Aires linguistiques du nord-est algérien

The Chaoui people or ''Shawia'' ( arq, الشاوية, shy, Išawiyen) are an

Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

(Berber) ethnic group to the

Aurès , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Natural region , image_skyline = Ras el Aïoun.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = Landscape of the Aurès in Ras el Aïoun , image_flag ...

region in northeastern

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

which spans

Batna Batna or BATNA may refer to: *Batna (city), Algeria *Batna Province, Algeria *Best alternative to a negotiated agreement In negotiation theory, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement or BATNA (no deal option) refers to the most advantageou ...

and

Khenchla Khenchela ancient Mascula ( ar, خنشلة) is the capital city of the administrative Khenchela Province ('' Wilaya''), number 40, in the north east of Algeria. Situated in the Aures Mountains, 1200 m above sea level. The city is mainly po ...

, Oum El Bouaghi provinces located in and surrounded by the

Aurès Mountains The Aures Mountains ( ar, جبال الأوراس) are an eastern prolongation of the Atlas Mountain System that lies to the east of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia, North Africa. The mountain range gives its na ...

. They also live in provinces of

Tébessa Tébessa or Tebessa ( ar, تبسة ''Tibissa'', ''Tbessa'' or ''Tibesti''), the classical Theveste, is the capital city of Tébessa Province region of northeastern Algeria. It hosts several historical landmarks, the most important one being the ...

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given nam ...

, Setif and other parts of Eastern

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

coextensive with ancient

Massylii The Massylii or Maesulians were a Berber federation in eastern Numidia, which was formed by an amalgamation of smaller tribes during the 4th century BC.Nigel Bagnall, The Punic Wars, p. 270. They were ruled by a king. On their loosely defined weste ...

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tuni ...

, as well as in some parts of adjacent North-Western

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. They call themselves ''Išawiyen''/''Icawiyen'' (pronounced ) and speak the

Shawiya language Shawiya, or Shawiya Berber, also spelt Chaouïa (native form: ''Tacawit'' ), is a Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria by the Shawiya people. The language's primary speech area is the Awras Mountains in Eastern Algeria and the surrounding a ...

. They are the second largest

Tell Atlas The Tell Atlas ( ar, الاطلس التلي, Latn, ar, al-ʾaṭlas al-tlī) is a mountain chain over in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching mainly across northern Algeria, with ends in both north-eastern ...

Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

-speaking ethnicity , alongside

Kabyles The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking pop ...

and Chenouas.

History

Historically, the

served as a refuge for

Berber people , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber flag, Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , p ...

s, forming a base of resistance against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

, the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area be ...

, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

and

Arabs 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, ...

. Aurès was also a district of Algeria that existed during and after the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

from 1954 to 1962. It was in this region that Berber independence fighters started the war. Medghasen

The patriarch of Berbers is believed to have been ''Madghacen'', the common ancestor of the

Zenata The Zenata (Berber language: Iznaten) are a group of Amazigh (Berber) tribes, historically one of the largest Berber confederations along with the Sanhaja and Masmuda. Their lifestyle was either nomadic or semi-nomadic. Etymology ''Iznaten (ⵉ ...

and of the Botri as well.

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, o ...

identified the Zenata as Berbers. Modern historians rank this Berber region within the group of

Numidians The Numidians were the Berber population of Numidia (Algeria and in smaller parts of Tunisia and Morocco). The Numidians were one of the earliest Berber tribes to trade with Carthaginian settlers. As Carthage grew, the relationship with the Num ...

and

Gaetuli Gaetuli was the Romanised name of an ancient Berber tribe inhabiting ''Getulia''. The latter district covered the large desert region south of the Atlas Mountains, bordering the Sahara. Other documents place Gaetulia in pre- Roman times along the ...

or the much more ancient

Meshwesh The Meshwesh (often abbreviated in ancient Egyptian as Ma) was an ancient Libyan Berber tribe, along with other groups like Libu and Tehenou/Tehenu. Early records of the Meshwesh date back to the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt from the reign of ...

Maesulians The Massylii or Maesulians were a Berber federation in eastern Numidia, which was formed by an amalgamation of smaller tribes during the 4th century BC.Nigel Bagnall, The Punic Wars, p. 270. They were ruled by a king. On their loosely defined west ...

and Mazaxes, from whom the Zenata formed, the main inhabitants of the Aurès in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Chaoui clans known by Ibn Khaldoun were the Ifren, Maghrawa, Djerawa, Abdalwadides, Howara and Awarba. According to de Slane, translator of the books of Ibn Khaldun, the term Chaoui/Shawi means "

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations ...

" and designates the Zenata Berbers. After the independence of Algeria, the Chaouis remained localized mainly in the Auresian region. They are the second largest Berber-speaking group in terms of number of speakers, the first being the Kabyle.

Language

The Chaoui traditionally speak the

(''Berber:'' Tachawit). It belongs to the Berber branch of the

Afro-Asiatic The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic ...

family, and is a variety of the

Zenati languages The Zenati languages are a branch of the Northern Berber language family of North Africa. They were named after the medieval Zenata Berber tribal confederation. They were first proposed in the works of French linguist Edmond Destaing (1915) (1 ...

. Shawiya is a closely related cluster of dialects spoken in the Aurès region (''Berber:'' Awras) of eastern Algeria and surrounding areas including

Khenchela Khenchela ancient Mascula ( ar, خنشلة) is the capital city of the administrative Khenchela Province ('' Wilaya''), number 40, in the north east of Algeria. Situated in the Aures Mountains, 1200 m above sea level. The city is mainly po ...

, south

Sétif Sétif ( ar, سطيف, ber, Sṭif) is the capital of the Sétif Province in Algeria. It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is considered the trade capital of the country. It is an inner ci ...

, Oum El Bouaghi,

Souk Ahras Souk Ahras ( Berber: ''Tagast''; ancient name: ''Thagast''; ar, سوق أهراس) is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Souk Ahras Province. The Numidian city of Thagaste (or Tagaste), on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the ...

, and the north part of

Biskra Biskra ( ar, بسكرة ; ; Latin Vescera) is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about 248 miles (400 km) from Algiers, 71 miles (115&n ...

. Recently the Shawiya language, together with the

Kabyle language Kabyle () or Kabylian (; native name: ''Taqbaylit'' , ) is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people in the north and northeast of Algeria. It is spoken primarily in Kabylia, east of the capital Algiers and in Algiers itself, but also by v ...

, has begun to achieve some cultural prominence due to the Berber cultural and political movements in

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

Culture and art

Chaoui music is a specific style of Berber music. The Shawia dance is called Rahaba; men and women dancing at weddings. There are many 20th century singers, such as Aïssa Djermouni, Ali Khencheli, Massinissa, Ishem Boumaraf, Djamel Sabri, Groupe Iwal, Houria Aïchi, etc. Chaoui painters and sculptors (of whom there are many) include Cherif Merzouki,

Abdelkhader Houamel Abdelkhader Houamel (August 17, 1936 – July 11, 2018) was an Algerian painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly a ...

Hassane Amraoui The Hassane is a name for the traditionally dominant warrior tribes of the Sahrawi-Moorish areas of present-day Mauritania, southern Morocco and Western Sahara. Although lines were blurred by intermarriage and tribal re-affiliation, the Hassane ...

Adel Abdessemed Adel Abdessemed (born 1971) is an Algerian-French contemporary artist. He has worked in a variety of media, including animation, installation, performance, sculpture and video. Some of his work relates to the topic of violence in the world. ...

, and Mohamed Demagh. The

fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

is a traditional exhibition of horsemanship in the

Aurès , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Natural region , image_skyline = Ras el Aïoun.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = Landscape of the Aurès in Ras el Aïoun , image_flag ...

performed during cultural festivals. The Chaoui were featured in Amor Hakkar's 2008 film '' La Maison jaune''.

References

Bibliography

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(Bulletin de correspondance africaine 17). * Mercier G., "Les noms des plantes en dialecte chaouïa de l’Aurès", ''XVIe Congrès International des Orienatlistes'', Alger, 1905, 2/4, p. 79-92. * Merolla D., "Il ‘Tempo di Roma’ in alcuni racconti orali dei gruppi berberofoni chaouia dell Aures (Algéria)", ''Studi e materiali di Storia delle religioni'', 54 (12-1), 1988, p. 133-150. * Morizot J., ''L’Aurès ou le mythe de la montagne rebelle'', Paris, l’Harmattan, 1991, 273 p. * ''Note concernant les Aoulad-Daoud du Mont-Aurès'' (Aourâs), Alger, A. 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R., Cinq textes de chansons, p. 148-152). * Servier J., Chants de femmes de l’Aurès, Thèse complémentaire pour le doctorat des Lettres, Paris, 1995 (Inédite). * Sierakowsky A., ''Das Schaui, ein Beitrag zur berberischen Sprach- und Volkskunde'', Dresde, Kraszewski, 1871, 137 p. * Sorand C., "La Fibule berbère: le type chaouïa", AWAL No.3, Paris, 1987 et CNRS: * Stricker B.H., "Compte rendu de: A. Basset, ''Textes berbères de l’Aurès, 1961'', Kroniek van Afrika, Leyde, 1967, p. 122-125. * Stuhlmann F., ''Die Kulturgeschichtlicher Ausflug in den Aures'', Atlas von Süd-Algerien, Hamburg, Friederichsen, 1912, XII/205 p., ill. * Stumme H., ''Arabische und berberische Dialekte'', Berlin, 1928, p. 14-19. * ''Tafsut'' (série normale, Tizi-Ouzou), 4, 1982, p. 24-28: Dihya, neγ tigγri n Wawras (Dihya, ou l’appel des Aurès), (texte berbère sur une chanteuse aurésienne). * Vycichl W., "Un probléme de cartographie historique: Claude Ptolémée et la cartographie de la Tunisie actuelle", ''Polyphème'' (Genève), 1, 1969, 31–33. (dénominations des points cardinaux).

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 {{authority control Berber peoples and tribes Berbers in Algeria Ethnic groups in Algeria Indigenous peoples of North Africa