Guelmim in the context of "Shilha language"

The Banu Ma'qil (Arabic: بنو معقل, romanized: Banū Maʿqil) is an Arab nomadic tribe that originated in South Arabia. The tribe emigrated to the Maghreb region of North Africa with the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes in the 11th century. They mainly settled in and around the Saharan wolds and oases of Morocco; in Tafilalt, Wad Nun (near Guelmim), Draa and Taourirt. With the Ma'qil being a Bedouin tribe that originated in the Arabian Peninsula, like Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, they adapted perfectly to the climatic desert conditions of the Maghreb, discovering the same way of life as in the Arabian Peninsula. The Ma'qil branch of Beni Hassan which came to dominate all of Mauritania, Western Sahara, south Morocco, and south-west Algeria, spread the Hassaniya Arabic dialect, which is very close to classical Arabic.

Tan-Tan (Arabic: طانطان, romanized: Ṭānṭān) is a city in Tan-Tan Province in the region of Guelmim-Oued Noun in southwestern Morocco. It is a desert town with a population (2014 census) of 73,209. It is the largest city in the province and second largest city in the region after the capital Guelmim. It is located on the banks of the wadi Oued Ben Khelil, which flows into the Draa River 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of the town. The Draa River at 1,100 kilometres (684 mi) is the longest in Morocco and flows into the Atlantic Ocean soon after the confluence with the wadi. The town also has an airport, Tan Tan Plage Blanche Airport.

The Noun River or Wad Noun (Arabic: واد نون, romanized: Wād Nūn) is a river in Morocco and the southernmost permanent watercourse in the country. It is located 70 km north of the Draa River and flows southwest originating in the Anti-Atlas, passing south of Guelmim and meeting the Atlantic Ocean at Foum Asaca in the region of Sbouya.

Tashelhiyt or Tachelhit (/ˈtæʃəlhɪt/ TASH-əl-hit; from the endonym Taclḥiyt, IPA: [tæʃlħijt]), or also known as Shilha (/ˈʃɪlhə/ SHIL-hə; from its name in Moroccan Arabic, Šəlḥa) is a Berber language spoken in southern Morocco. When referring to the language, anthropologists and historians prefer the name Shilha, which is in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Linguists writing in English prefer Tashelhit (or a variant spelling). In French sources the language is called tachelhit, chelha or chleuh.

As of the 2024 Moroccan census, Shilha is spoken by 14.2% of the population, or approximately 5.2 million people. The area comprises the western part of the High Atlas mountains and the regions to the south up to the Draa River, including the Anti-Atlas and the alluvial basin of the Sous River. The largest urban centres in the area are the coastal city of Agadir (population over 400,000) and the towns of Guelmim, Taroudant, Oulad Teima, Tiznit and Ouarzazate.

Guelmim-Oued Noun (Arabic: ڭلميم-وادي نون, romanized: gulmīm wādī nūn) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. The southeastern part of the region is located in Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco has occupied since 1975, and a small strip of land in this area is administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The region as a whole covers an area of 46,108 km and had a population of 448,152 as of the 2024 Moroccan census. The capital of the region is Guelmim.