Nomadism and semi-nomadism in Morocco
1 the nomad in Morocco may seem like an anachronism. The nomad, defined as a mobile person without
a fixed home, almost no longer exists. In the Moroccan case, we will rather talk about the semi-nomadic.
These populations constitute a category rarely mentioned, except to talk about its conflicts around water
points or courses or to mention the degradation of resources of which it is suspected to be the cause.
The transhumant breeder is, however, the main supplier of meat, wool and leather. Despite all that is said
about him, he is, through good practices, the true protector of natural resources.
2The negative image of this community means that the statistical apparatus rarely reports on it. The only
figures available are given by general censuses. There are 13,475 households at the time of the 1982
census and only 12,636 households in 1994, except for the Saharan provinces! (Yessef and Ait Hamza
2009)
3With regard to their way of life, their culture, the image built around this population is generally only a
more or less truncated perception of reality. This note attempts, through numerous writings and recent
field work (see bibliography), to take stock of the evolution of this phenomenon.
Nomadism and semi-nomadism in Morocco
The nomad and his territory in Morocco
4The relatively negative image of the nomads roughly reflects the relationship they had with the central
Makhzen. In fact, these communities “without a fixed address” rarely submit to the territorial limits and
regulations imposed by the central administration. Thus, the nomads, without questioning the central
power, do not hesitate to transgress the limits it imposes and to threaten the established order whenever
the need arises.
5From the XVII-XVIII century, the kings of Morocco, faced with the descent of the highlanders to the
plains and the imperial capitals, felt the need to build many kasbahs and to establish many Gich tribes on
their roads. The Bled s-Siba that historians spoke of to describe dissent in the nineteenth century is none
other than a refusal to comply with the financial demands of the central power. Colonial France, to punish
the resistance of the mountain dwellers, deprives them of their right to the forest and rangeland
(domanialization of waters, forests and control over collective lands).
6today, faced with the problems posed by the mountains and its populations (environment, employment
and other social needs), it is quite legitimate to ask questions about the relationship that can exist
between the mobile lifestyle of the populations and the preservation of the environment.
In Morocco, despite their fragility, the natural conditions are characterized by a very great diversity. The
search for the complementarity of territories and landscapes is an intelligent form of adaptation to the
irregularity of rainfall and hazards. The nomad, in view of his experience, adapts his transhumance
routes to the imperatives imposed on him by the relief and the climate. The result is, for each community,
an ideal finage composed of different terroirs allowing the exercise of its activities, with relative seasonal
and annual stability.
8The search for this complementarity between the mild and herbaceous mountain peaks in summer and
the low altitudes with mild temperatures in winter, directs the movement of the livestock. This pattern
gives the vegetation a moment of respite and rest necessary for regeneration. This constraint imposes on
each community the conquest of these spaces either by the rifle, or by resorting to alliances (leff-s) inter-
fractions or intertribals. The result may be a exceptionally complicated tribal work. By way of example,
the Aït Sedrate tribe, by settling on three distinct sections of the Dades basin (upstream, middle and
downstream), has ensured control, but not without conflicts, of the space necessary for the maintenance
of a herd during all seasons. The conflicts around the water points, the routes and the passages form the
fabric of the local history. With the advent of modern administration, the breeding activity and,
consequently, the life of mobile breeders, has undergone profound changes. To better understand these
mutations, four ecological transhumance basins have been differentiated (Yessef and Aït Hamza 2009).
Nomadism and semi-nomadism in Morocco
The different basins of nomadism
The nomadic camel drivers of the Sahara
9A very extensive area between the mouth of the Dra and the Moroccan-Mauritanian border, the
Moroccan Sahara is known for the importance of its herds, especially camelins. Activity based essentially
on long movements, nomadism is the work of large tribes: Rguibat, Ouled Dlim, Ouled Bousbaâ,
Zerguiyne, Ait Oussa, Tekna…. In addition to animal husbandry, these tribes practice cross-border trade
and summary handicrafts (Dahmane 2004, 2006). Nomadism is the dominant lifestyle for all members of
the tribe. The moments of stop to practice rainfed crops are extremely rare (cultivation in the graïr-s). The
percentage of mobile breeders in relation to the total number of breeders reaches the highest level. The
percentage of herds that practice customary mobility reaches 75.6% and that of herds that travel outside
the customary territories is 24.4%.
10FROM 1975, for security reasons, the state encouraged settlement and urbanization by installing basic
equipment in focal points (Laayoune, Boujdour, Dakhla, Es-Smara, Tarfaya, Tantan). These cities created
to restructure the space, already concentrate more than 94% of the inhabitants (RGPH, 2004). The
regional economic balance, once based on nomadism, is now oriented towards fishing, trade and mining.
Livestock farming is increasingly practiced by intermediary managers, while the owners, settled in the
city, are engaged in trade and speculation.
Nomadism and semi-nomadism in Morocco
The High Atlas and its borders, space for semi-nomads
The High Atlas and its borders constitute a space traditionally exploited by large confederations of tribes:
Aït Atta, Aït Yafelmane, Aït Sedrate, Glaoua, Ghojdama, Mgouna, Imaghrane, Aït Isha, Aït Sokhmane…
These communities, largely sedentary, practiced transhumance along vertical routes oriented South /
North. In summer, the herds are led on the agdal-s1 altitude, while in winter, these approached the oases
of piedmont. The practice of temporary suspension of summer courses (agdal) constitutes the specificity
of this area. The tribes concerned by transhumance developed strict regulations that preserved the rights
of each rancher, but above all, ensured the protection of nature against the overexploitation of resources.
12With the installation of the modern administration, the crumbling of the traditional YWCA, increased
sedentarization, openness, degradation become the rule (Ait Hamza, 2005; Ouhajou, 2006). The
percentage of the livestock that still practices mobility reaches 49.6%, but that of pastoralists hardly
exceeds 37.2%, including 17.9% outside their customary territory.
Nomadism and semi-nomadism in Morocco
A new era for transhumants from the Eastern Highlands
13IN view of its relief of medium altitudes, its relative aridity, the Oriental zone forms a breeding area with
restricted movements (El Harrach 1997). Transhumance is practiced between jbel Grouz in the south and
the Jerada Horst in the north. This mobility is mainly favored by the complementarity of the vast steppe
pastoral facies dominated by alfa and sagebrush. The most imposing confederation of tribes is that of
Beni-Guil with its multiple fractions, followed by that of the Laamour. The number of small livestock,
concerned by mobility, represents 49.3%. The percentage of livestock farmers who practice mobile
livestock is about 36.9%, of which 19.6% outside the customary territory. Very affected by the drought
and the closure of the Algerian-Moroccan border, this area has experienced a major intervention by the
state which aimed to improve the routes. This project, based on the encouragement of pastoral
cooperatives, the digging of wells, the purchase of fodder and the improvement of the local breed, has
greatly stimulated the intensification of livestock farming and consequently sedentarization (Ait Hamza
2011). It has especially benefited the large sheep farmers settled in Tandrara, Ain-Beni-Mathar and
Bouarfa.
Nomadism and semi-nomadism in Morocco
The semi-nomads of the Middle Atlas and the intensification of agriculture
14The Middle Atlas is characterized by a dramatic regression of mobile livestock farming. The colonizer’s
stranglehold on the Ayt Mgild golf courses, in the Azaghar (Beaudet 1969) and the recent cultivation of
this mountain, especially in its western part (El Hajeb, Azrou, Imouzzer, Ifrane, Guigou…) by introducing
cereals, market gardening, fruit arboriculture…, modern intensive or semi-intensive livestock farming, has
led to accelerated sedentarization. Tourism and the army have also torn away from livestock a workforce
necessary for its maintenance. The percentage of herds still concerned by mobility is only about 37.3%!,
while the percentage of breeders who practice mobile breeding hardly exceeds 35.2% of the total!
Conclusion
15It would be easy to conclude that we are witnessing the end of nomadism and semi-nomadism in
Morocco, at least in their traditional form. The reasons for this regression process are multiple, even if
their amplitudes and their impacts differ according to the ecological basins of transhumance.
16In fact, very early on, the promulgation of the law on the forest (1917), on collective lands (1919), the
stranglehold on the plains to create irrigated areas, began a process of almost irreversible regression.
17With independence and the new orientations of the state, the importance given to irrigated agriculture
and the development of cities have further reduced pastoral areas and rural areas.
18THE exodus already started at the end of the nineteenth century has amplified and the effects of
openness, rural schooling, contact with cities and the media have intensified with the demographic
explosion. The nomad once isolated with his animals in front of nature, aspires, today, to take advantage
of the new elements of comfort that modern life offers (truck, telephone, medicine, school, electricity…).
The displacements are now based on these new means and take the nomads very far. The rental of the
courses, the purchase of fodder, the search for the adequacy between production and demand
characterize the new situation. Traditional institutions for managing transhumance, such as the new
administration, are having a hard time keeping up with developments. So many beginnings that make us
say that transhumance may not be completely lost, even if young people and women increasingly refuse
this method of breeding.
