Chaoui
Encyclopedia
The Shawia people, or Chaouis (Algerian Arabic
: شاويه, tachawit: Išawiyen) are a Berber people
who live mainly in the Aurès, Nememcha and Belezma Region in the Aurès Mountains
, a large part of eastern Algeria
known in ancient times as Numidia
. They call themselves Išawiyen icawiyenand speak the Shawia language.
Etymologically, the term Chaoui came from the berber word 'ich' which means 'horn' in reference to the national god of the Numidians, Amon, who is depicted as a human head with the horns of a ram. They are also known as the Zenetes, which emigrated from Numidia to many parts of North Africa (Rif
mountains, Chemoua mountains , Siwa Oasis
, Libya
and Timimoun
)
After the independence of Algeria, the Chaouis remain localized mainly in the Aures. They represent the second Berber-speaking group in terms of number of speakers, the first being the Kabyle
.
They represent the first ethnic group in Algeria
(both arab speakers and berber speakers), with an important diaspora in France
, Canada
and the neighboring Tunisia
.
said that Zenetes are Berbers. Modern historians rank the Berber region in the group of Gétules or the much more ancient Meshwesh
which formed in later historic times the Zenetes (mainly the inhabitants of the Aures in the Middle Ages). Chaouis are part of the Zenetes, (Ifren Maghraoua Djerawa Abdalwadides ), The Houara and Awarba.
see also Numidia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numidia
Algerian Arabic
Algerian Arabic is the variety or varieties of Arabic spoken in Algeria. In Algeria, as elsewhere, spoken Arabic differs from written Arabic; Algerian Arabic has a vocabulary mostly Arabic, with significant Berber substrates, and many new words and loanwords borrowed from French, Turkish and...
: شاويه, tachawit: Išawiyen) are a Berber people
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
who live mainly in the Aurès, Nememcha and Belezma Region in the Aurès Mountains
Aurès Mountains
The Aurès , or Aurea, refers to an Amazigh language-speaking region in East Algeria, as well as an extension of the Atlas mountain range that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in eastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia...
, a large part of eastern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
known in ancient times as Numidia
Numidia
Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
. They call themselves Išawiyen icawiyenand speak the Shawia language.
Etymologically, the term Chaoui came from the berber word 'ich' which means 'horn' in reference to the national god of the Numidians, Amon, who is depicted as a human head with the horns of a ram. They are also known as the Zenetes, which emigrated from Numidia to many parts of North Africa (Rif
Rif
The Rif or Riff is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, with some fertile plains, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Melwiyya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Wergha in the south.It is part of the...
mountains, Chemoua mountains , Siwa Oasis
Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km east of the Libyan border, and 560 km from Cairo....
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
and Timimoun
Timimoun
Timimoun is a little oasis town in Adrar Province, Algeria; in the Gourara region.It is located to the northwest of the eponymous Sebkha, at the edge of the plateau of Tadmaït....
)
After the independence of Algeria, the Chaouis remain localized mainly in the Aures. They represent the second Berber-speaking group in terms of number of speakers, the first being the Kabyle
Kabyle
Kabyle may refer to:* Kabyle people, an ethnic group in Algeria* Kabyle language* Kabyle alphabet, also known as Berber Latin alphabet* the Kabyle ethnic homeland, a region called Kabylie in French...
.
They represent the first ethnic group in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
(both arab speakers and berber speakers), with an important diaspora in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the neighboring Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
.
Origins
The patriarch of Berbers was Medghassen and ancestor of the Zenetes and of the Botri too. Ibn KhaldunIbn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
said that Zenetes are Berbers. Modern historians rank the Berber region in the group of Gétules or the much more ancient Meshwesh
Meshwesh
The Meshwesh were an ancient Libyan tribe from beyond Cyrenaica where the Libu and Tehenu lived according to Egyptian references and who were probably of Central Berber ethnicity. Herodotus placed them in Tunisia and said of them to be sedentary farmers living in settled permanent houses as the...
which formed in later historic times the Zenetes (mainly the inhabitants of the Aures in the Middle Ages). Chaouis are part of the Zenetes, (Ifren Maghraoua Djerawa Abdalwadides ), The Houara and Awarba.
see also Numidia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numidia
External links
- Pictures of Chaouis
- Videos in Chaoui
- chawinet.com (in French)
- http://www.truveo.com/khouya-ya-chaoui/id/2928217872
- Among the hill-folk of Algeria: journeys among the Shawía of the Aurès Mountains (1921) by Melville William Hilton-Simpson