Zouaoua

The Zouaoua, or Zwāwa, were a confederation of Berbers tribes in Algeria.

The Zwawa were a confederation of eight tribes of Kabyle Berber ethnicity. The tribes which made up the confederation inhabit the highland areas of Kabylia, from Djurdjura to the sea, which is the area of Tizi Ouzou Province and parts of Bouira Province and Boumerdès Province. The French called this area Grande Kabylie to distinguish it from the other parts of Kabylia.

The Zwawa gave their name to the Zouaves, since it was intended that the first Zouave units would be raised from this group of tribes, although in the end they were raised from a much wider pool of recruits and eventually became specifically European units.

See Also

• Zouave