The Chaamba ( ar, الشعانبة, translit=Sha‘āniba) are an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribe in the northern Sahara of central

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. They are a large tribe of

Bedouins 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 Ar ...

and live in a large desert territory to the south of the Atlas Mountains, around Metlili,

El Golea El Menia () is an oasis town and commune, and capital of El Ménia District, in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The former name is El Goléa (); together in Arabic, the two names mean ''Impregnable Castle''. According to the 2008 census it has a ...

Ouargla Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ar, ورقلة) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune o ...

El Oued El Oued ( ar, اﻟﻮادي, ber, Suf meaning ''the River''), Souf or Oued Souf is a city, and the capital of El Oued Province, in Algeria. The oasis town is watered by an underground river, hence its name is El Oued which enables date palm cult ...

, and the Great Western Erg, including

Timimoun Timimoun ( ar, ﺗﻴﻤﻴﻤﻮن) is a town and commune, and capital of Timimoun District, in Adrar Province, south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 33,060, up from 28,595 in 1998, with an annual growth rate ...

and

Béni Abbès Béni Abbès ( ar, بني عباس), also known as the ''Pearl of the Saoura'', and also as the ''White Oasis'', is a town and commune located in western Algeria in Béchar Province, far from the provincial capital Béchar, and from Algiers. ...

While traditionally they were nomads specialised in raising camels and caravan trade, most have settled in the oases over the past century. The date palm is the most important agricultural product for the Chaamba.

Origin

The Chaamba are of

origin and are descended from Banu Sulaym who migrated from the Arabian Peninsula with

Banu Hilal The Banu Hilal ( ar, بنو هلال, translit=Banū Hilāl) was a confederation of Arabian tribes from the Hejaz and Najd regions of the Arabian Peninsula that emigrated to North Africa in the 11th century. Masters of the vast plateaux of t ...

. They speak an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

dialect classified as Hilalian.

History

In 1937 it was estimated that 80 percent of all shops in the southwestern Sahara in Algeria were owned by the Chaamba and in 1961 they had a population of 20,000 people. In 1984 clashes broke out between the

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

Sunni Chaamba and

Ibadi The Ibadi movement or Ibadism ( ar, الإباضية, al-Ibāḍiyyah) is a school of Islam. The followers of Ibadism are known as the Ibadis. Ibadism emerged around 60 years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD as a moderate sc ...

Mozabites The Mozabite people are a Berber ethnic group inhabiting the M'zab natural region in the northern Sahara in Algeria. They speak Mozabite (''Tumẓabt''), one of the Zenati languages in the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. Many also speak ...

. In 2008 there were several clashes between Chaamba and Mozabite youths in the oasis of Berriane, following a miscarriage caused by a firework. Clashes broke out again in July 2015 between the Chaamba and Mozabites in the Mzab valley which left at least 22 dead and hundreds injured.

References

{{Authority control Arab tribes in Algeria