Tekna
The Tekna is a Sahrawi tribal confederation of Lamta Sanhaja Berber origins. Its constituents today inhabit southern Morocco and northern Western Sahara, but traditionally with wider migration routes. Nowadays, its population is estimated to be around 669,000.
Demographics
The Tekna tribes speak Hassaniya Arabic and the Berber Shilha dialect in varying degrees.
All Tekna are Muslims, belonging to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. Their traditional lifestyle was partly nomadic, based on camel and goat herding, and partly sedentary, controlling important routes of the Saharan caravan trade.
They are divided into several berber-speaking and Arabic-speaking tribes, organized into the two rivalling tribal confederations, or leff:
Aït Djemel confederacy (Western Tekna), consisting of the tribes of Aït Lahcen, Izerguiyen, Yaggout, and Aït Moussa Ou Ali ;
Aït Atman (or Aït Bella) confederacy (Eastern Tekna), consisting of the tribes of Azouafit, Aït Oussa, Aït Brahim, and Aït Hmad.
History
During the 17th century, Morocco under Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif seized control over the territory from the Moulouya River south to Senegal and Timbuktu. Contingents of Tekna troops were then sent to the Senegal valley on behalf of the Sultan.
