The Chaouia ( ar, الشاوية) is an Arab tribal confederation made up of Arab tribes, and a historical region of Morocco. It is bounded by the Oum er-Rbi' River to its southwest, the Cherrate River to its northeast, the plain of Tadla to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest. The region covers a land area of nearly 14 000 km².

Etymology

The word "Chaouia" means "Land of Chaouis". "Chaoui" is an ArabicAs Ibn Khaldoun said: (The people of Chaouia do possess sheeps (chaate) and cows as livestock, and their wealth is pretty good based on that). History of Ibn Khaldun, part 2 page. 15 word meaning "sheeps possessors or shepherds".

Geography

Geographically, the Chaouia can be divided into two sub-regions: low and high. The low Chaouia being the coastal part while the high Chaouia is further inland. Soils vary in fertility: The dark tirs is prized for its high yields and is found among the Mdhakra, Ouled Hriz and Oulad said. There is also the red hamri

terra rossa Terra rossa (Italian for "red soil") is a well-drained, reddish, clayey to silty soil with neutral pH conditions and is typical of the Mediterranean region. The reddish color of terra rossa is the result of the preferential formation of hematite ...

. Throughout Morocco's history, the Chaouia was famous for farming wheat and barley, which were exported in years of abundance from

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Fédala Mohammedia ( ar, المحمدية, al-muḥammadiyya; ber, ⴼⴹⴰⵍⴰ, Fḍala), known until 1960 as Fedala, is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most i ...

or Azemmour. Chaouia sheep was also prized for its wool, which was also exported to Marseille where it was known as wardigha in reference to one of the tribes in the interior. Nowadays, the Chaouia is part of the

Casablanca-Settat Casablanca-Settat ( ar, الدار البيضاء - سطات, ad-dār al-bayḍāʾ - siṭṭāt; ber, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ - ⵙⵟⵟⴰⵜ, anfa - sṭṭat) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 20,166 km² ...

administrative region.

History

Originally, the Chaouia was ruled by the

Barghawata The Barghawatas (also Barghwata or Berghouata) were a Berber tribal confederation on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, belonging to the Masmuda confederacy. After allying with the Sufri Kharijite rebellion in Morocco against the Umayyad Caliphate, ...

until it was unified to Morocco by the

Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...

,S. Lévy, ''Pour une histoire linguistique du Maroc'', in ''Peuplement et arabisation au Maghreb occidental: dialectologie et histoire'', 1998, pp.11-26 () depopulating the area. After the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min captured the town of

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

in 1147, he encouraged the settlement of

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

Arab tribes in the area and the rest of the Moroccan coastal plains which were largely depopulated after the Almoravid conquest, including Banu Hilal,

Banu Sulaym The Banu Sulaym ( ar, بنو سليم) is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Is ...

, and

Banu Ma'qil The Banu Ma'qil ( ar, بنو معقل) was 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 ...

, which led to a further extension of Arabic and an increased importance of Arab elements in the power equation of Morocco, to the point where no one could have ruled there without their co-operation. In the early 20th century, the Chaouia carried out a strong rebellion against the French. In 1907, the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

bombarded Casablanca and entered the Chaouia region before extending their control over all of Morocco.J. Augarde, ''Le général d'Amade pacificateur de la Chaouia'', in ''Revue historique de l'armée'', n°166, 1987, pp.24-32 (ISSN 0035-3299) During the French protectorate, the Chaouia was part of the "Autonomous subdivision of Casablanca". It was then divided into three ''civilians controls'' : Chaouia-North (

), Chaouia-Center ( Berrechid) and Chaouia-South ( Settat).

Tribal composition

The Chaouia tribal confederation traditionally consists of 14 Arabic-speaking tribes:

References

Bibliography

* F. Weisberger, ''Casablanca et les Chaouia en 1900'', Ed. Impr. Réunies (Casablanca), 1935 * E. Marchand, ''Casablanca, la Chaouia'', Ed. Larose (Paris), 1918 {{Berber tribes of Morocco Regions of Morocco Geography of Morocco Arab tribes in Morocco