The Imraguen people: the soul of the Arguin Bank
The Imraguens are a people of fishermen living in harmony with the Arguin Bank for centuries. Their traditional way of life is today threatened by the fragility of the ecosystem
The Imraguens are a people of fishermen living in harmony with the Arguin Bank for centuries. This ethnic minority leads a quiet and atypical existence, but today, its heritage depends on the survival of the Bank !
The heritage of the Imraguens
Their origins The Imraguens constitute an ethnic minority of Mauritania, living primarily from fishing on the northern coast of the country, at the Arguin Bank. This people were originally Bafours, before mixing with Berbers in the fourteenth century and with tributaries (slaves) of the Moors in the seventeenth century. Their task was to fish mullet between October and February at the Arguin Bank. Fishing then became their way of life and the Arguin Bank their place of life… their homeland. Their way of life This ethnic entity was essentially nomadic, moving along the coast and establishing their camps according to fishing seasons. From the twentieth century onwards, they gradually settled, becoming herders when the mullet season came to an end. Women also dried part of the fish for food. Their fishing technique Before the 1930s, the Imraguens still used exclusively a very particular fishing technique, consisting of whistling so that humpback dolphins (as well as bottlenose dolphins) would approach the shore, bringing with them schools of mullet. They then only had to enter the water and cast their nets. They then beat the mullet with a stick to drive them into the nets. However, for about 80 years now, they have also used flat-bottomed boats with a latteen sail called "lanches", reminiscent of the Canary Islands.
The future of the Imraguens
Living in harmony with the Arguin Bank park This people and their habitat were once threatened by industrial overfishing and shark fishing. Fortunately, the State created the Arguin Bank national park in the 1970s to protect this ecosystem of national, even global importance. The Imraguens are few in number: a little over a thousand individuals! They are the only ones with the right to fish in this marine life sanctuary, but in a traditional and strictly regulated manner. However, they manage to accommodate it. Adapting to change Apart from fishing, the Imraguens raise camelids, sell fish in the city and draw what they can from the bush. They are today divided between a few villages along the coast (between Nouadhibou and Nouakchott) and live in fragile wooden huts. Their greatest difficulty is adapting to laws imposed in their place of life that has become a national park. For example, the entire people are only entitled to an extremely limited number of vehicles to avoid pollution and plundering. Facing the consequences of oil exploitation In addition to the restrictions applied to the park and its fragility, oil exploitation off Nouakchott, near the southern boundary of the Arguin Bank, also poses a threat to the Imraguens. The protected area could be restricted to the detriment of oil, and wildlife conservation prioritized to the detriment of the people. The intangible heritage of this people could then disappear without further commitments from the Government.
Frequently asked questions
The Imraguens are an ethnic minority of Mauritania, composed of a little over a thousand people. Descendants of the Bafours, they mixed with Berbers and Moors over the centuries. They live essentially from traditional fishing on the northern coast of Mauritania, at the level of the Arguin Bank.
The Imraguens live in several small villages along the Mauritanian coast, between Nouadhibou in the north and Nouakchott in the south, within the perimeter of the Arguin Bank national park. They live in wooden huts and remain subject to the strict rules of the park.
The traditional fishing technique of the Imraguens is unique in the world: they whistle to attract humpback dolphins (and bottlenose) that drive schools of mullet towards the shore. Fishermen then enter the water and cast their nets. Since the 1930s, they have also used latteen-sailed boats called 'lanches'.
Yes, the Arguin Bank national park was created in the 1970s by the Mauritanian State to protect this exceptional ecosystem. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is the only place where the Imraguens have the right to fish, but only in a traditional manner and according to strict rules.
The Imraguens face several threats: the restrictions imposed by the national park (limitation of vehicles, prohibition of industrial fishing), but also oil exploitation off Nouakchott, near the southern boundary of the Arguin Bank, which could reduce the protected area and endanger their traditional way of life.
