- Facts about the origin of the name of the Amazigh city of Chaouen
-- And when Prince Ibn Rashid settled the house, he named this city Chefchaouen, which is a Berber language, and in their language its meaning is a place of hope for jihad, and it was also said in its derivation that it was taken from the word “chefshan,” which is mixing or a place where the Mujahideen settle, and each has an occasion.”*
- If what Sharif Al-Sadiq Al-Raysouni reported about the origin of the city and the reason for its establishment by Prince Al-Ghumari Ali bin Rashid is correct, this means that this prince:
1- He spoke the Amazigh Ghamari language at the time, otherwise he would not have assigned a name to the city with a purely Amazigh meaning, according to the writer’s expression.
2- The naming of the city, according to what the writer reported, coincides with the function for which the city was created, which is primarily military motives, as the prince intended by building the city to fortify his emirate from Christian attacks.
3- The name of the city carries a clear Amazigh meaning, and this is what the writer Al-Chefchaouni reported more than a century ago, denying all new interpretations about the city’s Arabism or Andalusianism.
4- The city was not built for the purpose of settling the Andalusian element that came to the city after its displacement from Andalusia. It was built for military defense purposes only...
5- Those who undertook the task of building the city and defending it were the Ghamar Berbers, who were an important part of the Andalusian army, which undertook the task of defending Andalusia after the collapse of most of its soldiers in the face of the encroachment of the Christian element.
6- That the Amazigh element in the city and its environs is authentic, and this is evidenced by the fact that Prince Yalsu Al-Idrisi, when he delegated to Al-Khams Al-Ghamara, found the Al-Ghamara in their country, and that he was the one who divided the Al-Ghamara tribe into five banners, and based on this division the tribe took its name, according to what the author mentioned.
Sources:
* Muhammad Sader Al-Raysuni (d. 1375 AH), Summary of the History of Chefchaouen, edited by Ali Al-Raysuni, p. 35.
* Ibid., p. 33.