The Bejawa tribe in northern Tunisia
Of tribal origins in Bejaia
The picture below was spread on some pages, documenting the thrones of this tribe in northern Tunisia, and because there was a lot of controversy regarding that picture in terms of its historical authenticity, we tried to search for that, and we found on page 288 of the document documented below confirmation of the Bejawi Kabyle origins of the thrones of that tribe, as the owner of the document says :
“The origins of the Bejawa go back to the areas near Bejaia, where they settled in the area in which they live in the fourteenth century AD. They cannot deny their tribal origins, as their thatched houses and huts built of branches resemble those you find in the Kabylie region. They are stationed on the hills that control roads and observe the surrounding areas far away, Their household customs, tools, livestock care, land reclamation, and religious customs are completely similar to the customs and traditions of the tribes residing in the valley of Shu`bat al-Akhira (Kharrata) between Bejaia and Setif.”
Returning to the content of the image and looking at the names of the thrones written in it, we find an almost complete match between the names of those thrones and the names of the thrones of the minor tribes today, where the following can be recorded:
1 - Banu Abdul Jabbar: in the towns of Bani Jalil and Pharaoh
2 - Beni Maimoun: Bou Khalifa Municipality
3 - Beni Suleiman: Tichy, the municipality of Boukhalifa, extending to the state of Setif
4 - Banu Mazza: “Imzain”. Near the city of Bejaia.
5- Beni Issa: in the municipalities of Aouqas and Tizi-Nabarber
6- Banu Masoud: Tala Hamza
7 - Banu Malika: Aith Malikish in Tazmalt.
8 - Banu Ismail: Eth Ismail Municipality
9 - Benu Tizi: Ait Tizi between Bejaia and Setif
10_ Banu Abdul Aziz: To the village of Banu Aziz Kharatta
The nests remain: Banu Yarman, Banu Wahjan. I was unable to determine their current municipalities in the state of Bejaia. Perhaps some of the followers of the page will correct or enrich this information.
- Documentation:
Authors: Violard, Emile; Pichon, S
Work title: La Tunisia du nord; The civil controls of Souk/el-Arba, Béja, Tunisia, Bizerte and Grombalia. Rapport to Mr. The resident general S. Pichon
Publisher: Tunis Impr. moderne J. Orliac
Publication date: 1906