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Origin of the Surnames A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GHOMARA TRIBE By Mourad GHOMARI The Ghomara (Gomera) are a Berber tribe who have lived in northern Morocco from antiquity. The name Berber derives from the Latin word "Barbarian" and was given to them by the Romans in the 3rd century AD. The Ghomara live in the Moroccan Rif region in northeastern Morocco, north of the town of Fez, near the Mediterranean coast. They speak a unique dialect known as Ghomara. In ancient times northern Morocco and eastern Algeria on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa formed the independent Berber kingdom of Mauretania. Mauretania was named after the Maure tribe (Moors as these people became known), who lived in the region long before the Arabs invaded. Mauretania eventually became a province of the Roman Empire and was divided into Mauretania Caesariensis (western and central Algeria), and Mauretania Tingitana (northern Morocco) named after the capital city Tingis (Tangier). As mentioned, the home territory of the
Ghomara is in the Rif Mountains, down to the Mediterranean Sea. To distinguish between
each other, Ghomara families upon meeting will ask: "Are you from the mountains (Rif)
or from near the sea (Tetouan formerly known as Titawin)?" There is a theory that the Ghomara tribe could be of Celtic or Caucasian origin. Many of them were light-skinned with freckles, and had blue, green or hazel eyes, as do their descendents today. Given the proximity of the Rif Mountain region to the Iberian Peninsula this is a possibility. These peoples were living in this region long before the Arab invasion in the 7th century. In April 711 a Berber Muslim army, under the leadership of Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar onto the Iberian peninsula and King Rodrigo, last of the Visigothic kings of Spain, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Guadalete. The Visigoths lost their will to resist the invading force with the death of their king, and many Moors migrated into Spain in the wake of the invasion: Masmuda, Hoara, Zenata, Zanhaga, Quetama and Ghomara - the same families who had fought against the Arab invasion of their territory in 698 together with the Barbarian Queen Kahena (Cahena). By 719 the Berber army had conquered an area from the coast to the Pyrenees. Between 717 and 725 there were various Moorish invasions across the Pyrenees to gain territory and settle disputes. In 720 Narbonnes was captured by the Moors, Toulouse in 721, followed by Carcassonne and Nîmes in 724. Philippe Senac, a French historian, in his book "Les Carolingiens et Al-Andalous - VIII au IX Siècle" talks about this 8th century Moorish migration. He stated that the Moors arrived at Sens, south east of Paris on the Yonne River on 22 August 725. Other historians mention they had migrated as far as Troyes, a few kilometres further east of Sens. It can be said, that by 725 the Moors had migrated into France as far as the area around Sens and Troyes. Their progress north into France was brought to a halt in 732 when they fought in the battle of Tours-Poitiers, against the Frankish ruler Charles Martel (Charles "the Hammer"). William E. Watson's page on the Battle of Tours-Poitiers makes interesting reading. The
Ghomara (Gomera) tribe were part of this migration. This is why today we find this
family name as a placename in both France and Belgium.
Luxeuil-les-bains, Langres,
Sens (near Gumery in France), Troyes (also near Gumery in France) and Metz (near Gomery in
Belgium). The origin of this name is "Gomeri" - the
"i" is singular. The plural of Gomeri, Gomery is "Gomera",
the "a" is for the plural. The Ancestor of the Gomera is called "Gomer", this was
explained by a 14th century historian called "Ibn Khaldun" or
"Ibn Jaldun". The Spanish is Gomere, in Belgium the "e" of Gomere is doubled and it gives Gomeree. The "e" of the middle of Gomeree, is not pronounced in Belgium which gives Gomree. The Spanish is Gomere, in England the "m" of Gomere is doubled and it gives Gommery. The Gomerez went to South
America with Christopher Columbus. According to some history books members of the Gomera
tribe assisted Christopher Columbus in his discovery of America. On his way to America,
Christopher Columbus sailed by the Canary Islands, where he re-provisioned and made
repairs on the island of Gomera. André Petit, in his book Iles du Soleil, Iles du
Printemps: les Canaries, les Açores said, It is probably thanks to the Canary
Islands that the famous navigator realised his voyages to America. When he passed the
Canary Islands he took with him to America, animals, fruits...... Claude
Dervenn in his book Les Canaries wrote: During the second trip Christopher
Columbus had taken with him men, many fruits and animals for the new world. Hence
Gomera Island had an impact in the discovery of America. The e of Gomerez is not pronounced in some regions, this is why you find the name "Gomerz" in England. The Gomera
family came to France in the 8th century under the rule of the Arab governor of
Al-Andalus called "Ansaba Ibn Souhaym Al-Kalbi". This is why they were named
with Arabic pronunciation: Gumera for the tribe and Gumery for an individual, instead of
Gomera and Gomery, because in the Arabic language the "o" of Gomery is
pronounced "ou", thus giving a "u" in Spanish. Gumery and Gumera are the Arabic pronunciation of Gomery and Gomera. Gomeri is the original spelling, but to
make it Spanish it became Gomero: this is the surname of the inhabitants
of the The French pronunciation of Gomera and Gomery, gives Ghomara, Gomara and Ghomari. If we try to pronounce it in Arabic, it gives Ghoumara and Ghoumari or Ghumara and Ghumari. If we try to pronounce it in Spanish or English it gives Gumara and Gumary. Mourad Ghomari has a webpage explaining the history of the Ghomara tribe at www.ghommo.fr.gd URL=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gomery/origin.html
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