Chaamba

The Chaamba (Arabic: الشعانبة, romanized: Sha‘āniba) are an Arab tribe in the northern Sahara of central Algeria. They are a large tribe of Bedouins and live in a large desert territory to the south of the Atlas Mountains,[1] around Metlili, El Golea, Ouargla, El Oued, and the Great Western Erg, including Timimoun and Béni Abbès[2] While traditionally they were nomads specialised in raising camels and caravan trade, most have settled in the oases over the past century.[1] The date palm is the most important agricultural product for the Chaamba.

Chaamba
الشعانبة
EthnicityArab
LocationAlgerian Desert
Parent tribeBanu Sulaym
LanguageArabic
ReligionSunni Islam

Origin

The Chaamba are of Arab origin and are descended from Banu Sulaym who migrated from the Arabian Peninsula with Banu Hilal.[3] They speak an Arabic dialect classified as Hilalian.[4]

Chaamba is located in Algeria
Metlili
Metlili
El Golea
El Golea
Ouargla
Ouargla
El Oued
El Oued
Locations in Algeria

History

In 1937 it was estimated that 80 percent of all shops in the southwestern Sahara in Algeria were owned by the Chaamba[1] and in 1961 they had a population of 20,000 people.[5] In 1984 clashes broke out between the Maliki Sunni Chaamba and Ibadi Mozabites.[6] In 2008 there were several clashes between Chaamba and Mozabite youths in the oasis of Berriane, following a miscarriage caused by a firework.[7] 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.[8]

References
  1. Castile, George Pierre; Kushner, Gilbert (2017-05-23). Persistent Peoples: Cultural Enclaves in Perspective. University of Arizona Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8165-3571-2.
  2. Jacques Grand'henry, Les parlers arabes de la région du Mzāb, Sahara algérien, Leiden: Brill 1976, p. 3.
  3. Suwaed, Muhammad (2015-10-30). Historical Dictionary of the Bedouins. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-4422-5451-0.
  4. Ruffié, Jacques; Ducos, Jean; Larrouy, Georges (1962). "Étude hémotypologique des populations de la région du M'Zab (département des Oasis)". Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris. 3 (4): 354–371. doi:10.3406/bmsap.1962.1199.
  5. Ruffié, Jacques; Ducos, Jean; Larrouy, Georges (1962). "Étude hémotypologique des populations de la région du M'Zab (département des Oasis)". Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris. 3 (4): 354–371. doi:10.3406/bmsap.1962.1199.
  6. "Mozabites et Chaâmba : Les dessous d'une rivalité". www.algerie-dz.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  7. Trouble in Berriane, The Moor Next Door, 10/04/2008
  8. "Le sud de l'Algérie de nouveau en proie à une flambée de violences". LEFIGARO (in French). 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
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