Chaoui confederations

Template:Prod llm/dated The patriarch of the Chaouis is said to have been Medghassen, ancestor of the Zenata and Botr according to Ibn Khaldun. Modern historians classify the Berbers of the region among the Massyles and Gaetuli, formed by the Zenata (mainly the inhabitants of the Aurès in the Middle Ages).

The Chaouis form several confederacies as Zenata, including but not limited to:

Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, Djerawa and Zayyanids or Abdalwadids, the Hawwara and the Awraba.

Main tribes

The main Berber tribes in the Aurès are:

1. Ayt Aâdi, originating from the surroundings of the city of Batna.
2. Ayt Ghouata, identified with the large Berber tribe Laâwawta or Luwata, or Louwa in the singular and Ilwaten in the plural (the fractions of B. Badis and B. Rihan of N'Gaous and the tribe of B. Séada, all of whom are Berber in the Aurès).
3. Haraktas, a fraction of the large Hawwara tribe, located mainly in the Oum El Bouaghi Province (Oum El Bouaghi, Aïn Beïda) and the Batna Province (El Madher).
4. Asouamaâ, originating from Lazrou.
5. Srahna, originating from Kimmel. They are formed by the villages extending from the Kimmel forest to the north of Biskra Province.
6. Cheurfa, originating from the villages of Kimmel and partly Arabized.
7. Ayt Zyan (Zyan are of Berber origin and belong to the Zenata). They are formed by the tribes of Houamed, Fizara, Amra, Zerara, Sebgag, Said and Arif. They are found in Djemorah, Branis, Beni Souik and Guedila, Ain Touta, El Ksour, Tilatou and N'Gaous.
8. Righa tribe, an important group belonging to the Maghrawa, mainly settled in the high plateaus and having played an important role in the history of the Aurès region and its surroundings.
9. Sindjas, a tribe belonging to the Maghrawa that occupied the mountains and was continuously in conflict with the Righa.
10. Touaba, a tribe of the regions of Arris, Ichemoul, Oued Taga, etc.
11. Ayt Mloul, region of Khenchela.
12. Ayt Boughedir, a tribe belonging to the Marinids of Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi and Tébessa, which played an important role in the conquest of Al-Andalus.

The major Chaouiya tribes of the northern bank or Lower Aurès

Traditional Chaoui house

The major tribes of the northern bank are:

1. Bouzid
2. Ayt Ali u sabor, originating from Djebel Guetiane at Ras El Aioun, N'Gaous and Aïn Azel. They formerly belonged to the Righa tribe.
3. Ayt Moussa u Yahia, originating from Djebel Boutaleb.
4. Ayt AbdNur (Tadjenanet, El Mechira)
5. Ayt Sellam, originating from Ras El Aioun and Ouled Sellam, a Berber tribe having Sellam as an ancestor (a Christian Roman). They formerly belonged to the Righa tribe.
6. Ayt Fatma, originating from Merouana. According to legend, they descend from Fatma Tazoughert, but claim their former affiliation with the Fatimids.
7. The Haraktas, or Ih'erkateyyen, a tribe originating from the Hawwara or from the Zenata, originating from El Madher and Bouarif. They are neighbors of the Achaach and Ayt Ali.
8. Ijratnen
9. Isegneyyen, comprising the Ayt Bouabdallah, Ayt H'med, Dhouafriya and Ayt Ke'aaba.
10. Ayt A'ziz, or Aziz (found in the Aurès and Annaba).
11. Ayt Mhenna
12. Ihlaymiyan
13. Ihidousen, Hidoussa (Merouana)
14. Houraras in Djerma
15. Ayt Mhemmed
16. Ayt Sidi Lhadj
17. Ayt Soltane, Sefiane, Belezma and N'Gaous (neighboring the tribe of Ayt Ifran) and Merouana. A tribe said to be related to the large Berber tribe of Ayt Soltane. According to legend, however, they are descendants of Fatma Tazoughert. They built the Ksar of Belezma in the Belezma Mountains.
18. Ayt Moumen and the Ouillen, from the district of La Calle, in the extreme north of Souk Ahras.
19. Ayt Si Slimane, neighboring the Banu Ifran of N'Gaous and originating from Ouled Si Slimane.
20. Ayt Boufnar, present only in Constantine.
21. Ayt Bou Aoun, originating from Zanat El Beida.
22. Tletes of Seriana.
23. Sedrata, a Zenata tribe, also present at Sedrata in Souk Ahras Province.
24. Berzal, originating from M'Sila and Zenata. In the Middle Ages, they succeeded in founding an independent state in Al-Andalus at Carmona, and were allied with Abu Yazid.
25. Ulhasa, in the north, around Annaba, and in the Aïn Témouchent region, are Zenata.

The tribal grouping was facilitated because its members share a set of common artistic and linguistic characteristics. This ethnic group occupies the entire flat and mountainous region northwest of the city of Batna, southeast of the city of Sétif and northeast of the city of M'Sila.

It is in these mountainous pockets that the last distinctive Chaoui cultural and linguistic features still survive.

In terms of numbers, no one can provide an exact estimate of this first group, as the members of this social group are highly mobile.

They can be found in Batna, Merouana, Ras El Aioun, Seriana, Oued El Ma (Ighzer n'waman), N'Gaous, Oued Chaaba, Aïn Fakroun, Aïn Kercha, Hanchir Toumghani, Oum El Bouaghi, etc.

The major Chaouiya tribes of the central Aurès or Middle Aurès

1. The Arabized Chaouiyas (by tribe):

1. Bouzid
2. Ayt si Ahmed Benameur
3. Ayt Ifran (meaning "caves" in Chaoui), established in N'Gaous and belonging to the Zenata.
4. Ayt Tazaght
5. Fezazna of the city of Batna. They originate from Fezzan (Izenagen).

This group speaks Chaoui in a proportion of 15 to 20%. The remainder speak dialectal Arabic or Tadzarit. They constitute the bulk of the rural exodus toward the cities of Batna, Tébessa, Aïn M'lila, Biskra, Khenchela, Guelma, etc.

2. The Chaouiyas of the plains by tribe: (Berber-speaking)

1. Ayth Chlih, originating from Oued Chaaba and neighboring the Ouled Fatema of Merouana.
2. Ayt Sidi Yahia, a Zenata group originating from Lambèse.
3. Ayt Hamla (Condorcet), not far from the city of Batna.

Given such variety, it is easy to identify certain features of cultural similarity between this group and their cousins on the northern bank.

The Chaouis of the Upper Aurès (Southern Bank)

The major tribes of the southern bank are:

The Ayth Yakoub comprise the following four tribes: the Ayth Ali ben Youcef, the Ayth Ali ben Daoud, the Ouled Madhi and the Ouled Messelem. Each village is composed of at least these four tribes. They were forced to live together. Before the French occupation, the four tribes were at war with the Touabas and the Ayth Zeyan (Zianids).

According to the book of the French Geographical Society, the major grouping of this region is:

• Touabas, Ayth Zeyan, Ayth Nara, Ayth Taghout, Ayth Bouzina, Ayth Fédhala, half of the Beni Frah, Ayth Mouchenach.
• Ayth Abdi, Ayth Daoud, Ayth Oumm er Reha, Ayth El Arbaâ, half of Ayth Maafa (Zenata, Sanhaja or Masmuda), Ayth Azouz, Ayth Bouslimane, Ayth Melloul, Ayth Oudjana, originating from the Oudjana massif and being Zenata. They were attacked by the Ayth Daoud, who wanted to take their lands of Medina. The Ayth Laâchach were expelled from Oued Taga by the Ayth Zian and the Ayth Daoud.
• Ayth Habbas, a tribe coming from Morocco that settled in Menaa. They played an important role in unifying the Chaoui tribes so that they could live together in the same town. They took families from each tribe and placed them together in a village.
• Ayth Daoud, also called "the Touabas", originating from Tighanimine near the Ghoufi gorges (Tighanimine meaning "the reeds"), are classified by Delartigue among the Awraba. Previously, they fought against the Ayth Abdi, Ayth Oudjana and Ayth Bouslimane.

Other research provides names of tribes, their localities and a brief history.

1. Ayth sâada (commune of Menaa, Tigherghar, Ain Zaatout in Biskra, Maafa)
2. Ighassiren
3. Ayt Yehmedh
4. Ayth Timessounin
5. Icherkyene (Ahmar Khedou) in Amantane (which means "the high summit" in Chaoui)
6. Nememcha, originating from the Hawwara tribe and located in Tébessa.
7. Ayth Fédhala, found in Tahament, Djebel Groum and Meryem.
8. Ayth Larbaa, of Zenata origin.
9. Ayth Frah, according to Delartigue, classified among the Zenata. They are found in Ain Zaatout.
10. Ayth Fadhel
11. Ayth Abdi
12. Laâchach, originating from Bouarif and living in Timgad and its surroundings; they are Zenata.
13. Ayth Sidi Ali
14. Ayth Ameur, who are Zenata.
15. Ouled Si Moussa, who are Zenata.
16. Ayth Badchia, who are Zenata.
17. Ouled Si Tayeb, who are Sanhaja.
18. Ayth Menacer, who are Zenata. The Ayth Menacer tribe constituted one of the first links in the popular Algerian resistance against the French occupier, sacrificing its best sons for freedom.
19. Ayth Oudjana, who are Zenata. They are found in Taouzient, Chélia, Mellagou and Yabous.
20. Amraoui, from Chemora.
21. Amamra, a noble Chaoui tribe, originating west of Mascula, Khenchela. They are numerous in the Fraoun mountains.
22. Ayth Imloul (Ayth Melloul) (sons of "René" in Chaoui at M'Sara, Ouldja, Chemora, Oum Bouaghi, Tébessa, Souk Naaman, Guelma, Béjaïa, Skikda (Ayth Mehenna), etc.) and are brothers of the Banu Ifran.
23. Iberjyen
24. Ayth Bouslimane, formed by Saadna and the Ouled Saadia of T'Kout.
25. Ayt Bouzina (Ayth Benou and Ayth Nouacer), two tribes originating from Bouzina.
26. Ayth Souik
27. Ayth Sidi Abdeslem
28. Ayth Gacem
29. Ayth Messaoud Ben Salah
30. Ayth Mansour
31. Ayth Yahia
32. Amanras
33. Rechaîch
34. Tiffouragh
35. Abderrezag, who are Sanhaja.
36. Ameur, who are Sanhaja.
37. Zerara, who are Sanhaja.
38. Sidi Abdeslem of T'Kout.
39. Gacem of T'Kout.
40. Sidi Aissa.
41. Meradsa.
42. Alaoua, of Hawwara origin, who claim descent from a Roman named Sellam.
43. Ayth El Hadj or Hazini.
44. Halha.
45. Ah Wuzza.
46. Ayth Aissa of Blihoud or Ah Aicha of Blihoud (Arris).
47. Izahaffen in Arris.
48. Ihaddaden.
49. Ait Smail of Mzata.
50. Ait Hakhribt in Arris.
51. Ugana.
52. Abdaoui.
53. Ouled Mimu.
54. Ulech.
55. Iquliain.
56. Maghrawas (Imeghrawen in Chaoui), the most important Zenata tribe originating from the village of Maghrawa and Biskra in the Middle Ages. The relationship between the people of Medina (Ichmoul) and the Maghrawa was close. Several tribes originated from this tribe, which was under the rule of Khezar, emir of the Maghrawa, before the conflict between Shiism and Kharijism. The Izmerten and Sadrata were established in this region.

Other tribes

Ouled Sahnoun, Ouled Abderahmen, Zoui, Ouled Amor, Ouled Medjda, Beni Maâta, Kesseron, Azel, Ouled Ensighn, Ouled Zaid, Herman, Ouled Bou Djemaâ, Ouled Ben Mohamed, Ouled Ben Feroudj, Ouled Bechatch, Ouled Otsman, Ouled Bou Derhem, the Ayth Ouchechna of Zenata origin (Briket), Bou Diaf and Ben Abdallah, Bou Diaf, Ben Chenouf, Ayth Idir and Ayth Bou Okkaz, Ayth Ahmed, Ayth Alouie, Ayth Ktir, Ayth Azziz, Ben Nacer Ben Sidi Nadji, according to Delartigue. The Aouf.

See also

Related articles

• Berbers, Berber languages, Berberism
• Chaoui
• Chaoui people
• Aurès
• Numidia
• Zenata
• Kabyles
• Demographics of Algeria

External links

• Map of the tribes of Algeria in 1846, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington

Bibliography

• Sebaa, Mohamed Nadir (2006). L'Histoire, les Aurès et les hommes. Search this book on

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