The Imraguen, or Imeraguen (

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: Imragen), are an ethnic group or tribe of

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

. They were estimated at around 5,000 individuals in the 1970s. Most members of the group live in

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

villages in the Banc d'Arguin National Park, located on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of Mauritania.

History

The name ''Imraguen'' ( Berber orthography: ''imragen'') is a

word meaning "fishermen", or «people who fish while walking on the sea»,Fishermen who "walk on water" burn their nets
''Panda.org'', 5 May 2004 or «those who harvest life».
''Webislam.com'', 17 June 2006 The Imraguen are believed to descend from the Bafour people . According to the Documentation of the human population of the territory, the Imraguen people lived on the Banc d'Arguin National Park for thousands of years, and its population had probably been larger. Militarily powerless, the Imraguen were traditionally reduced to the degrading lower-

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

status of Znaga, forcibly ruled and

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

ed ( horma) by more powerful Berber, Hassane and Zawia tribes, such as the Oulad Delim and Ouled Bou Sbaa. In 2008, the Imraguen people occupied 9 small villages along the coastline. Jean-Pierre Turquoi
Mauritanie : au pays des Imraguen
''Lemonde.fr'', 11 April 2008 Some Imraguen populate the abandoned La Güera fort, which is also the south point of the Western Sahara zone claimed by Morocco.

Fishing

A few generations ago, the Imraguen people used to whistle the dolphins to bring them near the shore and catch all the mullets that always followed the dolphins. The Imraguen people are the only ones authorized to fish in the Banc d'Arguin area, as long as they use their traditional fishing techniques. The number of fishes caught for each species is limited and strongly reinforced by the Mauritanian authorities. In 2004, the Imraguen people agreed to preserve the shark and ray species in the Banc d'Arguin National Park (which became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1989) and traded their nets for money. The Imraguen people blame the new oil and gas explorations around the Banc d'Arguin area, along with a new road adjacent to the area, as the main factors for the reduction of fish reproduction in the area. At the Arkeiss village, it is possible for tourists to practice "sports fishing" in the Banc d'Arguin and gather up to 5 kilos of fish.

Language

The Imraguen speak

Hassaniya Arabic Hassaniya Arabic (; also known as , , , , and Maure) is a variety of Maghrebi Arabic spoken by Mauritanian Arabs, Malian Arabs and the Sahrawis. It was spoken by the Beni Ḥassān Bedouin tribes of Yemeni origin who extended their authority o ...

with some Berber vocabulary related to fishing;Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices their dialect is referred to as the Imraguen language.

Religion

The Imraguen are

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

of the

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

rite.

References

External links

Banc d'Arguin National Park Protected Areas Programme
{{Authority control Sahrawi tribes Ethnic groups in Western Sahara Ethnic groups in Mauritania Mandé people