Culture of Western Sahara

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The people of Western Sahara speak the Ḥassānīya dialect of Arabic, also spoken in northern Mauritania. They are of mixed Arab-Berber descent, but many consider themselves Arab. They claim that they descend from the Beni Hassan, an Arab tribe, who invaded the Western Sharan desert in the 14th century.

The Sahrawis are Muslims of the Sunni sect and the Maliki law school. Their interpretation of Islam has traditionally being quite liberal and adapted to nomad life (i.e. generally functioning without mosques).

The originally clan- and tribe-based society underwent a massive social upheaval in 1975, when about half of the population fled the country and settled in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria. Families were broken up by the fight. The organization governing the camps, the Polisario Front, has attempted to modernize their society, placing emphasis on education, the eradication of tribalism and the emancipation of women.^{[citation needed]} The role of women in camps was enhanced by their shouldering of the main responsibility for the camps and government bureaucracy during the war years, as virtually the entire male population was enrolled in the Polisario army.

Education was also assisted by refugee life. While teaching materials are still scarce, the "urbanization" of the refugee camps and the abundance of free time for camp dwellers (after the situation normalized circa 1977) greatly increased the effectiveness of literacy classes. Today, nearly 90% of refugee Sahrawis are able to read and write, the number having been less than 10% in 1975, and several thousands have received university education in foreign countries as part of aid packages (mainly Algeria, Cuba, and Spain).

The Moroccan government considerably invested in the social and economic development of Western Sahara with special emphasis on education, modernisation and infrastructure. El-Aaiun in particular has been the target of heavy government investment, and has grown rapidly. Several thousands Sahrawis study in Moroccan universities. Literacy rates are appreciated at some 50% of the population.

To date, there have been few thorough studies of the culture due in part to the political situation. Some language and culture studies, mainly by French researchers, have been performed on Sahrawi communities in northern Mauritania.

[edit] See also

• Music of Western Sahara
• Sahrawi

[edit] References

[edit] External links