(40%) Mauritania; An ethnic group in (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Western Sahara)
Languages
Maghrebi Arabic Berber languages
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Gnawa, other Afro-Arabs, Beidane, Sahrawis, other Maghrebi Arabs, other Arab, Berber, Arab-Berber, and Arabized Berber peoples, Tuareg people, other Maghrebis
The Haratin (Arabic: حراطين, romanized: Ḥarāṭīn, singular Ḥarṭānī), also spelled Haratine or Harratin, are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb.[1][2][3] The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahara, and Algeria. In Tunisia and Libya, they are referred to as Shwashin (Chouachin, Chouachine; singular: Shwashin, Chouchan).
The Haratin speak Maghrebi Arabic dialects as well as various Berber languages.[4] They have traditionally been characterized as the descendants of former Sub-Saharan slaves.[5][6]
They form the single largest defined ethnolinguistic group in Mauritania where they account for 40% of the population (~1.5 million).[7] In parts of Arab-Berber Maghreb, they are sometimes referred to as a "socially distinct class of workers".[4][8]
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.[9][10] They converted to Islam under the Arabs and Berbers[9] and were forcibly recruited into the Moroccan army by Ismail Ibn Sharif (Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727) to consolidate power.[10]
Traditionally, many Haratin have held occupations in agriculture – as serfs, herdsmen, and indentured workers.[9]
^Chouki El Hamel (2014). Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge University Press. pp. 110–113. ISBN 978-1-139-62004-8.
^Sabine, Partouche. "L'Encyclopédie berbère". Institut de recherches et d'études sur les mondes arabes et musulmans Iremam - UMR 7310. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
^Jacques-Meunie, Denise (1972). "L'Notes sur l'histoire des populations du sud marocain". Revue de l'Occident Musulman et de la Méditerranée. 11: 137–150. doi:10.3406/remmm.1972.1148. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
^ abthey are Arabic speaking Haratin, Encyclopædia Britannica (2014)
^Keita, S. O. Y. (1993). "Studies and Comments on Ancient Egyptian Biological Relationships". History in Africa. 20: 129–154. doi:10.2307/3171969. ISSN 0361-5413. JSTOR 3171969. S2CID 162330365.
^McDougall, E. Ann (2015). "Hidden in Plain Sight: "Haratine" in Nouakchott's "Niche-Settlements"". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 48 (2): 251–279. ISSN 0361-7882. JSTOR 44723360.
^Mauritania, CIA Factbook
^John A. Shoup III (2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-1-59884-363-7.
^ abcAnthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 549. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9., Quote: "Haratine. Social caste in several northwestern African countries consisting of blacks, many of whom are former slaves (...)"
^ abMeyers, Allan R. (1977). "Class, Ethnicity, and Slavery: The Origins of the Moroccan 'Abid". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 10 (3). Boston University African Studies Center: 427–442. doi:10.2307/216736. JSTOR 216736.
The Haratin (Arabic: حراطين, romanized: Ḥarāṭīn, singular Ḥarṭānī), also spelled Haratine or Harratin, are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and...
or so-called "white moors", make up 30% of the population, while the Haratin, or so-called "black moors", comprise 40%. Both groups reflect a fusion...
41% are Berbers. A sizeable portion of the population is identified as Haratin and Gnawa (or Gnaoua), West African or mixed-race descendants of slaves...
servile groups known as Haratin, according to some sources descendants of the earlier pre-Arab populations. (Note that "Haratin", a term of obscure origin...
referred to as the "Black Guard" because its members were recruited from the Haratin, a black people from southern Morocco and/or originally from Sub-Saharan...
al-Sultan "the sultan’s slaves") were the corps of black-African slaves and Haratin slave-soldiers assembled by the 'Alawi sultan of Morocco, Isma‘il ibn Sharif...
situation is somewhat analogous to that of the Haratin within Maure society in Mauritania. Like the Haratin, the name "Ikelan", and to a much greater degree...
the marketing of products and locations. Hamites List of Berber people Haratin Maghrebis Warmington uses "Libyans of Tunisia" (an anachronistic term)...
The open slave trade was finally suppressed in Morocco in the 1920s. The haratin and the gnawa have been referred to as descendants of former slaves. Between...
as the gimbri, developed in Morocco by sub-Saharan Africans (Gnawa or Haratin). Banjo-like instruments seem to have been independently invented in several...
separation of Africa, darker skinned North Africans, such as the so-called Haratin, who have long resided in the Maghreb, and do not reside south of Saharan...
Africans abducted into slavery who now live in Mauritania as "black Moors" or haratin and who partially still serve the "white Moors", or bidhan, as slaves....
women and children, or 20% of the population. For centuries, the so-called Haratin lower class, mostly poor black Africans living in rural areas, have been...
slavery and Islam in Maghribi Mediterranean thought: the question of the Haratin in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 7 (3): 29–52 [39–40]...
slavery and Islam in Maghribi Mediterranean thought: the question of the Haratin in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 7 (3): 29–52. doi:10...
later colonization and migration by African groups. Among these are the Haratin, oasis-dwellers of Saharan southern Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania. They...
Emancipation". Arab Center Washington DC. Retrieved 2023-05-02. "UNPO: Haratin: Slavery Remains a Problem in Mauritania". unpo.org. Retrieved 2023-05-02...
slavery and Islam in Maghribi Mediterranean thought: the question of the Haratin in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 7 (3): 29–52 [39–42]...
demographic in Azawad versus the Fulani, Songhai and Mauritanian (Beidane and Haratin) ethnicities present.[citation needed] During previous Tuareg rebellions...
separation of Africa, darker skinned North Africans, such as the so-called Haratin, who have long resided in the Maghreb, and do not reside south of Saharan...
from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019. "UNPO: Haratin". UNPO. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved...
the Sahara. (Note that Haratin, a term of obscure origin, has a different meaning in the Berber regions of Morocco.) The Haratin often lived serving affiliated...
separation of Africa, darker skinned North Africans, such as the so-called Haratin, who have long resided in the Maghreb, and do not reside south of Saharan...
Global Information
Mauritania;
Tunisia, 
Algeria, 
Morocco, 
Libya, 
Western Sahara)