The Ghomara are an originally Berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 group in northern Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, living between the rivers Oued Laou

Oued Laou

Oued Laou is a small town located in northern Morocco at the Mediterranean coast. The two main cities nearby are Tetouan at northwest and Chefchaouen at southwest. In 2004 the town had 8,383 inhabitants ....

 and Ouringa, north of Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen or Chaouen is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue....

 and south of Tetouan

Tétouan

Tetouan is a city in northern Morocco. The Berber name means literally "the eyes" and figuratively "the water springs". Tetouan is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea. It lies a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about 40 mi E.S.E. of Tangier...

, just west of the Rif

Rif

The Rif or Riff is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, with some fertile plains, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Melwiyya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Wergha in the south.It is part of the...

. The river Tiguisas runs through their territory. While most have shifted to speaking Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, a minority continue to speak the Berber

Berber languages

The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...

 Ghomara language

Ghomara language

The language of the Ghomara is a Northern Berber language spoken by at least 10,000 people in Morocco near Tetouan and Chaouen. While included in the Zenati subgroup by some sources , it is probably more closely related to southern Moroccan languages, such as Central Atlas Tamazight and Shilha....

.

In medieval times, the self-proclaimed prophet Ha-Mim

Ha-Mim

Ha-Mim is the short form of the name Ha-Mim ibn Mann-Allah ibn Harir ibn Umar ibn Rahfu ibn Azerwal ibn Majkasa, also known as Abu Muhammad; he was a member of the Majkasa sub-tribe of the Ghomara Berbers who proclaimed himself a prophet in 925 near Tetouan in Morocco...

 briefly rose up among them.

Tribes

They are traditionally divided into eight tribes:

• Beni Ziat
• Beni Zejel
• Beni Selman
• Beni Bu Zra, the last to retain the Ghomara language
  Ghomara language
  The language of the Ghomara is a Northern Berber language spoken by at least 10,000 people in Morocco near Tetouan and Chaouen. While included in the Zenati subgroup by some sources , it is probably more closely related to southern Moroccan languages, such as Central Atlas Tamazight and Shilha....
  
  
• Beni Mansur
• Beni Grir
• Beni Smih
• Beni Rezin
• Beni Khaled