Chaoui people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (2,87 million ) | |
| Languages | |
| Shawiya | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
Berbers
|
The Chaoui people or Shawia (Algerian Arabic: شاويه, Shawiya: Išawiyen) are a Berber population inhabiting the Aurès, Nememcha and Belezma regions located in and surrounded by the Aurès Mountains. They also live in the Tébessa area and other parts of eastern Algeria coextensive with ancient Numidia, as well as a few adjacent towns in Tunisia. They call themselves Išawiyen/Icawiyen (pronounced [iʃawijən]) and speak the Shawiya language.
Historically, the Aurès Mountains served as a refuge for Berber peoples, forming a base of resistance against the Roman Empire, the Vandals, the Byzantine Empire and Arabs. Aurès was also a district of Algeria that existed during and after the Algerian War from 1954 to 1962. It was in this region that Berber freedom fighters started the war.
The patriarch of Berbers is believed to be Madghacen, common ancestor of the Zenata and of the Botri as well. Ibn Khaldun identified the Zenata as Berbers. Modern historians rank this Berber region within the group of Numidians and Gaetuli or the much more ancient such as Meshwesh, Maesulians and Mazaxes, from whom formed the Zenata, the main inhabitants of the Aurès in the Middle Ages. Chaoui clans known by Ibn Khaldoun were the Ifren, Maghrawa, Djerawa, Abdalwadides, Howara and Awarba.
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