The Haalpulaar population- this population exist in the Northern Senegal Valley and speak the language of Pulaar which has close to 4 million native speakers worldwide. They are typically farmers and raise livestock , a cultural lifestyle that is typical of this area. According to John V. Magistro they are a ' cultural melange of black Sub-Saharan agropastoralists ' (Magistro 1993). There is also a different culture of farmers in this area , however a little more South . They are often ' subsumed within the ethnic category of the Haalpulaar population ' (Magistro 1993:203) however there is a difference. They are the Fulbe herders which are a semi-nomadic population of herders residing in an area called Ferlo.
The Haratin- The Haratin population are ' freed slaves' of black Sub Saharan decent who make up around 40% of the Mauritania population . The term free is used loosely here because they are often still slaves and have masters , this is an ongoing problem that faces the country of Mauritania. The Haratin population speak Hassaniya , a Mauritania Arab dialect (Magistro 1993). The Haratin death squards were behind the terrible executions of at least 200 black africans on ' black Tuesday ' however this was under the supervision of a higher-class ethnic group called the Bidan .
The Bidan - The Bidan population was first described by Stewart (1973:8) as the ' white race' . he however later discovered that the Bidan population often married the black Sub-Saharan Africans and so the term did not really refer to a colour classification but rather a social status .
References
Magistro J (1993) Crossing over: ethnicity and
transboundary conflict in the Senegal river valley. Cah d’Etud Afr
130/XXXIII-2:201 – 232
Stewart,C.C (1973) Islam and Social Order in Mauritania . A Case Study from the 19th Century (Oxford : Clarendon Press).
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