Haratin

Haratin / Haratine
حراطين
Haratin girl from Tafilalt, Morocco
Total population
> 1.5 million
Regions with significant populations
(40%) Mauritania;
An ethnic group in
( Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, 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, 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, Senegal, and Algeria. In Tunisia and Libya, they are referred to as Shwashin (Chouachin, Chouachine; singular: Shwashin, Chouchan).

The Haratin speak Maghrebi Arabic dialects and Berber languages.[4] They are believed to largely descend from native ancient black populations that inhabited the Sahara.[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][11] 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]

  1. ^ El Hamel 2014, pp. 110–113
  2. ^ Sabine, Partouche. "L'Encyclopédie berbère". Institut de recherches et d'études sur les mondes arabes et musulmans Iremam - UMR 7310. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Shoup2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Keita, S. O. Y. (1993). "Studies and Comments on Ancient Egyptian Biological Relationships". History in Africa. 20: 140. doi:10.2307/3171969. ISSN 0361-5413. JSTOR 3171969. S2CID 162330365. Paoli (1972) found dynastic mummies to have ABO frequencies most like those of the northern Haratin, a group believed to be largely descended from the ancient Saharans.
  6. ^ Batran, Aziz Abdallah (1985). "The 'Ulama' of Fas, Mulay Isma'il and the Issue of the Haratin of Fas". In Willis, John Ralph (ed.). Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-78016-6. Although the origin of the Haratin is shrouded in mystery, it is generally believed that they were indigenous to the north Saharan oases, hybrids between an ancient black population and Berbers, and most of them had dark skin and negroid features. The Haratin did not constitute a tribe, rather they were groups of families scattered amongst North African and Saharan Arab and Berber tribes. Though the Haratin were free men, they were generally considered to be of inferior social status, between slaves and free men (hur thani). Most of the Haratin were farmworkers and not landowners, receiving a fifth (Khammas) of the harvest from Arab and Berber landlords, for their work. In general, the Haratin were a class of people "who were in many ways like slaves: i.e. non-tribal, economically vulnerable, socially debased and pheno-typically distinct."
  7. ^ "Mauritania", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 June 2025, retrieved 10 June 2025
  8. ^ "Haratin | Berber Descendants, North Africa & Slavery | Britannica". Britannica. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Heath, Elizabeth (2010). "Haratine". In Anthony Appiah, Kwame; Gates Jr., Henry Louis (eds.). Encyclopedia of Africa. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 549. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9. Haratine. Social caste in several northwestern African countries consisting of blacks, many of whom are former slaves (...)
  10. ^ a b Meyers, 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.
  11. ^ 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.
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