Freire, Francisco Manuel Machado da Rosa da Silva2018-01-222018-01-222014-01-010022-278XPURE: 319036PURE UUID: 252854a9-bc40-4434-a80a-79bff5890b1dresearchoutputwizard: 47074Scopus: 84906541507WOS: 000342220600004ORCID: /0000-0002-6653-8669/work/54825025http://hdl.handle.net/10362/28750SFRH/BPD/47681/2008 PEst-OE/SADG/UI4038/2014In the late 20th century, 300 Mauritanian shepherds travelled to the United Arab Emirates in order to tend the herds of some of that country's most prominent leaders. These low-tech subjects of global migration flows were particularly valued and sought after by their Emirati employers for their expertise in raising camels. I analyse the forms and consequences of this migration, focusing on the reintegration of these shepherds into Mauritanian stratified tribal spheres following their return to the Sahara. The possibility of a change in their social status (after a financially rewarding experience in the Gulf) will be a central theme of this article. This issue arises from the pervasive designation of these shepherds as a ‘tributary’ (znāga) group, through the application of the tripartite social model that, to a large extent, still defines Mauritania's arabophone population.21324640porShepherdsMauritaniaSouth-western SaharaSocial statusTribe (qabīla)EmigrationGlobalisationUnited Arab EmiratesSDG 10 - Reduced Inequalitiesjournal article10.1017/S0022278X14000238