Ghomaras

For the language, see Ghomara language.

Ghomara

Total population
(c. 1 million)
Regions with significant populations
Western Rif, Morocco
Languages
Ghomara, Jebli Arabic
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Other Berber peoples, Jebala people

Map of the Ghomara tribes and their territories

The Ghomara are an ethnic group of northern Morocco, living between the rivers Oued Laou and Ouringa, east of Chefchaouen and south of Tetouan, in the Western Rif. The river Tiguisas runs through their territory.

Originally, Ghomaras are a Berber tribal group belonging to the Masmouda confederacy. While most have shifted to speaking Arabic, a minority continue to speak the Berber Ghomara language.

Tribes

They are traditionally divided into eight tribes:

• Beni Ziat
• Beni Zejel
• Beni Selman
• Beni Bu Zra, partially Berber speaking tribe
• Beni Mansur, partially Berber speaking tribe
• Beni Grir
• Beni Smih
• Beni Rezin
• Beni Khaled

Bibliography

• G. Camps & J. Vignet-Zunz, « Ghomâra », Encyclopédie berbère, vol.20, 1998, pp. 3110-3119
• Jamal el Hannouche, "Arabic influence in Ghomara Berber", Leiden University, 2010.
• Jamal el Hannouche, "Ghomara Berber, a brief grammatical survey", Leiden University, 2008.
• Peter Behnstedt, "La frontera entre el bereber y el árabe en el Rif", Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí vol. 6, 2002.
• Georges Séraphin Colin, "Le parler berbère des Ghomara", Hesperis 9, 1929, pp. 43-58.