Chleuh
Encyclopedia
The Shilha people, commonly known as the Chleuh (also spelled Shleuh or Shluh in English; native name ašəlḥi, pl. išəlḥiyn) are a Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 ethnic group. They live mainly in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

's Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...

 and Souss Valley. The Shilha population is estimated to be approximately 8 million.
They speak the Shilha language in several regional varieties. The indigenous peoples of the central Moroccan coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

, noted by the early Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n explorers, would have been the Chleuh. The first millennium voyages of Hanno
Hanno
Hanno may refer to:* Hanno, Saitama, Honshū, Japan* Hanno , a lunar crater* Hanno , the pet white elephant of Pope Leo XPeople named Hanno:*Several ancient Carthaginians, including:...

 described the Phoenicians' methods of peacefully trading with the native peoples of the Mogador area.

The Shilha are associated with Berber music
Music of Morocco
The music of Morocco ranges and differs according to the various areas of the country.-Berber folk music:There are three varieties of Berber folk music: village and ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians....

 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
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

, the name "Chleuh" also came to be a French pejorative term for Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 (see: List of terms used for Germans#France).

See also

  • High Atlas
    High Atlas
    High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly...

     - native region of the Atlas Mountains
    Atlas Mountains
    The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...

  • Anti-Atlas
    Anti-Atlas
    The Anti-Atlas or Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt,...

     - native subregion of the Atlas Mountains
    Atlas Mountains
    The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...

    .

External links

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