Editing History of Western Sahara (section)

===Sahrawi tribes===
The modern [[ethnic group]] is thus an [[Arabization|Arabized]] Berber people inhabiting the westernmost [[Sahara desert]], in the area of modern [[Mauritania]], [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]] and most notably the [[Western Sahara]], with some [[tribe]]s traditionally migrating into northern [[Mali]] and [[Niger]]. As with most [[Sahrawi people|Saharan]] peoples, the tribes reflect a highly mixed heritage, combining [[Arab]], Berber, and other influences, including [[black African]] ethnic and cultural characteristics.

In pre-colonial times, the tribal areas of the [[Sahara desert]] was generally considered ''bled es-Siba'' or "the land of dissidence" by the authorities of the established [[Islam]]ic states of North Africa, such as the [[Sultan of Morocco]] and the [[Dey]]s of [[Algeria]]. The Islamic governments of the pre-colonial sub-Saharan empires of [[Mali]] and [[Songhai Empire|Songhai]] appear to have had a similar relationship with these territories, which were at once the home of undisciplined raiding tribes and the main trade route for the Saharan [[caravan trade]]. Central governments had little control over the region, although some Hassaniya tribes would occasionally extended "''beya''" or allegiance to prestigious neighbouring rulers, to gain their political backing or, in some cases, as a religious ceremony.

Best reference on Sahrawi population ethnography in the Spanish colonial era is the work of Spanish anthropologist [[Julio Caro Baroja]], who in 1952–53 spent several months among native tribes all along the then [[Spanish Sahara]].<ref>Julio Caro Baroja, '''Estudios Saharianos''', Instituto de Estudios Africanos, Madrid, 1955. Re-edited 1990: Ediciones Júcar. {{ISBN|84-334-7027-2}}</ref>