The Chenouis or Chenoua (in
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–19 ...
: Icenwiyen) are a
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–19 ...
-speaking population native to
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. They are concentrated in the west-central mountains.
The traditional area goes from Fouka (
Tipaza
Tipaza (formerly ''Tefessedt'', Chenoua-Berber: Bazar, ⴱⴰⵣⴰⵔ, ar, تيپازة) is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called '' Tipasa''. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is ...
province) until
Ténès
Ténès ( ar, تنس; from Berber TNS 'camping') is a town in Algeria located around 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers. , it has a population of 65,000 people.
History
Ténès was founded as a Phoenician port in or before the 8th cen ...
(
Chlef
Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, i ...
province).
Population
The Chenoui speaking population is traditionally composed of several tribes: Cenwa (
Tipaza
Tipaza (formerly ''Tefessedt'', Chenoua-Berber: Bazar, ⴱⴰⵣⴰⵔ, ar, تيپازة) is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called '' Tipasa''. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is ...
), Guraya (Tipaza), Ayt Mnaser (Beni Menacer) (
Cherchell
Cherchell (Arabic: شرشال) is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the k ...
), Ayt Farah, Arib, Zuzug (
Ain Defla), Ayt Hawa (
Ténès
Ténès ( ar, تنس; from Berber TNS 'camping') is a town in Algeria located around 200 kilometers west of the capital Algiers. , it has a population of 65,000 people.
History
Ténès was founded as a Phoenician port in or before the 8th cen ...
) and the Bissa mounts (
Chlef
Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, i ...
).
Berber language
The
Chenoui language which is a
Northern Berber language
The Northern Berber languages are a dialect continuum spoken across the Maghreb, constituting a subgroup of the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. Their continuity has been broken by the spread of Arabic, and to a lesser extent by the Zen ...
is closely related to 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 ...
and Zenata varieties spoken by Berbers of the
Aures mountains in Eastern Algeria and the Rif region.
Geographical distribution
The Chenoui traditional territory includes the province of
Tipaza
Tipaza (formerly ''Tefessedt'', Chenoua-Berber: Bazar, ⴱⴰⵣⴰⵔ, ar, تيپازة) is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called '' Tipasa''. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is ...
, parts of the
Chlef province
Chlef ( ar, ولاية الشلف) is a province ('' wilaya'') in Algeria formerly known as El Asnam, and has about 1 million inhabitants. Its capital is Chlef. Another locality is Ténès, on the Mediterranean Sea.
History
The province was ori ...
and the north of the province of
Ain Defla, and thus are called in reference to the
Mount Chenoua which dominates the city of
Tipaza
Tipaza (formerly ''Tefessedt'', Chenoua-Berber: Bazar, ⴱⴰⵣⴰⵔ, ar, تيپازة) is the capital of the Tipaza Province, Algeria. When it was part of the Roman Empire, it was called '' Tipasa''. The modern town was founded in 1857, and is ...
, 70 km west of Algiers.
The region is part of the greater
Dahra
Dahra (also Dahra Djoloff or Dara) is a town of commune status located in the Louga Region of Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') official ...
region, a long mountainous region along the Meditternean coasts, separated from the
Ouarsenis range by the
Chelif
Chelif River ( ar, وادي الشلف) (also spelled Chéliff, or Sheliff) is a river in Algeria, the longest in the country. It rises in the Saharan Atlas near the city of Aflou, flows through the Tell Atlas and empties into the Mediterranean ...
river and its valley. It expands from 8 km north of
Mostaganem
Mostaganem ( ber, Mustɣanem; ar, مستغانم) is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of O ...
until the Algiers Sahel with its highest point being Mount Zaccar (
Miliana
Miliana ( ar, مليانة) is a commune in Aïn Defla Province in northwestern Algeria. It is the administrative center of the daïra, or district, of the same name. It is approximately southwest of the Algerian capital, Algiers.r/sup>, which ...
).
The Chenoua Mount region, highest point of the Algiers Sahel, is the most eastern part of the Chenoui speaking region going from Fouka (42 km west of Algiers) until Tenès (200 km west of Algiers) or even heading further west till Ouled Boughalem in the past. Some people call them the Chelhas of the Tell or even Kabyles of the west.
Berber peoples and tribes
Berbers in Algeria
Ethnic groups in Algeria
Indigenous peoples of North Africa
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