Ida Ou Nadif Tribe

The Ida Ou Nadif tribe (also known as Ida Ougnidif or Ida ou Gnidif) is a Berber (Amazigh) community located in southern Morocco, in the Souss-Massa region, Chtouka-Aït Baha province.

The name derives from the Amazigh prefix Id aw (“sons of”) and the anthroponym Ugnidif, thus meaning “the sons of Ugnidif.”

According to some interpretations, the term Ugnidif is linked to the idea of guard and vigilance, reflecting the tribe’s strategic position in the high mountains. A more anecdotal hypothesis connects it to the words Iguen (sleep) and Idouf (watch), but this is considered less reliable.

The tribe occupies a mountainous territory in the Anti-Atlas, near Jbel Lekst, which rises over 2,300 meters in altitude. It includes about 65 villages (douars), with a historically sedentary population of around 3,000 people, plus several thousand more scattered in cities.

The tribe’s roots are ancient and may date back to the confederation of the Getuli Autololes, mentioned by Sallust and Pliny the Elder.
Its geographical position gave the tribe a role of surveillance and defense of the mountain routes.