (...) To understand Mauritanian society, one must understand its ethnic groups, its tribes, socio-economic classes and its castes. The Hassaniya speakers who predominate over the majority of the country except along the river are divisible into two crucial subgroups - the Bidan or white Moors and the Haratin or black Moors. The Bidan are traditionally further divided into Z'waya (religious or "marabout" groups), Hassan (warrior groups), Zenaga (free tributary groups), Mu'allamin (craftsmen) and Ighyuwn (entertainers) (...)
In 1981, Mauritania officially abolished slavery. However, even after the formalities, abolishment, and new laws, discrimination against Haratin is still widespread, and many continue to be, for all practical purposes, enslaved, while large numbers live in other forms of informal dependence on their former masters. Although slavery was abolished by Presidential decree in 1981, it was not criminalized for the first time in 2007 and again in 2015, abolition in Mauritania is rarely enforced.
Amnesty International reported that in 1994, 90,000 Haratine still lived as "property" of their master, with the report indicating that "slavery in Mauritania is most dominant within the traditional upper class of the Moors."Afrol News According to Mauritanian officials, any master-serf relationship is mutually consensual. This position has been questioned by the United Nations and human rights advocacy groups.
The Amnesty International report states that "[s]social attitudes have changed among most urban Moors, but in rural areas, the ancient divide is still very alive." There have been many attempts to assess the real extension of slavery in modern Mauritania, but these have mostly been frustrated by the Nouakchott government's official stance that the practice has been eliminated. Amnesty further estimated that some 300,000 freed slaves continued to be in service of their former masters.
On 27 April 2007, Messaoud Ould Boulkheir was elected Speaker of the National Assembly, becoming the first black Haratin to hold the position.
Morocco
Haratin in Morocco are mostly concentrated in the southern part of the Drâa-Tafilalet region, specifically towns such as Zagora where they make up a significant portion of the populace. According to French explorer Charles de Foucauld, the Haratin may have formed a majority in southern Morocco with Haratin being nine-tenths of the population in some areas.
Haratin have been the slave strata of the Moroccan society through its recorded history. They were owned in every town and farming center before the time of Moroccan ruler Ismail Ibn Sharif. They provided domestic labor, farm labor, physical labor inside towns and markets, as well as were conscripted to fight wars.
According to Chouki El Hamel, a professor of history specializing in African Studies, the Moroccan Haratin may not be descendants of slaves of sub-Saharan origin but descend from native black populations who inhabited the south of Morocco. El Hamel claims that black Moroccans absorbed the "Arabo-centric values in the dominant interpretation of Islam" over the generations and they see themselves as Muslim Moroccans, rather than by their ethnic or native group.