Moroccans (Arabic : المغاربة, romanized: al-Maġāriba) are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who share a common Moroccan culture and identity, as well as those who natively speak Moroccan Arabic or other languages of Morocco. [35] [36]
In addition to the approximately 37 million residents of Morocco, there is a large Moroccan diaspora. Considerable Moroccan populations can be found in France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands; with smaller notable concentrations in other Arab states as well as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. [37]
Moroccans are primarily of Arab and Berber origin [35] [39] as in other neighbouring countries in the Maghreb region. [40] Arabs comprise 67% of the population of Morocco, while Berbers make up 31% and Sahrawis make up 2%. [41] Socially, there are two contrasting groups of Moroccans: those living in the cities and those in the rural areas. Among the rural, several classes have formed such as landowners, peasants, and tenant farmers. Moroccans live mainly in the north and west portions of Morocco. However, they prefer living in the more fertile regions near the Mediterranean Sea.
The Arab population of Morocco is a result of the inflow of nomadic Arab tribes from the Arabian Peninsula since the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century with a major wave in the 11th century. [42] The major migration to the region by Arab tribes was in the 11th century when the tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, along with others, were sent by the Fatimids to defeat a Berber rebellion and then settle in the Maghreb. [43] Between the Nile and the Red Sea were Arab tribes expelled from Arabia for their turbulence, Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, who often plundered farming areas in the Nile Valley. [44] According to Ibn Khaldun, whole tribes set off with women, children, ancestors, animals and camping equipment. [44] These tribes, who arrived in the region of Morocco around the 12th-13th centuries, and later the Ma'qil in the 14th century, contributed to a more extensive ethnic, genetic, cultural, and linguistic Arabization of Morocco over time, [45] especially beyond the major urban centres and the northern regions which were the main sites of Arabization up to that point. [46] [36]
The Berber population mainly inhabits the mountainous regions of Morocco where some preserve Berber culture, and are split into three groups; Riffians, Shilha and Zayanes, who inhabit the Rif mountains, Anti-Atlas mountains, and Middle Atlas mountains respectively. [48] [49] The Berbers were an amalgamation of Ibero-Maurisian and a minority of Capsian stock blended with a more recent intrusion associated with the Neolithic Revolution. [50] Out of these populations, the proto-Berber tribes formed during the late Paleolithic era. [51] The Arabized Berbers who constitute about a quarter of the population are the Berbers who were Arabized mainly as a result of the Arab nomad inflow, and have adopted Arab culture and the Arabic language as their native language, especially those who sought the protection of the Bedouin. [45] A small minority of the population is identified as Haratin and Gnawa, [52] These are sedentary agriculturalists of non-Arab and non-Berber origin, who inhabit the southern and eastern oases and speak either Berber or Arabic. Some parts of the population are descendants of refugees who fled Spain after the Reconquista in the 15th century. The Trans-Saharan slave trade brought a population of Sub-Saharan Africans to Morocco. After the founding of Israel and start of the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, many Jews felt compelled to leave Morocco especially after the anti-Jewish riots in Oujda, and many fled to Israel, Europe, and North America, and by 1967 250,000 Jews left Morocco. [48]
In 670 AD, the first Arab conquest of the North African coastal plain took place under Uqba ibn Nafi, a general serving under the Umayyad Caliphate, marking the first wave of Arab migration to Morocco. Arab tribes such as Banu Muzaina migrated, and the Arab Muslims in the region had more impact on the culture of the Maghreb than the region's conquerors before and after them. [53] The Umayyads brought their language, their system of government, and Islam to Morocco and many Berbers converted to Islam. The first independent state in the area of modern Morocco was the Emirate of Nekor, an Arab emirate in north Morocco ruling as a client state of the Umayyad Caliphate. [54] It was founded by the Himyarite descendant Salih ibn Mansur in 710. [54] After the outbreak of the Berber Revolt in 739, the Berbers formed other independent states such as the Emirate of Sijilmasa and the Barghawata Confederation. [55]
After the Battle of Fakhkh in 786, Idris ibn Abdallah, who traced his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib, fled from the Arabian Peninsula to Morocco. [56] He first went to Tangier before going to Walili and founding the Arab Idrisid dynasty in 788, ruling most of Morocco. The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco became a centre of Muslim learning and a major regional power. The Idrisids were ousted in 927 by the Fatimid Caliphate and their Miknasa allies. After Miknasa broke off relations with the Fatimids in 932, they were removed from power by the Maghrawa of Sijilmasa in 980. [57] In 973, the Caliphate of Cordoba under the Umayyads took over parts of Morocco. [58]
From the 11th century onwards, a series of dynasties of Berber origin arose. [59] [60] [61] Under the Almoravid dynasty [62] and the Almohad dynasty dominated the Maghreb, much of present-day Spain and Portugal, and the western Mediterranean region. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Merinids held power in Morocco and strove to replicate the successes of the Almohads by military campaigns in Algeria and Iberia. They were followed by the Wattasids. In the 15th century, the Reconquista ended Muslim rule in central and southern Iberia and many Muslims and Jews fled to Morocco. [63] Portuguese efforts to control the Atlantic coast in the 15th century did not greatly affect the interior of Morocco. According to Elizabeth Allo Isichei, "In 1520, there was a famine in Morocco so terrible that for a long time other events were dated by it. It has been suggested that the population of Morocco fell from 5 to under 3 million between the early sixteenth and nineteenth centuries." [64]
The major migration to the region by Arab tribes was in the 11th century when the tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, along with others, were sent by the Fatimids to defeat a Berber rebellion and then settle in the Maghreb. [43] These tribes advanced in large numbers all the way to Morocco, contributing to a more extensive ethnic, genetic, cultural, and linguistic Arabization in the region. [45] The Arab tribes of Maqil migrated to the Maghreb a century later and even immigrated southwards to Mauritania.
From 1549, a series of Arab dynasties arose. First the Saadian dynasty [65] who ruled from 1549 to 1659, and then the 'Alawi dynasty, [66] who remain in power since the 17th century. Both dynasties are Sharifian. [67]
Under the Saadian dynasty, the country repulsed Ottoman incursions and a Portuguese invasion at the battle of Ksar el Kebir in 1578. The reign of Ahmad al-Mansur brought new wealth and prestige to the Sultanate, and a large expedition to West Africa inflicted a crushing defeat on the Songhay Empire in 1591. However, managing the territories across the Sahara proved too difficult. After the death of al-Mansur the country was divided among his sons. [67]
In 1666, Morocco was reunited by the Arab 'Alawi dynasty, who have been the ruling house of Morocco ever since. Morocco was facing aggression from Spain and the Ottoman Empire lies pressing westward. The 'Alawis succeeded in stabilizing their position, and while the kingdom was smaller than previous ones in the region, it remained quite wealthy. Against the opposition of local tribes Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672–1727) began to create a unified state. [68]
Morocco was the first nation to recognize the fledgling United States as an independent nation in 1777. [69] [70] [71] [72] In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean were subject to attack by the Barbary pirates. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship, signed in 1786, stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty. [73] [74]
Population | Language | n | E | G | I | J1 | L | N | R1 | T | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morocco | AA (Semitic) | 51 | 73 | — | — | 20 | — | — | 4 | — | Onofri et al. 2008 [75] |
Arabs (Morocco) | AA (Semitic) | 87 | 52.8 | — | — | 26.4 | — | — | — | — | Fadhlaoui-Zid et al. 2013 [76] |
Arabs (Morocco) | AA (Semitic) | 28 | 14.3 | — | 3.6 | 60.7 | — | — | 17.8 | — | Underhill et al. 2000 [77] |
Arabs (Morocco) | AA (Semitic) | 49 | 72.7 | — | 0.0 | 20.4 | — | — | 0 | — | Semino et al. 2004 [78] |
Berbers (North Morocco) | AA (Berber) | 63 | 87 | — | — | 11.1 | — | — | — | — | Bosch et al. 2001 [79] |
Berbers (Marrakesh) | AA (Berber) | 29 | 92.9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Semino et al. 2000 [80] |
Berbers (Middle Atlas) | AA (Berber) | 69 | 87.1 | — | — | 5.8 | — | — | — | — | Cruciani et al. 2004 [81] |
Berbers (South Morocco) | AA (Berber) | 62 | 98.5 | — | 0 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Bosch et al. 2001 [79] |
Berbers (Central Morocco) | AA (Berber) | 40 | 93.8 | — | 0 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Bosch et al. 2001 [79] |
Rifians [ better source needed ] | AA (Berber) | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Dugoujon 2005 [82] |
Sahrawi (Morocco) | AA (Semitic) | 89 | 59.5 | — | — | 20.2 | — | — | — | — | Fregel et al. 2009 [83] |
Jews (Morocco) | AA (Semitic) | 19 | 21.1 | 26.3 | — | 31.5 | — | — | 10.5 | — | Francalacci et al. 2008 [84] |
The culture of Morocco is a blend of Arab, Berber, Jewish, and Western European cultures. [85] Through Moroccan history, the country had many cultural influences (Europe, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa). The culture of Morocco shares similar traits with those of neighboring countries, particularly Algeria and Tunisia and to a certain extent Spain. [86]
Each region possesses its own uniqueness, contributing to the national culture. Morocco has set among its top priorities the protection of its diversity and the preservation of its cultural heritage.[ citation needed ]
The traditional dress for men and women is called djellaba (جلابة), a long, loose, hooded garment with full sleeves. For special occasions, men also wear a red cap called a bernousse, more commonly known as a fez. Women wear kaftans decorated with ornaments. Nearly all men, and most women, wear balgha (بلغة). These are soft leather slippers with no heel, often dyed yellow. Women also wear high-heeled sandals, often with silver or gold tinsel.[ citation needed ]
Moroccan style is a new trend in decoration, which takes its roots from Moorish architecture. It has been made popular by the vogue of riad renovation in Marrakech. Dar is the name given to one of the most common types of domestic structures in Morocco; it is a home found in a medina, or walled urban area of a city. Dar exteriors are typically devoid of ornamentation and windows, except occasional small openings in secondary quarters, such as stairways and service areas. These piercings provide light and ventilation. Moroccan cuisine primarily consists of a blend of Arab, Berber, and Andalusi influences. It is known for dishes like couscous and pastilla, among others. Spices such as cinnamon are also used in Moroccan cooking. Sweets like halwa are popular, as well as other confections. Cuisines from neighbouring areas have also influenced the country's culinary traditions. Additionally, Moroccan craftsmanship has a rich tradition of jewellery-making, pottery, leather-work and woodwork.
The music of Morocco ranges and differs according to the various areas of the country. Moroccan music has a variety of styles from complex sophisticated orchestral music to simple music involving only voice and drums. There are three varieties of folk music: village and ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians. Chaabi (الشعبي) is a music consisting of numerous varieties which descend from the multifarious forms of Moroccan folk music. Chaabi was originally performed in markets, but is now found at any celebration or meeting. Gnawa is a form of music that is mystical. It was gradually brought to Morocco by the Gnawa and later became part of the Moroccan tradition. Sufi brotherhoods (tariqas) are common in Morocco, and music is an integral part of their spiritual tradition. This music is an attempt at reaching a trance state which inspires mystical ecstasy.
Morocco's official languages are Modern Standard Arabic and Berber. [87]
The majority of the population speaks Moroccan Arabic, spoken by 92.2% of the population, 37.3 million people. [88] 8.8 million [89] Moroccans speak Berber varieties which make 26% of the population of Morocco, [90] either as a first language or bilingually with Arabic. Three different Berber dialects are spoken: Tarifit, spoken by 1.27 million mostly in the Rif mountains, Shilha, spoken by 3 to 4.5 million mostly in the Anti-Atlas mountains, and Central Atlas Tamazight, spoken by 2.3 million mostly in the Middle Atlas. [90]
Hassaniya Arabic is spoken in the southern part of the country, spoken by over 200,000 people. [91] Morocco has recently included the protection of Hassaniya in the constitution as part of the July 2011 reforms.
French is taught universally and still serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics; it is also used in education, sciences, government and most education fields.
Spanish is also spoken in the northern and southern parts of the country as a secondary foreign language after French. Meanwhile, English is increasingly becoming more popular among the educated, particularly in the science fields.
The history of human habitation in Morocco spans since the Lower Paleolithic, with the earliest known being Jebel Irhoud. Much later Morocco was part of Iberomaurusian culture, including Taforalt. It dates from the establishment of Mauretania and other ancient Berber kingdoms, to the establishment of the Moroccan state by the Idrisid dynasty followed by other Islamic dynasties, through to the colonial and independence periods.
Demographic features of the population of Morocco include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The population of Morocco in 2021 is 37.271 million.
North Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of the Western Sahara in the west, to Egypt and Sudan's Red Sea coast in the east.
Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their usage of Berber languages, most of them mutually unintelligible, which are part of the Afroasiatic language family.
The Maghreb, also known as the Arab Maghreb and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb also includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara. As of 2018, the region had a population of over 100 million people.
Beni Ḥassan is a Bedouin Arab tribe which inhabits Western Sahara, Mauritania, Morocco and Algeria. It is one of the four sub-tribes of the Banu Maqil who emigrated in the 11th century from South Arabia to the Maghreb with the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym Arab tribes. In the 13th century, they took the Sanhaja territories in the southwest of the Sahara. In Morocco, they first settled, alongside their Maqil relatives, in the area between Tadla and the Moulouya River. The Sous Almohad governor called upon them for help against a rebellion in the Sous, and they resettled in and around that region. They later moved to what is today Mauritania, and from the 16th century onwards, they managed to push back all black peoples southwards to the Senegal Valley river. The Beni Hassan and other warrior Arab tribes dominated the Sanhaja Berber tribes of the area after the Char Bouba war of the 17th century. As a result, Arabs became the dominant ethnic group in Western Sahara and Mauretania. The Bani Hassan dialect of Arabic became used in the region and is still spoken, in the form of Hassaniya Arabic. The hierarchy established by the Beni Hassan tribe gave Mauritania much of its sociological character. That ideology has led to oppression, discrimination and even enslavement of other groups in Mauritania.
Maghrebi Arabic, often known as ad-Dārija to differentiate it from Literary Arabic, is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb. It includes the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Libyan, Hassaniya and Saharan Arabic dialects. Maghrebi Arabic has a predominantly Semitic and Arabic vocabulary, although it contains a significant number of Berber loanwords, which represent 2–3% of the vocabulary of Libyan Arabic, 8–9% of Algerian and Tunisian Arabic, and 10–15% of Moroccan Arabic. Maghrebi Arabic was formerly spoken in Al-Andalus and Sicily until the 17th and 13th centuries, respectively, in the extinct forms of Andalusi Arabic and Siculo-Arabic. The Maltese language is believed to have its source in a language spoken in Muslim Sicily that ultimately originates from Tunisia, as it contains some typical Maghrebi Arabic areal characteristics.
The Banu Hilal was a confederation of Arab tribes from the Najd region of the central Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of the Najd, they enjoyed a somewhat infamous reputation, possibly owing to their relatively late conversion to Islam and accounts of their campaigns in the borderlands between Iraq and Syria. When the Fatimid Caliphate became the rulers of Egypt and the founders of Cairo in 969, they hastened to confine the unruly Bedouin in the south before sending them to Central North Africa and then to Morocco.
The Zenata are a group of Berber tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic.
The Shilha people, or Schleuh or Ishelhien, are a Berber subgroup primarily inhabiting the Anti-Atlas, High Atlas, Sous valley, and Soussi coastal regions of Morocco.
The Sanhaja were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Many tribes in Algeria, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia and Western Sahara bore and still carry this ethnonym, especially in its Berber form.
The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid dynasty descended from Muhammad through his grandson Hasan. The Idrisids are traditionally considered to be the founders of the first Moroccan state, setting the stage for subsequent dynasties and states centered in this region. Their reign played an important role in the early Islamization of Morocco and also presided over an increase in Arab immigration and Arabization in major urban centers.
The tribes of Arabia or Arab tribes denote Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula, who according to tradition trace their ancestry to one of the two Arab forefathers, Adnan or Qahtan.
The Banu Ifran or Ifranids, were a Zenata Berber tribe prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. In the 8th century, they established a kingdom in the central Maghreb, with Tlemcen as its capital.
Maghrebi Arabs or North African Arabs are the inhabitants of the Maghreb region of North Africa whose ethnic identity is Arab, whose native language is Arabic and trace their ancestry to the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. This ethnic identity is a product of the centuries-long Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century, which changed the demographic scope of the Maghreb and was a major factor in the ethnic, linguistic and cultural Arabization of the Maghreb region. The descendants of the original Arab settlers who continue to speak Arabic as a first language currently form the single largest population group in North Africa.
Moroccan genetics encompasses the genetic history of the people of Morocco, and the genetic influence of this ancestry on world populations. It has been heavily influenced by geography.
The Ifranid Emirate of Tlemcen or Ifranid Kingdom of Tlemcen, was a Kharijite state, founded by Berbers of the Banu Ifran in the eighth century, with its capital at Tlemcen in modern Algeria.
The Sulaymanid dynasty was an Arab Muslim dynasty in present-day western Algeria, ruling from 814 to 922. The dynasty is named after the founder, Sulyaman I, who was the brother of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty based in Fez. Both Sulayman and Idris, as great grandchildren of Hasan ibn Ali, were sharifs descended from Muhammad.
The Arab migrations to the Maghreb involved successive waves of migration and settlement by Arab people in the Maghreb region of North Africa, encompassing modern-day Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. The process took place over several centuries, lasting from the early 7th century to the 17th century. The Arab migrants hailed from the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula, with later groups arriving from the Levant and Iraq.
The Malikization of the Maghreb was the process of encouraging the adoption of the Maliki school of Sunni Islam in the Maghreb, especially in the 11th and 12th centuries, to the detriment of Shia and Kharijite inhabitants of the Maghreb. The process occurred as Maliki scholars increasingly gained influence, resulting in the widespread acceptance of the Maliki legal school and the subsequent marginalization of other forms of Islam. Malikism was considered a more conservative and mainstream variant of Sunni Islam.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The Idrīsids (al-Adārisa) were an ʿAlid dynasty—that is, descendants of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661)—that reigned in the western part of the north Maghrib from 172/788 to 375/985 (although only intermittently in the fourth/tenth century).