Hamian

Hamian (Hameyan), a large Berber people, province of Oran, Algeria, where they occupy nearly all the territory south of the Shotts between Geryville and the Moroccan frontier. There are two divisions, Hamian-Gharaba and Hamian-Sheraga {West and East Hamian), with numerous ferkas (clans), some of whom, after an unsuccessful revolt against the French, withdrew to Morocco in 1881. The Hamians are great traders, and every year equip a caravan of 6,000, 8,000, and even 10,000 camels for the Gurara market in Central Sahara, where corn, cotton goods, crockery, and other European wares are exchanged for ostrich feathers, salt, gold dust, and (formerly) slaves. There are two other Berber tribes of this name in Oran, one in the Habra basin south of Sidi bel-Abbes, the other (Hamian el Melah) in the Arzen district near the coast.