The GodalaorGudāla is a Berber tribe in Western Africa that lived along the Atlantic coast[1] in present-day Mauritania[2] and participated in the Saharan salt trade[3] and the salt mines of Ijiil. The Godala may be linked to or the same as the ancient Gaetuli tribe of Berbers.[4]
According to a 1985 study of West African history,[5] the area along both sides of the mouth of the Senegal River was controlled by the Godala group of Berbers. They mined the Awlil salt deposits along the coast just north of the mouth of the Senegal, and controlled a coastal trade route that linked southern Morocco. Godala territory bordered that of Takrur, and Godala caravans traded salt mined at Awlil along the north bank of the Senegal.[5]
The Godala are also known as the Guezula. Today, there are only two small fractions of the Godala left, each with only a few families who bear this name, one in Tiris and the other in Brakna Region.[6]
