Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/447

 fair being higher than that of a dark bride. Nevertheless tho Hartaniat women are often distinguished by their beauty, most of them having lovely and expressive eyes, and in their youth bright features combined with an extremely graceful carriage.

In the oases a Hartani is seldom elected chief of the tribe, this honour being usually reserved for the white Imazighen. Like the Algerian Shawia and Kabyles, many of the Marocco Imazighen are distinguished by light hair and blue

eyes. But in the central and southern regions this fair type appears to be extremely rare, except in some of the southern hilly districts. It seems to be most frequently met in the Rif, that is, the northern coastlands that have been most frequently occupied by invaders or immigrants from the Iberian peninsula. Hence M. Faidherbe is inclined to regard them as the more or less mixed descendants of the race which raised the great monolithic monuments in North Africa.

The Tamazight (Shluh or Shellaha) language is spoken by the great majority