Chaoui people

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Chaoui people (Shawiya)

Map showing Chaoui areas in the east
Total population
2,870,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Aurès, Algeria
Languages
Shawiya
Religion
Sunni Islam

The Chaoui people or Shawia (Algerian Arabic: الشاوية, Tachawit: Išawiyen) are a Berber ethnic group native to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria which spans Batna and Khenchla, Oum El Bouaghi provinces located in and surrounded by the Aurès Mountains.

They also live in the Algerian provinces of Tébessa, Constantine, Setif and other parts of Eastern Algeria coextensive with the ancient Massylii of Numidia, as well as northwest Tunisia. They call themselves Išawiyen/Icawiyen (pronounced [iʃawijən]) and speak the Shawiya language. They are the second largest Tell Atlas Amazigh-speaking ethnicity, alongside the Kabyles and Chenouas.