The Hodh and the Mauritanian Coast 86 Chapter Four Mashzouf and Lahmanat Mashzouf The name Mashzouf continues to this day to refer to a conglomerate of tribes and clans of various origins, who roam the Hodh and the central coast, and indisputably exercise political control, from the Middle Niger River to the latitude of Anyaour. This union derives its name from a nucleus that was itself Mashzouf, to which its military and political victories attracted a multitude of smaller tribes, indeed, I would say smaller states that previously revolved around the orbit of Awlad Mubarak, the masters of the Hodh and the coast, just as they had previously revolved around the orbit of Awlad Muhammad Ahmad, and before them, around the orbit of Awlad Daoud, because the strong always swallow the weak and the neutral. Therefore, we must touch upon the history of their first nuclei to understand the composition, transformations, and life of this union; the history of Mashzouf is the political snowball of the Mashzouf element. We will later see the main figures in Ahl Al-Tahmid, which is the imperial tent of Mashzouf, then we will address the departure of the union, which will lead us to study the origins of each integrated clan. The final section will be about the religious life of Mashzouf.

1 - Historical Overview We find two names at the beginning of Mashzouf's history: Buhannad and Shatif (nicknamed Mashzouf). We must then say, to clarify the matter, that they were very much Mashzouf; Buhannad is the ancestor of two-thirds (Awlad Muhammad and Ulwaydat) and Mashzouf is the ancestor of the remaining third (Lahmanat). However, following mysterious movements and internal schisms, Lahmanat – the true sons of Mashzouf – abandoned their name, which was inherited by Awlad Muhammad and Ulwaydat, to be confined to them. Buhannad and Shatif lived around the 16th century, and we find little information about them in the tribe. What we present today was obtained from neighboring Zawiyas, and from the leader of Araouane, who is a hundred years old, Arwa (1). Buhannad, it is likely, was a Berber, or more precisely, one of the early Barbary inhabitants of Timbuktu, the Arabized migrants (2). (1) He is Arwa bin Sidi Ahmed bin Al-Habib, a man of knowledge and a leader of Araouane. He was known for his political roles before the French occupation. He died before the year twenty of this century. (2) The prevailing narrative is that Buhannad is from the famous Awlad Tellem tribe, and therefore from Bani Hassan.