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This article looks at the phenomenon of the writing of Cherifian genealogies, which came to the fore in Morocco in general, and in northern Morocco in particular, with the emergence of the Alawite dynasty. The case of Tétouan, which was the center of the governors of northern Morocco at the time, will be studied, examining the city’s relationship to the phenomenon of Sherifism. The article examines the reason for the emergence of works specializing in chorfa genealogies at the time of Mawlāy Ismāʿīl in Tetouan. We’ll see how attempts were made to distinguish the chorfa as a noble class distinct from the masses in certain tribes, particularly among the Banī ʿArūs and the Banī Ḥassān, and their consequences, including the phenomenon of the “so-called chorfa” (al-mutašarrifah) since the 15th century. This phenomenon was at the origin of the genealogical registration movement in the Alawite period. In this study, we will examine two examples of the oldest treatises on the genealogy of the chorfa in Tétouan, these are Dawaʿī al-ṭarab fī -ẖtisāri ansāb al-ʿarab written by Ibn al-ʿĀfiyah al-Zaǧnī, and Šaḏar al-ḏahab fī ẖayr nasab written by Ibn Raḥmūn al-Ḥasanī. These two books share very similar characteristics in terms of the nature of the content, based on literal transmission and data collection in the first instance, with very limited scope for discussion and analysis. In conclusion, we will discuss the degree of success they achieved in combating the mutašarrifah phenomenon in northern Morocco.
