Chenoua

The Chenouis or Chenoua (, Berber: Icenwiyen) are a Berber ethnic group native to the Chenoua Mountains in northern Algeria. They traditionally inhabit areas between the east of Ténès to the west of Cherchell. The Chenoui people number about 106,000. They speak the Shenwa language, a Northern Berber language that is closely related to the Shawiya language and Zenata varieties spoken by Berbers of the Aures mountains in Eastern Algeria and the Rif region. The Shenwa language has about 76,000 speakers. Geographical distribution The Chenoui traditional territory includes the province of Tipaza, parts of the Chlef province and the north of the province of Ain Defla, and thus are called in reference to the Mount Chenoua which dominates the city of Tipaza, 70 km west of Algiers. The region is part of the greater Dahra region, a long mountainous region along the Meditternean coasts, separated from the Ouarsenis range by the Chelif river and its valley. It expands from 8 km north of Mostaganem until the Algiers Sahel with its highest point being Mount Zaccar (Miliana).