Morocco Tribes and Clans

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Tribes and Clans

Resources

Online Resources

• Arab Genealogy Books Online at FamilySearch Library; open access collection of Arabic genealogy books that have been digitized and can be browsed by country/region. They contain valuable information about tribal histories and family lineages.
• Al-Maktabah al-Shamilah (The Comprehensive Library) - Genealogy Category (Arabic) - catalogue of Arabic books on genealogy with detailed descriptions; books not accessible directly on website
• Genealogical Science Library (Arabic - مكتبة علوم النسب) - digital catalogue of Arabic books on family and tribal genealogies; open source books are linked and accessible
  • Email: olomanasb@gmail.com
• Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Arab Tribes (in Arabic). Omar Reda Kahala. Damascus, Syria: Al-Risala Publishers Foundation, 2011. Online at: Archive.org
  • معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة. عمر رضا كحالة. دمشق سوريا: مؤسسة الرسالة ناشرون, ٢٠١١
• The Collection of Genealogies. Abu al-Mundhir Hisham bin Muhammad bin al-Sa’ib al-Kalbi. Beirut, Lebanon: Alam al-Kutub, 2004. Online at: Archive.org
  • جمهرة النسب. أبو المنذر هشام بن محمد بن السائب الكلبي. بيروت، لبنان: عالم الكتب, ٢٠٠٤
• The Arab Tribes: Their Historical Origins and Roots (in Arabic), by Jamal Mashari al-Rafdi. Online at: Archive.org.
  • القبائل العربية: أصولها جذورها التاريخية، جمال بن مشاري الرفدي.
• The Glorious Pearls in the News of the Latest Arabs (in Arabic), by Sheikh Muhammad al-Bisam al-Najdi. Online at: Archive.org; description of Arab tribes at time of writing in the 19th Century
  • الدرر المفاخر في أخبار العرب الأواخر، الشيخ محمد البسام النجدي.
• al- Badw wa-al-ʻashāʼir fī al-bilād al-ʻArabīyah by Ṭāhir, ʻAbd al-Jalīl. Cairo:Jāmiʻat al-Duwal al-ʻArabīyah, Maʻhad al-Dirāsāt al-ʻArabīyah al-ʻĀlīyah, 1955. Online at: New York University; Overview of Arab Bedouin and clans
  • .البدو والعشائر في البلاد العربية .عبد الجليل طاهر [القاهرة]:جامعة الدول العربية، معهد الدراسات العربية العالية، 1955
• Muʻjam qabāʼil al-ʻArab al-qadīmah wa-al-ḥadīthah v.1 by Kaḥḥālah, ʻUmar Riḍā. Dimashq:al-Maktabah al-Hāshimīyah, 1949. Online at: New York University; Encyclopedia of Arab tribes
  • .معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة الجزء الأول .عمر رضا كحالة دمشق:المكتبة الهاشمية ,1949
• Muʻjam qabāʼil al-ʻArab al-qadīmah wa-al-ḥadīthah v.2 by Kaḥḥālah, ʻUmar Riḍā. Dimashq:al-Maktabah al-Hāshimīyah, 1949. Online at: New York University; Encyclopedia of Arab tribes
  • .معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة الجزء الثاني .عمر رضا كحالة دمشق:المكتبة الهاشمية ,1949
• Muʻjam qabāʼil al-ʻArab al-qadīmah wa-al-ḥadīthah v.3 by Kaḥḥālah, ʻUmar Riḍā. Dimashq:al-Maktabah al-Hāshimīyah, 1949. Online at: New York University; Encyclopedia of Arab tribes
  • .معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة الجزء الثالث .عمر رضا كحالة دمشق:المكتبة الهاشمية ,1949
• Sabāʼik al-dhahab fī maʻrifat qabāʼil al-ʻArab by Suwaydī, Muḥammad Amīn. Qum:al-Maktabah al-ʻIlmīyah, 198-. Online at: New York University; Overview of Arab tribes
  • .سبائك الذهب في معرفة قبائل العرب .محمد أمين سويدي قم:المكتبة العلمية، 198-
• Nihāyat al-arab fī maʻrifat ansāb al-ʻarab by Qalqashandī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd Allāh. Baghdād:Maṭbaʻat al-Najāḥ, 1958. Online at: New York University; Important classical text detailing the histories and genealogies of major Arab tribes
  • .
• Kitāb nasab Quraysh by Zubayrī, Muṣʻab ibn ʻAbd Allāh. al-Qāhirah:Dār al-Maʻārif lil-Ṭibāʻah wa-al-Nashr, 1953. Online at: New York University; Classical genealogy of the Quraysh tribe, the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad
  • .كتاب نسب قريش .المصعب بن عبد الله الزبيري [القاهرة]:‏دار المعارف ,1953نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب .أحمد بن عبد الله القلقشندي بغداد:مطبعة النجاح ,1958

Print Publications

Arabic

• The Collection of Arab Genealogies (in Arabic), by Abu Muhammad Ali bin Ahmed bin Saeed bin Hazm Al-Andalusi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, 2018.
  • جمهرة أنساب العرب. أبو محمد علي بن أحمد بن سعيد بن حزم الأندلسي. بيروت، لبنان: دار الكتب العلمية, ٢٠١٨

• The End of the Goal in Knowing the Genealogies of the Arabs (in Arabic). Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Qalqashandi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2012. Online preview at: Google Books
  • نهاية الارب في معرفة انساب العرب. أبو العباس أحمد بن علي بن أحمد بن عبد الله القلقشندي. بيروت، لبنان: دار الكتب العلمية
• Gold Necklaces in Knowing the Genealogies of Arab Tribes (in Arabic), by Mustafa Hamidi bin Ahmed al-Kurdi al-Balawi al-Dimashqi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar and Library of Al-Hilal, Bir al-Abd, 2000. At various libraries (WorldCat)
  • قلائد الذهب في معرفة أنساب قبائل العرب. مصطفى حميدي بن أحمد الكردي البالوي الدمشقي. بيروت، لبنان: دار ومكتبة الهلال بئر العبد , ٢٠٠٠
• Genealogical Trees of Arab Tribes and Families: With Historical and Geographical Notes (in Arabic), by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. Beirut: Dar Al-Warak, 1852. At various libraries (WorldCat)
  • مشجرات أنساب قبائل والعوئل العربية: مع مراصظات تاريخية وجغرافية. فرديناند فوستنفلد. بيروت: دار الورَّك, ١٨٥٢

German

• Register zu den Genealogischen Tabellen der Arabischen Stämme und Familien: Mit Historischen und Geographischen Bemerkungen. (Register of the genealogical tables of the Arabian tribes and families : with historical and geographical notes) By Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. London: Reprint: Forgotten Books. 2009. At various libraries (WorldCat)

English

• The Ait Waryaghar of the Moroccan Rif: An Ethnography and History. By David Montgomery Hart . Arizona: The University of Arizona Press, 1976.

Background

In the Middle East and North Africa, the term "tribe" refers to large collection of inter-related families that can trace their lineage back to a common ancestor; although, as is discussed in greater detail below, a shared ancestry is not always necessary for a family to join a tribe. It is typically used as a translation for the Arabic word "قَبيلة" (qabīlah), although in the Research Wiki "tribe" is also used for other Arabic terms. Tribes in the region can number in the hundreds to tens of thousands; some are relatively localized, while others are stretched or scattered over vast areas. Tribes are often divided into increasingly smaller kinship groups, including "بَطْن" (baṭn), "فَخْذ" (fakhth), and "عَشيرة" (ʿashīrah). The latter is translated in the Wiki as "clan".

Tribes have traditionally played a critical role in the structure of Arab society and their legacy continues to influence family structures in Morocco. Tribes in Morocco typically have either Arab or Amazigh (Berber) origins, given that those are the two main ethnic groups in the country. Arab tribes include the Banu Hilal (بنو هلال), Banu Ma'qil (بنو معقل), Beni Hassan (بني حسان), Ahl Rachida (أهل رشيدة), and Beni Moussa (بني موسى). Amazigh tribes are concentrated in the Rif, Middle and Central High Atlas Mountains, and Western High Atlas regions, and include the Aith Waryaghar, Iqar`ayen, Zimmur, Ait Ndhir, Ihahan, and Ait n-Nuss.

Tradition holds that all Arab tribes trace their lineage to two primary ancestors: Qahtan (قحطان), progenitor of the "pure" Arabs originating from modern Yemen, and Adnan (عدنان), ancestor of the "Arabicized" Arabs and a descendent of Abraham's son Ishmael.

Throughout Arabian history, free, arms-bearing tribesmen, whether nomadic or settled, dominated society. Sultans, emirs, and sheikhs were often drawn from these tribes and sought their support. The descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, who hold the titles of sayyids and sharifs, traditionally enjoyed a higher social status and sometimes exercised theocratic rule as spiritual leaders.

It is important to note that affiliation with a particular tribe does not necessarily entail direct kinship to that tribe. In some cases, new tribes formed as the result of alliances between pre-existing tribal groups. Individual families may have occasionally become clients of a different tribe and eventually adopted as members. On an even smaller scale, individuals were sometimes adopted into a tribe. This was particularly true during the first centuries of Islam, when non-Arab converts to Islam were required to become clients, or "mawali" (Arabic مَوالٍ), of an Arab tribe. Therefore, association with a tribe does not automatically imply descent or kinship relationship within a given lineage.

Types of Records

• Books - There are numerous books written on Moroccan and, more broadly, Arab and Amazigh tribes. Both categories of books can be valuable to researchers, as many tribes found in Morocco are also found elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa and can provide historical context for families and tribes in Morocco.

Information Recorded in the Records

Tribal histories and genealogies can contain a variety of data useful for family history researchers. Depending on the type and detail of tribal genealogy, typically include the names of fathers and sons but may exclude wives or daughters. Additionally, these genealogies may not include exact birth or death dates, although background information can often allow the researcher to estimate these data for individuals in the records.

Even without detailed lineages, tribal histories can still be useful for researchers. These records often contain details on tribal origins, migrations and movement, and traditional beliefs and culture.

Strategy

The published works above include information useful for tracing Moroccan tribal lineages. These works include lineages, tribal history, biographies of prominent individuals, poetry, or encyclopedic entries of tribes and their sub-divisions.

As with all genealogical research, start with what you know. If you know your ancestor's tribal affiliation already, search books on that tribe. If not, search for resources on their country or region of origin, which can often identify the major tribes located there. Become familiar with the various branches within the tribe to better understand where your ancestors fit within the larger tribal structure. Within tribal lineages, search for the names of familiar individuals or places as clues to identify your exact family line.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Publications not available online.