marabout

In the Muslim world, the marabout (Arabic: مُرابِط, romanized: murābiṭ, lit. 'one who is attached/garrisoned') is a descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, romanized: sayyid and sidi in the Maghreb) and a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sahara region, in West Africa, and historically in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Quran, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms or as spiritual directors of Muslim religious communities, often as muršid ('guide') of Sufi orders. The term marabout is also used for the mausolea of such religious leaders (cf. maqām, mazār, in Palestine also walī/velī).