My Projects: Mauritania

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, or Mauritania, is a nation in the Maghreb region of western North Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the region. Mauritania has a unique culture and history.

LOCATION

Mauritania is located at 20° N latitude, 12° W longitude. The area of Mauritania is 398,000 sq miles or about 1 million km². It is bordered by Western Sahara on the north, Senegal on the south and Mali and Algeria on the east. The capital city is Nouakchott. Mauritania is also part of the Sahel region.

GEOGRAPHY

Mauritania from space

The Sahara desert covers most of Mauritania. As a result, Mauritania remains hot throughout the year. In the Saharan area, rain usually falls from July to September with annual precipitation of 150 mm or 5.9 in. Kediet ej Jill is a mountain in Tiris Zemmour, Mauritania. At 915 m (3,002 ft) tall, it is the highest peak in Mauritania. The Sebkha de Ndrhamcha, a large salt pan, is the lowest point of Mauritania.

HISTORY

  From the A.D. 300s to the 1500s, some areas in Mauritania were part of Ghana, Mali, and the Songhai empire. In the middle of the 1000s, the Berber speaking Sanhaja people established a group that was inspired by the leaders of a ribat, or religious settlement. This group was known as Al-Murabitun (men of the ribat). Because of Spanish mispronunciation, the term Al-Murabitun became Almoravids. They eventually controlled the northwestern corner of Africa and the southern parts of Portugal and Spain. They ruled until April, 1147, when their last king was killed.

In the 1400s, the Portuguese landed in Mauritania. From the 1600's to the 1800's, France, United Kingdom, and Netherlands were coming to Mauritania. They competed for the Mauritanian gum arabic trade. Gum arabic or also called acacia gum is a natural gum made of hardened sap that are take from the acacia tree. In 1902, France began to occupy Mauritania. They also set up a protectorate here in 1903. The first governor was Xavier Coppolani. He was from the French military.

In 1920, Mauritania became a French colony. It became a territory in the French Union in 1946. The French Union is an organisation that linked France and its overseas territories. In 1958, Mauritania became a self governing republic in the French Community. The French Community is a group of independent countries and other political units that succeeded the French Union. Mokhtar Ould Daddah was elected as the president in 1959. He was supported by many Moorish leaders and educated blacks. He favored independence and close ties with other west African countries.

  On Nov. 28, 1960, Mauritania became an independent country. However, Morocco did not recognise their independence. Morocco claimed that Mauritania was historically Moroccan territory. Some of Ould Daddah's opponents went to Morocco and worked to unite the two countries. Morocco finally recognized Mauritania's independence in 1970.

PEOPLE

The Moors make up the majority of people in Mauritania. The Moors are descendants of Arabs and Berbers. They can be split into two main groups, which are the black Moors and white Moors. The white Moors are called Bidan and the black Moors are called Haratine. In Mauritania, they speak an Arabic dialect called Hassaniya. Some of them lead a nomadic life, living in tents and moving over the desert with their cattle to find waterholes and pasture. The term "black and white" does not refer to skin color, but to social status and family heritage. The white Moors have a higher status than black Moors.

About a third of Mauritania's people are black Africans that are from separate ethnic groups. Many of them are farmers who live in villages along the Senegal River. Their houses are normally made of dried mud brick. Many of them also live in other city such as Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. The largest black ethnic group is the Toucouleurs. They are mostly Muslim, however, animist is also practiced by some of them. The other ethnic groups are Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara.

GOVERNMENT

  Mauritania is an Islamic republic where the executive president is head of state and is assisted by a prime minister who acts as head of the council of ministers and head of the government. Presidential elections have been scheduled every six years since 1992. The people can vote at the age of eighteen. The legal system is based on Islamic Sharia law and modern western law. The legislative branch includes a bicameral legislature consisting of a fifty-six seat senate that are elected by municipal mayors for six-year terms, and a seventy-nine seat national assembly elected by popular vote for five-year terms. The lower courts, supreme court and an appeals court make up the judicial branch in Mauritania.

RELIGION

Islam is the official religion for this country. 100% of its citizens are Muslim, although there is small community of Christians that are foreigners. Islam has been in Mauritania since the 10th century. Muslims who are convert from Islam will lose their citizenship and their property. Apostasy is illegal in Mauritania and if someone who converts do not recant within three days, they can be sentenced to death under Mauritanian law.

There is a Roman Catholic church here. The government does not recognize it, but it also does not intervene. The government can block the printing, importation, or public distribution of Bibles or other non-Islamic religious literature. However, it is not illegal if you have the Bible. Every year, Muslim holy days are national holidays.

LANGUAGE

Arabic is the official language of Mauritania. French, however, is widely spoken by the people and the media. Soninke, Wolof and Fula are also recognized as national languages. The Moors speak Hassaniya, a dialect of Arabic. Zenaga, a Berber language, was once spoken in much of Mauritania. Today, however, only a tiny group of about 200 or 300 speakers of the Zenaga language may be left as it is being totally replaced by Hassaniya.

ECONOMY

Mauritania has a wealth of iron ore deposits and 50% of their exports are iron ore. Production of iron ore in Mauritania, however, has slowed down because of lower demand, but with the cost of gold and silver being high, the companies are opening mines in the interior. Fish is also important economy in Mauritania. The country's coastal waters are one of the richest fishing areas in the world.

In the Sahel region, a traditional subsistence economy exists. Livestock, agriculture, crafts, and small business support most of the population. About three-fourths of the population is involved in the traditional economy, in which raising livestock is the most important. Sheep and goats are the main important livestock, followed by cattle and camels. Cattle are raised especially in the southern region and Camels are raised mainly in the north and central regions.

CUISINE

Couscous with vegetables

The main food in Mauritania is couscous. Couscous is prepared using wheat, millet, or barley and rolled to create small pellets. Couscous is not eaten alone, but with vegetables added. It is also served with cooked meat such as chicken and lamb. A food steamer called couscoussier is used to make the couscous. Couscous was voted as the third favorite dish of French people in 2011. Thieboudiene is the national dish in Mauritania. It’s made of fish and sweet potato, baked with red sauce made of onions, tomatoes, and chopped pepper. A lot of people eat it every single day as lunch.

The main beverage is mint tea. The people drink tea any time of the day. It is mixed with green tea, sugar, and mint leaves. Normally, the hot tea is poured from up high to create foam. It is also served after meals. Bissap, which is a roselle syrup, it is the other important beverage in Mauritania. Bissap is not used only as a drink. It is also made into a syrup for sweetening teas and pouring over sweetmeats.

MUSIC

Someone is playing with the tidinit

Mauritania’s music mostly has been influenced by the Moors. Music traditionally was used to praise warriors and also to spread news from village to village. One of the traditional instruments is tidinit. It is a simple lute with one to five strings and normally played by men. Other instruments included are tbal, or a kettle drum, and daghumma, which is a rattle. There are three different ways to play music in the Mauritanian tradition: the white way, the black way, and the mixed or “spotted” way. The white way, or al-bayda, is associated with smooth and soft music and comes from the Bidan people. The next way is al-kahla, or the black way. It is generally more masculine, and comes from the Haratin people. The mixed or “spotted” way, or l’-gnaydiya, is a combination of back and white styles.

ARCHITECTURE

The architecture in Nouakchott is a mixture of traditional French concrete building with Asian and Spanish influences. Because of the fragile and sandy terrain, buildings in here are low. Many houses have colorful traditional mats and pillows, trays, teapots and carpets. Mattresses are placed along the walls with traditional pillows.