# Oulad Delim

The Oulad Delim (Arabic: أولاد دليم, romanized: Awlād Dlīm) also sometimes written as Oulad Dlim or Oulad Dalim are a Bedouin Sahrawi tribe of Arab descent. They come from the Banu Hassan tribe which is part of the larger Maqil. They were formerly considered of Hassane status i.e. part of the ruling warrior stratum. The Oulad Delim speak Hassaniya Arabic, a Bedouin dialect which is very close to pure classical Arabic. They traditionally live in the southern regions of Western Sahara, especially around the city of Dakhla. They are also found in Morocco in the region of Rabat, Marrakech, Sidi Kacem and El Jadida, where their ancestors received lands from the Moroccan sultans for their participation in warfare, as a Guich tribe, as well as in Mauritania in the region between Nouadhibou and Idjil.
The Oulad Delim have extensive tribal connections with northern Mauritanian tribes. They are Muslims, adhering to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. Their traditional lifestyle was nomadic, based on camel herding.

## History
### Origins

Their eponymous ancestor is Delim. One tradition says that Delim is the son of Oudei bin Hassan. According to this legend, Oudei had a servant who's small size caused her to be called Delima (meaning little animal skin). She had a son through him called Delim who was also of small size. Originally, he was disowned by his father fearing the jealousy of his Hilalian wife but he proved himself when a group tried to attack his father's wife while her own sons fled. This legend is taken from the Arabic novel Antar. Another tradition states that Delim was the son of Hassan himself. According to Paul Marty, the Oulad Delim are divided into the Remeithia, descendants of Remaith and the Oulad Chouikh descendants of Chouikh. Both groups numbered approximately approximately six hundred tents each at the time of 1913.
Historical author and diplomat Leo Africanus wrote about the Oulad Delim in the 16th century:
   The Oulad Dalim live in the Libyan desert together with the Zenaga, an African people; they neither have territory nor any provision, but are poor thieves who often travel to the province of Draa to barter animals for dates. They are poorly equipped, numbering 10,000, with 400 on horseback and the rest on foot.

### Conflict with other Sahrawi Tribes

In the second half of the 18th century and throughout the 19th century, territorial disputes arose between the Oulad Delim and Awlad Tidrarin, two powerful Sahrawi tribes that shared borders in what is now Western Sahara. While some accounts claim that the Oulad Delim sought to exert authority over the Awlad Tidrarin, historical traditions widely recognized among Sahrawis assert that the conflict was not based on tribute (horma) but rather on a misunderstanding over territorial boundaries between the two tribes.
The dispute escalated into a prolonged war, with both sides engaging in a series of battles to defend their respective claims. According to oral histories passed down among the Awlad Tidrarin, they emerged victorious, securing control over their lands and maintaining their independence. The conflict solidified long-standing rivalries between the two groups, and tensions between the Awlad Tidrarin and the Oulad Delim have persisted into modern times, with both tribes maintaining distinct identities and historical narratives regarding the events.
While some historical sources present differing interpretations of this conflict, the prevailing Sahrawi oral tradition emphasizes that the Awlad Tidrarin were never subordinate to the Oulad Delim and that the war was a struggle for territorial sovereignty rather than a system of vassalage. Further research and documentation of Sahrawi tribal history could provide more clarity on the nuances of this historical period.

### Encounters with the Spanish

They were active in resisting European colonial advances during the 19th century. For example, on March 9, 1885, they attacked the installations of the Companion Comercial Hispanico Africana at Dakhla weeks after it was established. Through this they managed to attain a warlike and powerful reputation. Julio Cervera Baviera came across the Loudeikat fraction of the Oulad Delim describing them as "dedicating to marauding and theft, famous for their villainy and bloodthirsty instincts". However, they gradually established a modus vivendi with the Spanish settlement in Dakhla with one of their chiefs signing an accord with Spain to collaborate with the traders there. The Oulad Delim like other Sahrawi tribes saw the Spanish who at the time was too weak to expand deeper as less of a threat compared to the more powerful and expansive French colonial empire. Because of the enforced colonial peace, the Oulad Delim could no longer rely on their traditional sources of income like enforcing the horma on their tributaries or carrying out ghazzis. This allowed the Oulad Tidrarin who they previously exploited to become more prosperous. To continue to lead the lifestyle as "men of the gun", many Oulad Delim enrolled in the Tropas Nómadas and other Spanish auxiliary forces giving them a reputation for loyalty to Spain in the last decade of Spanish rule. However, most Oulad Delim including those in the Spanish army and police force supported the Polisario Front when Spain did not give the Sahrawis self-determination like they promised.

## Subdivisions

By the end of the 19th century, the Oulad Delim were divided into 5 fractions:
* Oulad Tegueddi
* Loudeikat
* Oulad Khaliga
* Oulad Ba Amar
* Serahenna