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Concept
Sahrawis
Summary
The Sahrawis, or Sahrawi people (صحراويون ), are an ethnic group and nation native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the southwestern border of Algeria. They are of mixed Hassani Arab and Sanhaji Berber descent, as well as Sub-Saharan African and other indigenous populations.
As with most peoples living in the Sahara, the Sahrawi culture is a mix of Arab and indigenous African elements. Sahrawis are composed of many tribes and are largely speakers of the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic.
The Arabic word صحراوي literally means "Inhabitant of the Desert". The word Sahrawi is derived from the Arabic word (صحراء), meaning desert. A man is called a "Sahrawi", and a woman is called a "Sahrawiya". In other languages it is pronounced in similar or different ways:
Berber: Aseḥrawi ⴰⵙⴻⵃⵔⴰⵡⵉ or Aneẓrofan ⴰⵏⴻⵥⵔⵓⴼⴰⵏ
English: Sahrawi or Saharawi
Spanish: Saharaui (saharauita, saharauiya)
French: Sahraoui
Italian: Saharaui, Sahraui, Sahrawi or Saharawi
Portuguese: Saarauís
German: Sahraui(s)
Nomadic Berbers, mainly of the Senhaja / Zenaga tribal confederation, inhabited the areas now known as Western Sahara, southern Morocco, Mauritania and southwestern Algeria, before Islam arrived in the 8th century CE. It is not known when the camel was introduced to the region (probably in the first or second millennium BCE), but it revolutionized the traditional trade routes of North Africa. Berber caravans transported salt, gold, and slaves between North and West Africa, and the control of trade routes became a major ingredient in the constant power struggles between various tribes and sedentary peoples. On more than one occasion, the Berber tribes of present-day Mauritania, Morocco and Western Sahara would unite behind religious leaders to sweep the surrounding governments from power, then founding principalities, dynasties, or even vast empires of their own. This was the case with the Almoravid dynasty of Morocco and Andalusia, and several emirates in Mauritania.
Official source
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