Mauritania Catherine Taine-Cheikh
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Mauritania Catherine Taine-Cheikh To cite this version: Catherine Taine-Cheikh. Mauritania. M. Eid, A. Elgibali, K. Versteegh (editor-in-chief), M. Woidich & A. Zaborski. Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics (EALL), vol. III (Lat-Pu), Brill, pp.169-176, 2008. halshs-00564246 HAL Id: halshs-00564246 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00564246 Submitted on 8 Feb 2011 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics General Editor Kees Versteegh Associate Editors Mushira Eid Alaa Elgibali Manfred Woidich Andrzej Zaborski Volume III Lat-Pu B R I LL Référence de l'article publié : Taine-Cheikh, Catherine (2008), "Arabic of Mauritania", vol. III (Lat-Pu), pp. 169-176, in K. Versteegh (editor-in-chief), Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics (EALL), Leiden : Brill. Mauritania In 1960, Mauritania, a French colony along its linguistic effects were variable. Although the Atlantic Coast in West Africa, achieved a perfect command of Classical Arabic is independence under the name of the Islamic strongly recommended for every good Muslim, Republic of Mauritania. The name ‘Mauritania’, this perfect command was (and still is) often once used as the name of the Roman colonies of much more limited than expected. The ancient North Africa (Mauretania), was reintroduced populations of Mauritania were no exception by the colonial administration to designate to this rule, although a relatively large number this western part of the Saharo-Sahelian zone, of people apparently became literate. This is which was called in Arabic literature bilàd probably due to the history of the region and the ”inqì† ‘country of ”inq솒, tràb al-bì:àn ‘land of social organization of the different ethnic groups. the Whites’ (Taine-Cheikh 1990), or bilàd as- The Islamization of the Saharo-Sahelian part sayba ‘country of anarchy’. of West Africa was linked with the Almoravid The borders of the country are as arbitrary movement, initiated in the 11th century by as its name. Indeed, they do not follow at all the Berber tribes of the region, according to the territorial limits of the Moorish Arabic- local traditions, somewhere between the Adrar speaking country, which extended far beyond and the Senegal delta. This movement was those borders, especially in the north, in to be very successful in Morocco and Spain the region of the Rio de Oro and of the (Norris 1972, 1986). The name ‘Almoravid’ is Sagya el-£amra, occupied by the Spanish. supposed to have come, through the Spanish The Senegal River, chosen as the southern language, from muràbi†ùn; it probably does border, is inhabited on either side by the same not signify ‘those from the ribà† “fortified black African populations, which have Pulaar, monastery”’, as has been supposed for a long Soninke, or Wolof as their mother tongue. time, but rather ‘those who wage a holy war’ Originally, Mauritania was conceived as (participle of the verb ràba†a). a ‘transition’ country between ‘arabity’ and Nevertheless, the penetration of Islam does ‘africanity’ (Baduel 1990), hence the situation not begin with the armed fighters of Ya™yà of Arabic is particularly complex but also, as in ibn ±Ibràhìm al-Gdalì. In fact, conversions had other places, subject to ceaseless change. already taken place since the middle of the 8th century, especially among the Lemtuna Berbers 1. Historical background: The and the Soninké of the Ghana empire. This religious ‘Arabization’ peaceful Islamization was linked with trade (in particular with the Kharijite Mzab) but remained A variety of Arabic (£assàniyya) is currently the quite superficial. The local sources do not always mother tongue of a majority (usually estimated distinguish it from the traditions concerning between 70 and 80 percent of a total of 2.9 the Bafour, the mysterious population from the million people) of the Mauritanian population. Adrar that is sometimes associated with the This is the consequence of the abandonment breeding of dogs. The preaching of Ibn Yàsìn, of the Berber language (Zenaga), at the end spread by the Almoravid troops, was a message of a very long process of Arabization, which of faith, but it also aimed at eradicating the seems to have begun at the end of the 14th and strong influence exerted until then by Ibadite beginning of the 15th century but has not yet Kharijism in the Sahara and on its southern been completed even today. The first contacts (and northern) borders. Henceforth, the aim with the Arabic language took place at the was to attain a deeper knowledge of the sacred end of the 1st millennium, through the Islamic texts and a more orthodox practice of religion, religion, and concerned all the ethnic groups of in particular through the banishment of the the region. pleasures of music and dance. For all societies concerned, Islamization Apart from the Almoravid episode (and, later, represented a global cultural phenomenon, but some Peul Jihadist movements), the conquests EEALL_Mauritania-b8.inddALL_Mauritania-b8.indd 1 33/21/2007/21/2007 6:30:556:30:55 PPMM 2 mauritania did not play a very important role in the that time, the Islamic religion had already diffusion of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, the reached an important breakthrough in the numerous conflicts, between the communities region, paving the way for a certain adaptation to as much as between the tribes, and even within the Arabic language. The only Arabic-speaking the tribes, resulted among other things in social communities, though, still seem to have been fissure and tribal or ‘lineage’ specializations. made up by small groups of traders coming Some tribes chose to relinquish their arms and from the Maghreb. In all cities with a Berber dedicate themselves entirely to the study and majority, whose destiny was unquestionably teaching of the religious sciences, particularly linked to the road taken by the trans-Saharan at the end of the Surbubba war that in the trade, the Azer language – probably a variety of 17th century opposed two tribal coalitions in Soninke as spoken by Zenaga speakers – may southwest Mauritania. The ‘learned’ tribes are have played a key role as lingua franca, despite the zwàya among the Arabic speakers and the the weakening and finally the disappearance of gu:ayën (literally ‘qadis’) among the Zenaga the Ghana empire. speakers. In addition, among the neighboring The influence of Arabic-speaking groups only Pulaar speakers, the influence of the Torobe began to be felt in the Sahara from the 15th group, representing the majority, relies partially century onward. At the end of the 14th century, on its religious status. Ibn Xaldùn had pointed out the presence of In all ethnic groups (including the Soninke the Banù £assàn in the Dra wadi (wàd dar≠a) and the Wolof), the learned men had at their in the south of Morocco. In constant rivalry disposal a unified corpus of reference, based with their cousins, the ”banàt, they oppressed on the triad of Màlikism, Aš≠arism, and Sufi their neighboring Berber tribes (Ould Cheikh brotherhood, and applied largely similar 1995:43). Ibn Xaldùn traced back the genealogy methods to transmit knowledge. These methods of their chief, £assàn, to a certain Ma≠qil, but made a strong demand on memory and used all he did not specify the relationship between possible memorization techniques: repetitions the latter and the Banù Hilàl. One should be and recitations (supported by rhythmic move- careful not to take at face value a history of ment of the body), poetry (even about abstract the Banù Ma≠qil, even if certain authors tend to topics such as grammar), and copying of texts. present them as a group distinct from both the Writing was at the center of learning, but Banù Hilàl and the Banù Sulaym. transmission took place from the master’s voice The testimony of Arabic and Portuguese to the student’s ear. The performance was travelers provides some information about the less an oralization, corresponding to a real migration of the Banù £assàn to the south command of Classical Arabic as a language and their slow penetration into the Sahara. of oral communication, than an auralization, Nevertheless, there is, unfortunately, a lack of meaning the recitation of literary Arabic (Taine- data for the reconstruction of the history of this Cheikh 1998; Ould Cheikh 1998). Over the ‘dark age’, during which the dominance of the years, however, teaching has diversified and Arabs over (part of) the local Berber populations deepened thanks to a more frequent recourse was established. Although the traditions and to the mother tongue in order to explain the the local denominations encourage simplistic meaning of the text. Altogether, the level of equations – ‘warlike tribes = Arabs’ vs. ‘mara- Arabo-Islamic culture was significant, especially boutic tribes = Berbers’, or more recently, but not exclusively in the traditional schools ‘aristocratic = Arabs’ and ‘those who pay (ma™à:ër) of the desert. tribute = Berbers’ – there is some evidence that history has given rise to a complex society 2. The dialectal Arabization whose culture probably achieved some kind of symbiosis between ‘arabity’ and ‘berberity’, The four major Mauritanian caravan cities of even though generally speaking, only the Arabic the 2nd millennium (Wadàn, ”ingì†i, Tišìt, and part of the heritage is claimed. Walàta) were founded around the 12th and 13th As regards the language, the name £assàniyya centuries, as the decline of âwdàÿust (probably (or klàm ™assàn lit.