Oudaya

The name Oudaya is the plural of the Arabic word oued () which means river as well as the words awdāʾ (اوداء), awdiya (أودية) and awdāh (أوداه; in the dialect of Tayy). This was corrupted into awādiya (أوادية). Ibn Sidah said the correct form is awdāya (الاوداية) and said: == History ==

Origins showing the historical position of the Oudaya (Ludaya or Ludayes) in the Sahara According to historical authors Leo Africanus and Marmol Carvajal, the Oudaya came from the Banu Hassan branch of the Ma'qil. Leo Africanus estimates the Oudaya to number more than 60,000 and situates them between Ouadane and Oualata. According to the 19th century historian an-Nasiri, Moulay Ismail encountered the Oudaya through a poor shepherd Bou-Chefra. He learned that his people were fleeing famine, and decided to recruit them. He told Bou-Chefra: Formation of the Oudaya Guich The guich tribes were tribes typically of Arab origin that served as a part of the pre-colonial Moroccan military under the 'Alawi dynasty. The Oudaya were one of the major guich tribes that served under the 'Alawis. They rose to prominence under Moulay Ismail who aimed to reorganize the army by institutionalizing the guich system and create a new strong central government as a result of a set of military setbacks he suffered like the disastrous campaign against the Ottoman Regency of Algeria. This culminated in the creation of the '''Abid al-Bukhari'', an elite guard made up of black slaves from Morocco and Sub-Saharan Africa as well as the creation of the Oudaya Guich. In 1678, he married Khanatha bint Bakkar who was the daughter of Shaykh Bakkar, an important leader and tribal shaykh of the Oudaya. This marriage confirmed an alliance between the Makhzen and the Oudaya and by the terms of this alliance the Oudaya provided the sultan with a large and powerful guich. He stations these troops from the Oudaya outside the walls of the city of Fez. Ismail called the Oudaya the tribe of his maternal uncles in order to form a fictive or real kinship between him and the tribe as his mother Mubarka bint Yark al-Maghfiri was born either as a member Revolt of the Oudaya (1831–1834) As a result of Moulay Abd al-Rahman's withdrawal from Tlemcen in March 1831, the Oudaya rebelled in the countryside of Morocco. The revolt began in the north and spread throughout Morocco, including the capital Fez, the sultan decided to leave Fez for Meknes which was safer and was protected by the 'Abid al-Bukhari infantry, but on the way to Meknes he was stopped by rebel troops who sent him back to Fez. The Oudaya directed their grievances to the chief minister Muhammad bin Idris and tried to avoid directly assaulting or critiquing the Sultan because of his Prophetic lineage. In response, Moulay Abd al-Rahman dismissed this minister, took away his wealth, and gave it to the Oudaya as a generous bribe, but the Oudaya still kept him hostage. A few months later, the sultan managed to escape Fes and settle in Meknes, where he slowly built the army there by recruiting more troops. With this army, he marched on Fes and besieged it for 40 days before the Oudaya surrendered in 1834. The sultan ordered the execution of the two most important leaders of the Oudaya revolt, and dispersed them from Fes to Marrakesh, Larache, and Rabat, ending their rebellion. They were reinstated after 1844. == Subdivisions and families ==

According to Alfred Le Chatelier, the Oudaya around Fez are made up of two large fractions: Oulad Bou-Ris and Oulad Zaim. These factions are made up of smaller sub-fractions or villages like El-Karia, Temra and Oulad Djedjem. In Rabat, the Jirari family () is of Oudaya origin specifically descending from the Oudaya who were exiled to Rabat. There's also a Loudiyi family () in Rabat. == Notable members ==

Some members of the tribe include: • Lalla Khanatha bint Bakkar, daughter of a tribal shaykh and leader of the Oudaya, Bakkar al-Mghafri. Bakkar offered her to Ismail ibn Sharif who admired and married her because of her education in many sciences and beauty. She was the mother of Abdallah of Morocco. • Qaid Idris al-Jarari (), governor of Oujda during the time of Abd al-Rahman of Morocco and his uncle. He settled in the Kasbah of the Oudayas to oversee the members of the Guich Oudaya that settled in the area of Rabat. == Kasbah of the Oudayas ==

The Kasbah of the Oudayas is a kasbah in Rabat situated on a hill at the mouth of the Bou Regreg. Although it was built in the 12th century, the name "Oudaya" was not associated with it until the 19th century when the tribe was expelled from Fez in response to their revolt. Part of them settled in the kasbah which was uninhabited at the time. One notable figure that settled in the Kasbah was Idris al-Jirari who after moving oversaw the Guich Oudaya that had settled in Rabat and the surrounding area. == References ==