ABSTRACT
The Ait Merghad, natives of the Ghris, Ferkla and L’Imedghass valleys, belonging like the Ait Izdeg to the old confederation Ait Yaflmane (2) forged to fight the Ait Atta. In the Outat, this tribe was divided between the three major tribes of the region: the Ait Izdeg, the Ait Ouafella and Ait Ayach (Peyron 1976). The first reference we have with respect to the existence of ksour in the Outat valley is given by the priest Charles de Foucauld, who in his work (Foucauld 1888) quotes 16 fortified earthen cities along the two banks of the Outat River. Despite being a few more today, most of them referred to in this document still exist, and among them are Tatiouinne, Sammoura and Tabenaâtout, cities that have been studied in detail for the purposes of this paper.
