The Hod and the Mauritanian Coast The Beydani Tribes in 40 2 - Distribution and Characteristics The people of Bourda are divided into: (a) Ahl al-Sheikh, 92 tents (b) "Al-Muhajirin", 87 tents. (c) Al-Baghfala, 68 tents, a total of 247 tents. (a) Ahl al-Sheikh, as their name indicates, are the branch of the tribal chief, and they are the descendants of Hajj bin Bourda, and therefore they are the only ones who are from his core. (b) "Al-Muhajirin", their chief is Sidi al-Mukhtar bin Diseh, and they are descended from the students of Hajj, and they are divided into Beydani who trace their origins to various backgrounds, from Tarakaz, Al-Jaghfara, the tribes of Tagant, Aznag, etc., and into Black people, who are called by this name because they came from the South, or from the Black Land, and they trace their origins to Dawud (Awlad Alush and Awlad Zayd). (c) Al-Baghfala, their chief is Ankuwayn bin Muhammad al-Habib, and they trace their origins to Al-Barabish, and their ancestor Omar al-Mudiyah came to settle in the camp of Hajj bin Bourda, and since that time these two branches have not separated from each other. When we arrived in 1897, the chief of the branch was Sheikh bin Ahmed Arshaq, but he handed over leadership to his son Sidi Muhammad, known as Al-Qallah. This name has a story behind it, which is that ever since Sidi Muhammad bin Ali Ghunwa adopted this title, it became widespread in the family, and it is given to all the boys who carry the name Sidi Muhammad. Sheikh is known for his fame and excellent reputation, but he has little influence. Al-Qallah definitively succeeded his father after his death, based on the election of the community, on April 30, 1905; he was born around 1878, and he is an intelligent and wealthy man who owns camels and sheep; He was particularly known for his tyranny and zeal. If he resorted to trickery to impose his obedience on the elders, he did not hesitate to resort to violence to impose his control on the youth; when any of them refused to pay the fine, he would go to his camel herd and kill two or three of them with his pistol shots, and invite those present to share their meat. On another occasion, he killed Sabra, the son of his cousin Deshtiq bin Muhammad, who was trying to replace him. And in the leadership of the people of Bourda, the latter was not in fact less reckless than him. At the beginning of 1918, following a dispute with some of his camp members who wanted to move west, Al-Qallah [bin al-Sheikh] forcibly disarmed them and sent them to the military post for discussion. Nevertheless, we can only praise him, and we have, for our part, always supported his authority.