Haratin

Haratin (also transliterated Haratins, Harratins or Haratine, etc., singular Hartani) are oasis-dwellers in the Sahara, especially in southern Morocco, Mauritania and Western Sahara, who make up a socially and ethnically distinct group of largely settled, non-nomadic workers, relatively dark complected, speaking either Berber or Arabic. Some researchers describe the group as a social caste spanning the countries listed, and made of former slaves or the descendants of former slaves.