{{Short description|Arab tribe in Algeria}} {{Infobox tribe | name = Chaamba | local name = الشعانبة | ethnicity = Arab | location = Algerian Desert | language = Arabic | religion = Sunni Islam | parent_tribe = Banu Sulaym | image = Chaamba riding a camel in southern Tunisia.png | caption = Chaamba riding a camel in southern Tunisia }}
The '''Chaamba''' ({{langx|ar|الشعانبة|translit=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,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Castile |first=George Pierre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4eYzEAAAQBAJ |title=Persistent Peoples: Cultural Enclaves in Perspective |last2=Kushner |first2=Gilbert |date=2017-05-23 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=978-0-8165-3571-2 |pages=7 |language=en}}</ref> around Metlili, El Golea, Ouargla, El Oued, and the Great Western Erg, including Timimoun and Béni Abbès<ref>Jacques Grand'henry, ''Les parlers arabes de la région du Mzāb, Sahara algérien'', Leiden: Brill 1976, p. 3.</ref> While traditionally they were nomads specialised in raising camels and caravan trade, most have settled in the oases over the past century.<ref name=":0" /> The date palm is the most important agricultural product for the Chaamba.
== Origin == The Chaamba are of Arab origin and are descended from Banu Sulaym who migrated from the Arabian Peninsula with Banu Hilal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Suwaed |first=Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P8yhCgAAQBAJ |title=Historical Dictionary of the Bedouins |date=2015-10-30 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-5451-0 |pages=56 |language=en}}</ref> They speak an Arabic dialect classified as Hilalian.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Ruffié |first=Jacques |last2=Ducos |first2=Jean |last3=Larrouy |first3=Georges |date=1962 |title=Étude hémotypologique des populations de la région du M'Zab (département des Oasis) |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bmsap_0037-8984_1962_num_3_4_1199 |journal=Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=354–371 |doi=10.3406/bmsap.1962.1199}}</ref>{{Location map+|Algeria|relief=y|width=200|caption=Locations in Algeria|places={{Location map~|Algeria |label=Metlili |position=left |lat_deg=32.272778 |lon_deg=3.6275}} {{Location map~|Algeria |label=El Golea|position=left |lat_deg=30.588938 |lon_deg=2.879791}} {{Location map~|Algeria |label=Ouargla |position=bottom |lat_deg=31.95 |lon_deg=5.316667}} {{Location map~|Algeria |label=El Oued |position= |lat_deg=33.455556 |lon_deg= 7.183333}}}}
== History == In 1937 it was estimated that 80 percent of all shops in the southwestern Sahara in Algeria were owned by the Chaamba<ref name=":0" /> and in 1961 they had a population of 20,000 people.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Ruffié |first=Jacques |last2=Ducos |first2=Jean |last3=Larrouy |first3=Georges |date=1962 |title=Étude hémotypologique des populations de la région du M'Zab (département des Oasis) |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bmsap_0037-8984_1962_num_3_4_1199 |journal=Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=354–371 |doi=10.3406/bmsap.1962.1199}}</ref> In 1984 clashes broke out between the Maliki Sunni Chaamba and Ibadi Mozabites.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mozabites et Chaâmba : Les dessous d’une rivalité |url=https://www.algerie-dz.com/Mozabites-et-Chaamba-Les-dessous-d-une-rivalite.html |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=www.algerie-dz.com}}</ref> In 2008 there were several clashes between Chaamba and Mozabite youths in the oasis of Berriane, following a miscarriage caused by a firework.<ref>[http://themoornextdoor.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/sectarian-youth-violence-in-algeria/ Trouble in Berriane], The Moor Next Door, 10/04/2008</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-08 |title=Le sud de l'Algérie de nouveau en proie à une flambée de violences |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2015/07/08/01003-20150708ARTFIG00336-le-sud-de-l-algerie-de-nouveau-en-proie-a-une-flambee-de-violences.php |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=LEFIGARO |language=fr}}</ref>
==References== <references/>{{Arab tribes in Algeria}}{{Ethnic groups in Algeria}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Arab tribes in Algeria