The Basin and the Mauritanian Coast 66 The separation occurred between Oualata. As for the camps, the majority of the clan were the ones who... Boukhoucha left his son Hama Ali Bân and Halloweh. It was the eldest son, Ali Bân, who succeeded his father in leading the Ouchra clan. Following the latter's death, his nephew Ahmed bin Halloweh took over the leadership because Sheikh Sidi bin Bân was still a minor. It was during this period that we arrived in the country. The Ouchra were dominant over almost all their neighbors, who were the Touareg, the Oulad Ghaylân, the Tormoz, and the Oulad Allouch, especially the Berabich, who politically dominated them. As defenseless students, this made them vulnerable to plunder by armed men from the north at all times. As for the Bidan tribes, more than they were. They submitted in 1896, at the same time as their cousins the Idilssa, and were subjected to a tax of four camels annually. This submission was presented with a known face that refers to (7) It is the Oulad Sidi Mohamed who participated in all raids between 1894 and 1896, lured by the chief of the Berabich, Sidi Mohamed bin Mohamed, who usually camped next to him, and also with the support of the Tekna merchants in Timbuktu. As he presented himself as the leader of the Ouchra, he achieved recognition from the French authorities as chief. He had a brother named Sidi Ali. Oute did not follow Sidi Mohamed bin [Mohamed] in his first rebellion in 1898, but his position during this period was more than suspicious. He paid the tax and sent it as ordered, but he never responded to any summons. When the chief of the Berabich rebelled for the second time, Oute openly detained him and joined him with his supporters, followed by four tents from his clan. Therefore, he was dismissed in 1903. He was replaced by Ahmed bin Halloweh, who was the most prominent representative of the Oulad Moussa Al-Hekni at that time. However, Oute did not actually prove to have returned and submitted. Oute, who is briefly called Oul Al-Joudah, is the second grandson of a devoted servant of the Ouchra named Bel Khair, who married a white woman from the Oulad Mahamma [1]. Ahmed bin Halloweh was an old man with poor health, and despite his strength, he never had (7) We will later learn the reasons for this harsh description of Oute bin Al-Joudah, which was his opposition to the French occupation. The author does not hesitate at times to belittle these.