ABSTRACT
A combination of antagonism and indispensable symbiosis characterized relations between nomads and oasis-dwellers. Three oases played particularly prominent roles in the events of 1881–1912. Tafilalt, the largest fertile district in the region, was also the most lively center of inter-tribal and makhzan politics and the principal staging ground for resistance to the French. Figuig, the second largest center, was much closer to Algeria and therefore under the shadow of the French army from 1881 onwards. Kenadsa, which lay midway between Tafilalt and Figuig, was a much smaller oasis, but it was also the headquarters of the region's most renowned lineage of politically active saints. The political aspect of these three communities, together with that of the Dawi Mani' and the Ait 'Atta, adds up to a fairly comprehensive picture of the state of southeastern Morocco on the eve of the colonial crisis.
