The Tajakant (also Tadjakant Morocco) is a Sahrawi tribe of

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 ...

Sanhaja The Sanhaja (, or زناگة ''Znāga''; , pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen) were once one of the largest Berbers, Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata, Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Libya ...

origins. They 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 ...

. The Tajakant mainly live in

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, ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

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 ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. They 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 ...

, adhering to the

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 ...

school of

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 ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The Tajakant tribe descended from the tribe of Lamtuna, a fraction of the powerful tribe of Sanhadja in the Mauritanian Adrar. They became sedentary during the ninth century, at the fall of the Almoravid empire and founded two cities, Tinigui and Togba, located between Chinguetti and Ouadane, but since disappeared. The Tajakant were known as traders and warriors, and held a strong position in the trans- Saharan trade between ''Belad Asudan'' (Sub-Saharan Africa) and Morocco. In 1852, Tajakant tribesmen founded a settlement and trading post in the oasis of Tindouf, in what is now Algeria. They were engaged in a lengthy war against the Reguibat and Kunta in the 19thc., their allies in this war were the Senhaja. This culminated in 1895 where the settlement of Tindouf was attacked and sacked by a raiding party of Reguibat tribesmen. Tindouf was destroyed, and most of the northern Tajakant wiped out; some populations remain in Morocco, Western Sahara and a few in Mauritania, where their members have gained importance as religious scholars. Today's Tajakant are said to be sedentary, and engaged in small-scale trading and farming they mainly live in Morocco and the Moroccan administered territory of Western Sahara. They are one of the strongest proponents of the Moroccan claims on the territory, this might be due to their historical feud with the Rguibat. A few live in Algeria, Attilio Gaudio, ''Populations du Sahara occidental : histoire, vie et culture'', Karthala éditions, 1993 () Mauritania and Mali.

References

See also