Ancient African rock engravings depicting human faces with eyes but no mouth or nose suggest that the origins of litham are not only pre-Islamic but even pre-historic.[1] The litham was commonly worn among the Berber Sanhaja tribes in north-west Africa.[1] Its use by the Almoravids, who originated from a Sanhaja clan, gave it a political significance during their conquests in the 11th and 12th centuries.[1] This practice gave rise to Almoravids being pejoratively nicknamed al-mulaththamun (the muffled ones).[2] The Almohads, who succeeded the Almoravids as the dominant dynasty in the North African region, opposed the practice of wearing the litham, claiming that it is forbidden for men to imitate women's dress, but they never managed to suppress its use.[1]