Chleuh

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Chleuh (Souss) Berbers in Morocco

The Chleuh people (or Shleuh: the 'ch' is the French equivalent of the English 'sh'; native name 'ašəlḥi', pl. 'išəlḥiyn') are a Berber ethnic group. They live mainly in Morocco's Atlas Mountains and Souss Valley. A further alternative spelling of the tribe is Shluh.[1] The Chleuh population is estimated to be approximately 8,000,000.[2]They speak the Tashelhiyt language in several regional varieties. The indigenous peoples of the central Moroccan coast noted by the early Phoenician explorers would have been the Chleuh. The first millennium voyages of Hanno described the Phoenicians' methods of peacefully trading with the native peoples of the Mogador area.[3]

The Chleuh are associated with Berber music of Morocco and dance.

Through a process of linguistic transference, which is not completely clear but evidently dates from the period of French colonial rule in North Africa, the name "Chleuh" also came to be a French pejorative term for Germans (see List of terms used for Germans#France).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica on line
  2. ^ Berber People
  3. ^ C.Michael Hogan, Mogador: promontory fort, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham, Nov. 2, 2007 [1]

[edit] External links

Berber Ethnic groups

Chaouis | Chenouas | Chleuhs | Kabyles | Mozabites | Rifains | Siwis | Tuareg


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