Marabouts
Marabouts
(mâr`əbo͞ots) [Arab.,=devotee hermit], members of a Muslim religious and military community, precursors of the AlmoravidsAlmoravids, Berber Muslim dynasty that ruled Morocco and Muslim Spain in the 11th and 12th cent. The Almoravids may have originated in what is now Mauritania. The real founder was Abd Allah ibn Yasin, who by military force converted a number of Saharan tribes to his own
..... Click the link for more information. . They spread from NW Africa into Spain in the 11th and 12th cent. The Marabouts later became known as holy men and were greatly venerated as saints. They now live in monasteries or are attached to mosques. Their tombs, also called Marabouts, are often places of pilgrimage.