Oulad Delim

The Oulad Delim (Arabic: أولاد دليم) are a Bedouin Sahrawi tribe of Arab descent which originated in Yemen.^[1] They are descended from Delim bin Hassan, who was from the Ma'qili tribe of Beni Hassan which settled in the Sahara in the 12th century.^[1] They were formerly considered of Hassane status i.e. part of the ruling warrior stratum. The Oulad Delim speak Hassaniya Arabic, a Bedouin dialect which is very close to pure classical Arabic.^[2] They traditionally live in the southern regions of Western Sahara, especially around the city of Dakhla. They are also found in Morocco in the region of Rabat, Marrakech, Sidi Kacem and El Jadida, where their ancestors received lands from the Moroccan sultans for their participation in warfare, as a Guich tribe, as well as in Mauritania in the region between Nouadhibou and Idjil.

Oulad Delim أولاد دليم
Hassani Arab tribe
Leaders of the Oulad Delim Sahrawi tribe at Río de Oro, February 1941. Photograph taken by Tomás Ázcarate Ristori.
Ethnicity	Arab
Location	Río de Oro
Descended from	Delim bin Hassan
Parent tribe	Beni Ḥassān
Language	Arabic (Hassaniya Arabic)
Religion	Sunni Islam

The Oulad Delim have extensive tribal connections with northern Mauritanian tribes. They are Muslims, adhering to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam.

Their traditional lifestyle was nomadic, based on camel herding. They were active in resisting European colonial advances during the 19th century, but after Spain consolidated its hold over Spanish Sahara, many Oulad Delim enrolled in the Tropas Nómadas and other Spanish auxiliary forces.

See also

• Djema'a
• Sahrawi people
• North African Arabs

References

1. "Tribus du Maroc". tribusdumaroc.free.fr. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
2. Sabatier, Diane Himpan; Himpan, Brigitte (2019-03-31). Nomads of Mauritania. Vernon Press. pp. 110–111. ISBN 978-1-62273-410-8.