Ait Atta

The Ait Atta (Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵄⵟⵟⴰ, romanized: Ayt Ɛṭṭa) are a large Berber tribal confederation or "supertribe" of south eastern Morocco. They are divided into "five fifths" (khams khmas), all said to descend from the forty sons of their common ancestor Dadda Atta. These fifths are the Ait Wallal, Ait Wahlim, Ait Isful-Ait Alwan, Ait Aizza Mzin and Ait Unibgi. They speak a dialect of Tamazight.

The Ait Atta first emerged in the Jbel Saghro which they consider their heartland and were originally nomadic but became semi-sedentary. Their quick expansion lead to conflict with other tribes causing some to form the Ait Yafelman confederation in response to their aggression. After the Ait Atta first encountered the French in 1899, they clashed continuously with the French until their surrender in the Battle of Bougafer in 1933.

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