[5][6][7] Alternatively, some medieval genealogists attribute Jalut (Goliath) as the ancestor of the Berbers and say he migrated from Palestine to North Africa.
[11] In pre-Islamic times, the Zenata migrated from southern Tunisia and Tripolitania (in Libya) through the Saharan fringes to the Algerian highlands.
Some of the historical branches of the Zenata are the Maghrawa, Miknassa and Banu Ifran who played a major role in shaping the history of North Africa.
[14] Although the Masmuda formed the core of the Almohad army and hierarchy, Abd al-Mumin, who founded the dynasty, belonged to an Arabized section of the Zenata known as the Kumiya.
[15] From the 13th to 16th centuries, with the fall of the Almohads, many dynasties of Zenata origin were able to take power like the Zayyanids in Algeria and the Marinids and Wattasids in Morocco.
Other groups like the Jazula, Lamta and Haskura migrated to the plains of the Sous region in Morocco with some going further north to the Middle Atlas and Rif.
[25] In Greater Kabylia, there are 14 confederations of tribes:[26] Historically, the Tuareg have been divided into seven clans who, according to oral tradition, all descend from daughters of the same mother.
[27] Each Tuareg clan (tawshet) is made up of family groups constituting a tribe,[28] each led by its chief, the amghar.
[36] According to tradition, these tribes are said to be the 9 sons of an immigrant schoolteacher called Aghmir who migrated from the Sous or Saguia el-Hamra.
[37] The Ait Atta are a large tribal confederation[38][39] or "supertribe"[39][40] in the south east of Morocco who inhabit the region of Tafilalt and the Draa River.
[38][41] They claim descent from 40 sons of the eponymous ancestor Dadda Atta and they are divided into khams khmas (five fifths).
This election took place in the presence of a Sharif belonging to the Ouled Moulay Abdallah ben Hocein (Dadda Atta was said to be a disciple of Moulay Abdallah ben Hocein founder of the zawiya of Tameslouht) who was referred to as the agurram (meaning religious man or poor Sufi).
[39][42] The Ait Yafelman (literally "those who found peace") are a tribal confederation that inhabit the High Atlas and are of Sanhaja descent.
They are made up of 4 tribes:[43][44] They formed together in the 17th century to secure their territory from the expansion of their traditional rivals the Ait Atta.