Igawawen orGawawa, mostly known asZwawa (inKabyle:Igawawen, inArabic:زواوة, and inLatin:Jubaleni^[1]) were a group ofKabyle^[2] tribes inhabiting theDjurdjura mountains,Greater Kabylia, inAlgeria. TheZouaoua are a branch of theKutama tribe of the BaranisBerbers.^[3]

In the most restricted sense, the Igawawen were a confederation (kabyle:taqbilt, derived fromarabic "قبيلة" meaning tribe) of 8 tribes split into two groups:

• Ait Betrun:Ait Yenni,At Wasif,Ait Budrar, Ait Bu Akkash.
• Ait Mengellet:Ait Mengelletproper,Ait Aqbil,Ait Attaf,Ait Bu Yusef.

"Zwawa" was theArabic name of medieval Muslim historians for the tribes who inhabited the region betweenBejaia andDellys.^[4] Some say that it's a deformation of the word "Igawawen", which was the name of a Kabyle confederation made up of eight tribes organized into two groups: the Ait Betrun (Ait Yenni,At Wasif,Ait Budrar, Ait Bu Akkash), and the Ait Mengellet (Ait Mengelletproper,Ait Aqbil,Ait Attaf,Ait Bu Yusef), and used aspars pro toto by the Kabyles of Lesser Kabylia to refer to Greater Kabylia.^[5] They were named after the mountain they occupy, theAgawa mountain, the most densely populated, in the north ofDjurdjura.^[6]

Kabyles do not refer to themselves in their language as Zwawa,^[7] and is no longer used in Algerian Arabic either, except in western Algeria, whereKabyles are still called Zwawa.

Zwawa was also a personal name. In the 9th century, one of the chiefs of theHuwwaraBerber tribe, who took part in theMuslim conquest of Sicily, was called Zwawa ibn Neam al-Half, who assisted in the triumph of the Muslim armies against the Byzantines.^[8]

Ibn Hawqal in the 10th century, was the first Muslim traveler and geographer to mention the name in his book,ZwawaKitab al-Masâlik wa l-Mamâlik,^[9] but without giving substantial information about them.

Adolphe Hanoteau [fr], a 19th-century French general, thought that the word Zwawa might be an alteration of "Ath Wawa", the regular plural of Agawa (son of Awa), used to designate a man from the Igawawen, by replacing theKabyle "th" with "z".^[10]

During the time of theRegency of Algiers, the Kabyles were considered such excellent infantrymen that the name "Zwawi" became synonymous with "infantryman".^[11] The various factions of theTitteri tribes provided a certain number of infantrymen who at times guardedAlgiers and especially the surroundingbordjs (plural of fortress). They were only paid during active service. It was also said about them: "The Zwawa are in front for misery, behind for pay."^[11]

The Zwawa are undoubtedlyBerbers, but there are no longer two hypotheses about their tribal origin. The Muslim historianIbn Khaldun reported that Berber genealogists themselves considered the Zwawa related to theZenata by blood. In his book,History of the Berbers he said in volume 1:

"The Zwawa and the Zwagha, tribes from the Berber stock ofal-Abter, are the children of Semgan, son of Yahya (or Yedder), son of Dari, son of Zeddjik (or Zahhik), son ofMadghis al-Abter. Of all theBerber tribes, their closest relatives are theZenata, since Djana, the ancestor of this people, was Semgan's brother and Yahya's (Yedder's) son. It is for this reason that the Zwawa and the Zwagha consider themselves related to theZenata by blood."^[12]

However, according to the Andalusian genealogistIbn Hazm, the Zwawa are a branch of the greatBerber tribe of theKutama^[3] (Ucutamanii of antiquity), which itself is a branch of theBerber group ofBaranis (also called Branes), like the Adjisa, theMasmuda, and theSanhaja.Ibn Khaldun agrees withIbn Hazm. The proximity of the Zwawa territory to that of theKutama, and their cooperation with them to supportUbayd-Allah, founder of theFatimid dynasty, is strong evidence in favor of this opinion.^[12]

TheKutama, including the Zwawa, like all the otherBerber tribes, participated in theconquest of the Iberian Peninsula.^[13] There are also several toponyms inSpain that derive their origins fromBerber tribes settled in the region, such as Atzueva (At Zwawa),^[13] which can even mean that the Berber language was spoken there, because of the preservation of theBerber prefix for the parentage "Ath" instead of theArabic "Beni". There are other toponyms too, such asAzuébar (Assuévar inCatalan), which comes from Zwawa. Without forgetting Algatocin (Atouch, confederation of Aït Waguenun) and Benicàssim, which may have been an extinct fraction of the Zwawa. These Beni Qasim even founded a taifa after the collapse of the UmayyadCaliphate of Cordoba, theTaifa of Alpuente.

3 of the 47 clan toponyms identified in theBalearic Islands, which were conquered by Muslims in the 10th century, 12th century and 13th centuries, refer to tribes belonging to the Zwawa, these three toponyms are : Beniatron,^[14] which is a variant of the name of the Aït Betrun confederation.Ibn Khaldun had mentioned the Aït Betrun in the same form.^[4] The second toponym is Artana, which may refer to the Aït Iraten confederation. The third is Benicassim.^[14]

The Zwawa were always traditional allies of theKutama, perhaps even because they are themselvesKutama asIbn Hazm andIbn Khaldun claimed, even though they were mentioned separately in the historical records. In the tenth century, the tribes of the Baranis group of modern central Algeria, such as theSanhaja, theKutama, and the Zwawa, played a fundamental role in the creation of theFatimid Caliphate by constituting the Army of the empire that had conquered most of theMaghreb,Sicily,Egypt, theLevant, and theHejaz. The Zwawa participated in several battles for theFatimid Caliphate, alongside their neighbors and blood brothers, notably in the siege of the fortress of Kiana (in the vicinity of theQalaa of the Beni Hammad) againstAbu Yazid, in which theFatimids succeeded in taking the fortress and defeating theZenatiKharijites andNekkarites.^[15]

In the year 972, the Zwawa came under the control of theZirids,SanhajaBerbers whose ancestor wasZiri Ibn Menad al-Sanhaji, who ruled over "Al-Maghrib al-Awsat" (central Maghreb, modernAlgeria) andIfriqya, also called "Al-Maghrib al-Adna" ("he closest Maghreb" to the East, modern dayTunisia), in the name of theFatimids after their departure forCairo. After the split of theZirid dynasty into two branches in the beginning of the 11st century, the Badicids (descendants ofBadis, son ofal-Mansur, son ofBuluggin, son ofZiri) reigned overIfriqya fromKairouan, and theHammadites (descendants ofHammad, son ofBuluggin) who reigned over the central Maghreb from theKaala des Beni Hammad, thenBejaia. The Zwawa were forced to make their submission, and the city ofBejaia was built on their territory.^[16] The Zwawa often rebelled against theHammadids, because they were reassured and had nothing to fear in their mountains.^[16]

Bejaia was conquered by theMasmudi andZenatiAlmohadBerbers, who succeeded in unifying theMaghreb under the great Caliph,Abd al-Mumin Ibn Ali, in 1159.^[17] During the period of weakness of theAlmohad Caliphate in the 13th century, three dynasties took over power: theHafsids of theMasmuda tribe who controlledIfriqya, fromTripoli toBejaia, and their capital wasTunis; theZayyanids, also called "Abdalwadids" (or "Beni Abdelwad"),Zenata who controlled the central Maghreb and hadTlemcen as their capital; finally, theMarinids,Zenata from the same branch as theZayyanids (Beni Wasin), and they controlled Al-Maghrib al-Aqsa ("The extreme Maghreb", i.e.Morocco), and hadFez as their capital. The Zwawa were part of the territory controlled by the government ofBejaia, and therefore of theHafsid Sultanate.

Ibn Khaldun, who was the only historian of the Middle Ages to give important information about the Zwawa, lived in this period, and precisely in the 14th century. He mentioned theZwawa as a numerousBerber people,^[18] and he gave a list of the tribes belonging to the Zwawa:

"According toBerber genealogists, the Zwawa are divided into several branches such as the Medjesta, theMelikesh, the Beni Koufi, theMesheddala, the Beni Zericof, the Beni Guzit, the Keresfina, the Uzeldja, the Mudja, the Zeglawa and the Beni Merana. Some people say, and perhaps rightly, that theMelikech belong to the race of theSanhaja."^[4]

In this list, most of the mentioned tribes are not known to anyone, they probably disappeared or were absorbed by other tribes due to various reasons, including civil wars,^[19] as was the case with two tribes, the Isemmadien who once belonged to theAït Iraten,^[19] and the Aït U-Belqasem tribe, which was part of the Aït Betrun confederation at least before the middle of the 18th century.^[19] This shows how erroneous the claim of common ancestry is.^[19] The claim of common ancestry is very difficult to accept everywhere else, is even less acceptable inKabylia, where the tribe is a political federation which changes over time and at the will of the confederates.^[19] The only tribes that still exist in this first list are three: TheAït Melikech of the Wad Sahel (Soummam), the Beni Koufi of the Guechtoula, and finally, theMesheddala, neighbors of the Aït Betrun. The Beni Koufi belong to the Guechtoula, but apparently, they were mentioned separately in the list. Here are the tribes of the second list cited byIbn Khaldun :

"Today, the most prominent Zwawa tribes are the Beni Idjer, the Beni Mengellet, the Beni Itrun (Beni Betrun), theBeni Yenni, the Beni Bou-Ghardan, theBeni Ituragh, theBeni Bu Yusef, the Beni Chayb, the Beni Aissi, the Beni Sedqa, the Beni Ghubrin and the Beni Gechtoula."^[4]

The Aït Iraten and the Aït Frawsen, Zwawian tribes, were also mentioned on the same page, but not in this list. Moreover,Ibn Khaldun mentioned theAit Yenni separately from the Ait Betrun, while they belong to the latter. Same thing for the Ait Bu Yusef, who were mentioned separately from the Aït Mengellat, while they are part of the latter. However, some tribes considered as Zwawa, in the less restricted sense, were not mentioned here, such as theAït Yahya, theIllilten and theAït Khelili.Here is whatIbn Khaldun said about the Zwawa:

"The territory of the Zwawa is located in the province ofBejaia and separates the country of theKutama from that of theSanhaja. They live in the midst of precipices formed by mountains so high that the view is dazzled, and so wooded that a traveler cannot find his way there. This is how the Beni Ghubrin inhabit the Ziri, a mountain also called Djebel ez-Zan, because of the large quantity ofzean oaks with which it is covered, and the Beni Frawen and the Beni Iraten occupy the one located betweenBejaia andDellys. This last mountain is one of their most difficult retreats to tackle and the easiest to defend; from there they brave the power of the government (of Bejaia), and they pay tax only when it suits them. they stand on this lofty peak and challenge the forces of the Sultan, although they still recognize its authority. Their name is even registered in the registers of the administration as a tribe subject to tax (kharadj)."^[4]

In the 14th century, the Marinid Berbers launched an expedition into the territory of the Abdelwadids of Tlemcen and the Hafsids of Tunis with the aim of unifying the Maghreb, as their predecessors, the Almohads, did. In the year 1338 (or 1339), the 10th Marinid Sultan,Abu al-Hassan, had camped with his army inMitidja, not far fromAlgiers, after his successful military campaign against theKingdom of Tlemcen. One of his sons, Abu Abdulrahman Ya'qub, fled, was arrested and died shortly thereafter. After this event, a butcher from the Sultan's kitchen, who looked a lot like Abu Abdulrahman Yacoub, went to the Aït Iraten. When he reached the tribe's territory, Chimsi, a woman of the noble family of the Abd al-Samed, hastened to grant him protection and urged the whole tribe to recognize the authority of the pretender and to assist him against the sultan. So, the latter offered considerable sums to the sons of Chimsi and to the people of the tribe, in order to have the pretender delivered. Chimsi initially rejected this proposal, but having subsequently discovered that she had supported an impostor, she withdrew her protection and sent him back to the country occupied by theArabs. Then she went to appear before the Sultan with a deputation made up of some of her sons and several notables of her tribe. The Marinid monarch, Abu al-Hassan Ibn Uthman, gave her the most honorable welcome, and having showered her with gifts and those who had accompanied her. The Abd al-Samed family still retained command of the tribe.^[20]

During the Almohad period, and especially Hafsid, there were many mentions of great scholars from the Zwawa, such asAbu Zakariya Yahya ez-Zwawi,^[21] better known under the name of Ibn Mu'ṭi, philologist from the Hesnawa tribe, confederation of the Ait Aissi, author of the first versified grammatical work, theAlfiyya. He also wrote several works on various subjects;^[22][21] Abu Ali Nacer ed-Din ez-Zwawi, from theMeshedalla, great doctor of Bejaia;^[23] Amrane al-Medhedalli, also from theMeshedalla, professor of law;^[24] Abu r-Ruḥ 'Isa al-Mengellati, from the Aït Mengellat;^[25] Omar Ibn 'Ali from theAït Melikesh; Abu el-'Abbas from the Aït Ghubri, and many other scholars from various Zwawian tribes. The French historian, Robert Brunschvig (1901 - 1990), had said in his book,La Berbérie Orientale sous les Hafsides, volume 1, that thenisbas formed onMeshedalla,Melikesh, Mengellat, Ghubri(n) are numerous in the texts from theHafsid period.^[26]

After the capture ofBejaia by the Spanish in the year 1510, a certain Sidi Ahmed U-Lqadi, descendant of the judge of Bejaia, Abu el-'Abbas el-Ghubrini, took refuge in the village of his ancestors, Awrir (commune ofIfigha) of the Aït Ghubri tribe,^[27] and will found a state which will include Great Kabylia, which is the Kingdom of Kuku, whose capital was his village of origin, then Koukou among theAït Yahya in 1515, because of its strategic position and its geopolitical advantages that no other village had.^[27] Sidi Ahmed or el-Kadi came from a literate and educated family, which had been well established inBejaia, and had long served theHafsid sultans.^[28]

In Spanish documents, theKingdom of Kuku was often referred to as "Reino de Azuagos", meaning the Kingdom of the Zwawa.^[29] But the French anthropologist,Émile Masqueray supports the idea that the Aït Ulqadi reigned only over the valley of Wad Sebaou and part of eastern Great Kabylia.^[30]Émile Masqueray says about Sidi Ahmed el-Kadi:

"The precise witnesses of the natives limit the domination of the Lord of Kuku to the Wad Boubehir and Wad of the Amrawa. His influence undoubtedly extended much further; but, despite his musketeers and his cavalry, he was never master the mountain of Gawawa."^[30]

There is also no evidence that the Aït Ulqadi levied taxes on the central tribes ofDjurdjura, such as the Aït Betrun, the Aït Iraten, and the Aït Mengellat, who were the strongest of the Zwawa in numbers, both weapons and manpower. According to Pierre Boyer, the territory of Kuku included the tribes of maritimeKabylia, and also those of the Aït Iraten and the Zwawa proper (the Aït Betrun and the Aït Mengellat), but these last were rather allies than submitted tribes.^[31] It should not be forgotten that the Zwawa, in the less restrictive sense of the term, are various confederations and tribes, and not a single united confederation, even if they speak the same language, have the same culture, and the same religion, and despite this, they were often allies to deal with foreign invasions, as in 1849 against the French,^[32] but also in 1830, 1857, and 1871 against the same enemy.

While theSpaniards had control over some ports in the Maghreb, theTurks and the Kabyles supported each other against the Christian invaders, especially in the attempt to retake Béjaïa in 1512, where the Kabyles numbered 20,000 in the battlefield,^[33] but failed to retake the city.^[33] In 1555, there will be a new attempt, in which a large force of the Zwawa had participated to retake the city in thecapture of Bejaia,^[34] which ultimately ended in success, and the Spanish were driven out of the city.

However, the relationship between theKabyles and the Ottomans was not always good. The relationship between Sidi Ahmed Ulkadi and the Barberossa brothers (Aruj andKhayr ad-Din) deteriorated because of the assassination of Salim at-Tumi, leader of theThaaliba who controlledAlgiers, by the Barberossa brothers in 1516 for their own interest.^[35] Perhaps it is for this reason that Sidi Ahmed Ulkadi had abandonedAruj Barbarossa the year after, during thebattle of Tlemcen, in which the Ottomans were defeated and Ziyyanid Sultan,Abu Hammou III, had been restored on the throne as a vassal of theSpanish Empire.^[36] Theregency of Algiers had therefore lost its most important kabyle allies. After this event, war withAruj's brother,Kheireddine Barberossa, was inevitable. The following year, theKabyles, supported by theHafsids ofTunis, confronted the Ottomans for the first time in the Battle of Issers, on the territory of the Aït Aicha tribe (province ofBoumerdès). TheKabyles inflicted heavy losses on the Ottomans and emerged victorious.^[37] The way forAlgiers became open, they seized the city the following year and Sidi Ahmed Ulkadi became Master of Kuku andAlgiers,^[38] and therefore controlled theMitidja.Khayr ad-Din took refuge inJijel after his defeat against theKabyles, and he had capturedBona,Collo andConstantine and received the allegiance of many tribes in the region,^[39] although he failed to liberate all of Algeria. After five or even seven years, but more likely five, Sidi Ahmed Ulkadi was assassinated, and Khayr ad-Din had recapturedAlgiers.^[39]

The history of the Kingdom of Kuku did not end there, although the kingdom was weakened. Sidi Ahmed el-Kadi was replaced by his brother, el-Hussein, and Great Kabylia had kept its independence. In the year 1529, that is to say two or four years after the capture ofAlgiers byKhayr ed-Din, a peace treaty was concluded by the Aït Ulkadi and the Regency of Algiers, the latter recognizing the undisputed master of the independent Great Kabylia, el-Hussein, but also imposing an annual tax, which has never been paid.^[40] Ammar Boulifa says about this:

"The non-execution of this part of the agreement signed with the Turks is not surprising, because the Bel-K'adhi (Aït Ulkadi), who refused to pay this tax, only followed and respect the traditions of their country."^[40]

The Spanish historian, Diego de Haëdo, in his work, History of the Kings of Algiers, which was published in 1612, wrote about the Zwawa, which he called "Azuagos" or "Mores de Kouko",^[41] and he also wrote about theKingdom of Kuku, whose king was cited as a powerful ruler.^[42] De Haëdo had said that the Zwawa were very numerous, that they only came and went back, buying weapons, roaming freely inAlgiers, as if the city was theirs.^[41]

In 1576, 1,000 Zwawa participated in thecapture of Fez inMorocco as allies of the Regency of Algiers, in which they supported the futureSaadian sultan,Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik, against his nephew,Muhammad al-Mutawakkil.^[43] The Zwawa were equipped with muskets, and they were noted to be good soldiers.^[43]Muhammad al-Mutawakkil was defeated.

In 1541, the Zouaoua supported Charles V in hisExpedition to Algiers by sending 2000 men to his army. Hassan Pasha responded in 1542 by attacking and massacring the Zouaoua.^[44] In 1546, Amar had succeeded his father, el-Hussein, to the throne. Amar had reigned until his assassination in 1618, because of "tyranny" and his weakness against the Regency of Algiers who led two punitive expeditions, in 1607 in which they reached Jema'a n Saharij among the Aït Frawsen, and in 1610 when they had reached their capital, Kuku. Amar had been replaced by his brother, Mohammed. Amar's wife, who was pregnant, took refuge with her parents' family, theHafsid family inTunis, and gave birth to a boy, Ahmed. Ahmed was nicknamed "Boukhtouch", meaning the man with the javelin, and his full name was Sidi Ahmed et-Tunsi. In the 1630s, Sidi Ahmed returned toKabylia withHafsid troops fromTunis, then avenged his father's death, and took control ofGreat Kabylia.

Sidi Ahmed had left Kuku, and returned to the village of his ancestors, Awrir NAït Ghubri, then moved to Tifilkut among theIllilten tribe. This marked the end of Kuku as a political capital.^[45] However, the ruling family remained the same, but under a different name: Aït Boukhtouch, or Iboukhtouchen.

In the year 1659, the Algerine founded thecaïdat (chiefdom) ofbled Guechtula (or Boghni).^[46] Thecaïdat was under the authority of the Bey of Titteri,^[47] and the appointedcaïds (chiefs) were all foreign to the tribe.^[48] The Guechtula confederation was forced to pay taxes.^[48] The Aït Sedqa (except the Aït Ahmed; Awqdal), part of the Aït Abdelmumen (Aït Aissi confederation) and the south of the Maatka tribe were part of it after their defeat against the Algerines years later.^[49]

In 1696, Great Kabylia had been divided into twoçofs (parties) during a succession conflict between Ali, the legitimate heir to the throne, and his brother, Ourkho.^[50] Both were sons of Sidi Ahmed el-Tunsi. Here are the allegiances of the Kabyle tribes:

1. The party of Ourkho (çof oufella), made up of 38 tribes, most importantly: the Iflissen Umellil (fourteen tribes), At Mengellat (confederation of the same name), theAït Wasif (Aït Betrun confederation), the Aït Djennad (four tribes), and finally, theAït Yahya,^[50] who were the leaders of the çof.
2. The party of Ali (çof bouadda), who were 48 tribes, most importantly: theAït Iraten (five tribes), the leaders of the çof, and the Amrawa, the Aït Idjer, theAït Itsuragh, theAït Aissi (four tribes), theAït Yenni and theAït Boudrar (both of the Aït Betrun confederation).^[50]

Ourkho disappeared from history, and his brother, Ali, emerged victorious.^[51]

At the beginning of the 18th century, a certain caïd, Ali Khodja, asserted his authority over the Amrawa,^[52] a powerfulKabyle tribe which would become a Makhzen tribe.^[53] He founded thecaïdat de Sebaou and built a bordj (fortress) of the same name, halfway betweenTizi Ouzou andbordj Menaïel, in 1720–21, then four years later, bordj-Boghni among the Guechtoula.^[52] Ali Khodja had defeated the Iboukhtouchen and their allies inDraâ Ben Khedda and among the Aït Frawsen.^[52] Thecaïdat du Sebaou included the Aït Khalfun, the Iflissen Umellil, the Beni Thur, the city ofDellys, theAït Waguenun, theIflissen Lebhar, theAït Djennad, the Aït Ghubri, the tribes of High Sebaou and Assif el-Hammam, theAït Aissi, theAït Dwala, theAït Zmenzer, the Betruna, the Aït Khelifa and part of theMaatka.^[54] Thecaïdat de Sebaou was, like thecaïdat of Boghni, under the authority of the Bey of Titteri.^[47]

The populations of the mountain ranges of theAït Iraten (Aït Akerma, the Aït Irdjen, the Agwacha, the Aït Umalu and the Aït Ussammer) and the Zwawa proper, that is to say the Aït Betroun (Aït Yenni,Aït Wasif,Aït Boudrar, the Aït Bou-Akkach, and the Aït Oubelkacem) and the Aït Mengellat (the Aït Mengellat proper, theAqbil, theAït Bou-Yousef, and theAït Attaf), remained rebellious and were completely independent; they themselves appointed their leaders and paid no taxes to the Ottomans.^[55]

Thomas Shaw, a British traveller, had lived twelve years in theRegency of Algiers, from 1720 until 1732.Thomas Shaw mentioned the Zwawa as the most numerous and wealthy of theBerbers.^[56] They lived inDjurdjura, which is the highest mountain inBarbary. It is, from one end to the other, a chain of craggy rocks which serve as asylum for variousBerber tribes, and preserve them from the domination of theRegency of Algiers.^[57] Thomas Shaw had cited the following Zwawi tribes (in order): theBoghni (confederation of Guechtula), the Guechtula, the Aït Kufi (confederation of Guechtula), the Aït Betrun, then the Aït Mengellat and the Aït Frawsen,^[58] and finally, the Aït Ghubri.^[56] He had cited Kuku as the most important of the Kabyle villages.^[56]

In the middle of the 18th century, thecaïd of Sebaou, Mohammed Ben Ali, nicknamed "ed-Debbah" (meaning the slaughterer), was about to launch a campaign against theAït Aïssi, the Ait Sedqa, and the Guechtula. Mohammed married the daughter of Si Ammar ou-Boukhetouch to conclude an alliance with his family and keep the tribes under their influence, like theAït Iraten and the Aït Frawsen, neutral.^[59]

In 1710, theDeylik of Algiers becameDe facto independent from theSublime Porte.^[60]

In the 17th-18th century the Zwawas served as highly trained mercenaries in the armies of Algiers.^[61]

Zwawas were always a part of the Algerian army. Even in cases where some tribes were in rebellion, many other ones were still serving under the Dey of Algiers.^[61] Because of this, the relationship between the Deylikal government in Algiers, and the Zwawas was very much complicated.

During the late 18th and 19th century the Zwawas played an important role in the Algerian army, mainly as infantry.

In 1817 the freshly elected Dey of Algiers,Ali Khodja signed an alliance with the Zwawas, and elevated them to high positions, including the personal guard of the Dey. He defeated a Turkish Janissary rebellion with their help.^[62] This normalized the relationship between the Zwawas and the Dey.

Several Zwawa tribesmen, were also allowed into theOdjak of Algiers, serving as regular infantry. By 1828 about 2,000 Algerian men, mainly from the Zwawa tribes served as Janissairies.^[63]

In 1830 during theInvasion of Algiers by France, many Algerian troops were of Zwawa origins. Their heavy resistance and fighting capability during theBattle of Staouéli impressed the French, whom created a unit called theZouaves to recruit Zwawas into the French army.^[64] As these recruitment campaigns were rather unsuccessful, they rebranded the unit.

In 1745 that Mohammed Ben Ali led the Algerian troops, withKabyles sent by the Zawia of Aït Sidi Ali Ou Moussa of theMaâtka, against theAït Aïssi. Mohammed received the submission of theAït Zmenzer,Aït Dwala and Iferdiwen tribes in a single day,^[59] but he met a fierce resistance from the villages of Taguemunt Azouz and Aït Khalfun of theAït Mahmud, whom he was unable to defeat. Despite this, he was promoted to Bey of Titteri. The Bey then proceeded to crush the Guechtula and two tribes of the Aït Sedqa, the Aït Chenacha and the Aït Willul, successfully, and imposed light taxes.^[59] Then, he returned with his troops to theAït Mahmud, captured Taguemount Azouz and Tizi Hibel, and finally received the submission of the entire tribe.^[65]

After one or two years, that is to say in 1746–47, Bey Mohammed Ben Ali launched an expedition against theAït Wasif tribe of the Aït Betrun confederation (Zwawa proper),^[65] by passing through the Aït Sedqa, who were defeated some time before.^[66] He attempted to capture the tribe's market, « suq es-sebt », meaning the Saturday market (the market no longer exists). But this time, his fortune, which had always been favorable to him, turned against him,^[67] and the attempt ended in a deadly fiasco for the Ottomans, who were pushed back and forced to withdraw from the battle. The Ottomans have been defeated against the Ait Betrun,^[68] and will never again try to face the Zwawa proper with arms in hand. The Bey, desperate for his failure, tried a subterfuge to intimidate his opponents. He sent them a certain quantity of white bread, telling them that it was the daily food of his people. In response, theKabyles sent him donuts sprinkled with this red pepper whose strength is proverbial, accompanying their sending with these words:

"These foods, covered with a strong layer of pepper that burns our blood when we eat them, rekindle our warlike ardor, our hatred for the foreigner and give us the necessary strength to exterminate them."^[69]

It was the Aït Betrun who set the example in theDjurdjura by defining the attitude to take against the ambition of the Regency of Algiers to subdue the region, and revolts broke out in the following years.^[70] Immediately after the victory of the Aït Betrun against the Algerines, their neighbors, theAït Iraten, changed their allegiance and joined the anti-Algerine resistance. The same year, or maybe even one or two years later, the Aït Iraten held an assembly during which the marabouts of the confederation met in Tizra Waguemun and agreed to exheredate the women. The Aït Betrun, including the Aït Oubelkacem tribe which disappeared afterwards, did the same thing in 1749, in the territory ofAït Wasif, with their allies, the Aït Sedqa. Then the Aït Frawsen followed their example in a date posterior to 1752, in the largest village of the tribe,Djemâa Saharij. Here is a part of the version translated into French of the original manuscript in Arabic, in which are cited the new laws agreed by the marabouts of the Aït Betrun :

"Everyone complained of a damaging state of affairs, a source of discord, unrest and conflict in the villages, tribes and the confederation of Beni Betroun. The general assembly therefore pronounced unanimously:

1. to abolish the right of women to inherit;
2. to abolish the right of everyone (i.e. men as well as women) to exercise shefa'a, the right of pre-emption, in respect of property made over to a habus;
3. to abolish the right of daughters, sisters and orphans to participate in the exercise of the right of pre-emption – shefa'a – of any property;
4. to abolish the right of the wife who has been repudiated or widowed to have her dowry returned to her."^[71]

In 1753, theIflissen Lebhar and the Aït Djennad broke out a revolt in maritimeKabylia,^[72] and after the Bey and the Aït Djennad had negotiated an arrangement, the Bey demanded only their absolute neutrality, and he gave up talking about taxes.^[73] The Bey turned his arms against the Aït Iraten. The Algerines were successful at first, inflicting casualties and penetrating the tribe's villages, but the Bey was killed by a bullet from one of his own soldiers,^[74] and the Algerines troops abandoned the attack, although they have not suffered serious losses.^[74]

In the year 1756, the Guechtula started a revolt in which the bordj-Boghni was destroyed and fell.^[75] The Guechtula drove out the garrison and killed thecaïd Ahmed,^[76] but the bordj was rebuilt after the failure of theKabyles in the attack on bordj-Bouira almost two months later.^[77] The bordj-Boghni was again destroyed by the Guechtula with the help of their neighbors, the Aït Sedqa, in 1818.^[77] The garrison had to capitulate after seven days of siege and thebordj remained several years in ruins, but was also rebuilt to once again.^[77]

The composition of the Zwawa seems to have changed over the course of history. In the Middle Ages, and more specifically in 14th century,Ibn Khaldun mentioned many tribes as being Zwawa, but during the French conquest, there were only two confederations being Zwawa, each made up of four tribes. According to Hugh Roberts, some tribes were more Zwawa than others, and the name "gawawen" has two meanings, a restricted and a less restricted one. The more restrictive meaning includes only Aït Betrun and Aït Mengellat, while the less restrictive meaning can include Aït Iraten, Aït Aissi, Aït Idjer, and many other tribes.

The next list will include the Zwawa confederations and tribes, with the numbers of rifles before the French conquest of each tribe, according to Charles Devaux. The numbers of inhabitants that will be shown are of 1872, given Adolphe Hanoteau.

Here are the confederations and tribes of the Zwawa:

The Zwawa proper were neighbors ofAït Iraten in the north,Aït Sedqa in the east, theAït Itsuragh in the east andMchedallah in the south. This confederation was made up of eight tribes organized into two groups:

• Aït Betrun:Aït Yenni,Aït Wasif,Aït Boudrar and Aït Bou Akkach, and the Aït Ubelqasem before. They had 4,545 rifles,^[78] the biggest number among all theZwawa in the least restricted sense, and a population of 19,749,^[79] spread over 24 villages, and so it was also the most populous tribe. They called themselves "the heart of the Zwawa", they are fierce, and very rigid in the observation of theirqanuns (laws). They were well known for their weapon industry, and also their jewelry. Among them there were good craftsmen whose art was more sophisticated.
• Aït Mengellat:Aït Mengellat properly said,Aqbil,Aït Bou Youcef, andAït Aṭṭaf. They had 3,525 rifles,^[80] and a population of 14,429,^[81] spread over 29 villages. According to Émile Carrey, theAït Mengellat tribe was one of the most warlike in all ofKabylia. Most of them were poor, but brave.^[82]

The total population of the Zwawa properly said was 34,178 inhabitants,^[83] spread over 53 villages. They had a total of 8,060 rifles strong before the French conquest. This confederation had the biggest number of rifles and population among all theKabyles. They are the only Zwawa in the strictest sense of the term. This confederation never paid taxes to the Algiers, and always kept its independence until the French conquest of Kabylia in 1857. They were united and formed one confederation, and they always defended each other against foreigners, as it was the case in Algiers in the year 1830, where they united under one chief to defend the city against French invaders, and the war of 1857, in which the villages of theAït Betrun were emptied of their men, who went to fight in Icheriden, alongside theAït Mengellat, against the French.^[84]

• Kabyle people
• Berbers in Algeria
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• Indigenous peoples of North Africa
• History of Kabylia

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