The Chiadma region () is situated on the Atlantic coast of Morocco between Souira Guedima and Essaouira.
Etymology The name Chiadma is of Arabic origin. It comes from the word shayḏ̣am (شيظم) or shayḏ̣amī (شيظميّ) with the plural shayāḏ̣ima (شياظمة) which literally means "tall, big, corpulent, great, burly, young" and can be applied to people and animals like horses and camels. Ultimately, the name derives from the root √sh-ḏ̣-m In the colloquial dialect, it lost the diphthong /ay/ and the phoneme /ḏ̣/ [ظ] became /ḍ/ [ض] resulting in the modern name. The name of the tribe became the toponym of the region. Historically, the region was known as Regraga before the arrival of Arab tribes in the 12th century in reference to a tribe that later became incorporated into the Chiadma tribe.
Tribal origin The members of the Chiadma claim an Arab origin distinguishing themselves from the Haha who speak Shilha and who the Chiadma call shlūḥ. According to 20th century Moroccan historian , they are a mix of multiple Arab tribes like Mudar and al-Harith with Maqil among them. Some fractions of the tribe also have Berber roots like Regraga and Heskala.
The first references to the Chiadma in historical sources began in the Saadi era. Some of the authors that mention the Chiadma from this period include Leo Africanus, Luis del Mármol Carvajal and Damião de Góis.
The 16th-century Spanish chronicler Luis del Mármol Carvajal recorded the Chiadma as "beréberes Cobeyles" (Berber tribes) who lived in (mobile tent-villages) like Arabs. He writes :
Describing the 1510 siege of Safi, he records the tribal makeup of the league that laid siege to the city. He writes :
Researcher Dr. Felipe B. Francisco argued that Historians from the 16th century seem to confirm the Arab origin of the Chiadma because they used to distinguish between the Haha and the Arab tribes who used to live in their territory, and the Chiadma were among them, based on these passages :
French orientalist argued that the Chiadma of Doukkala (east of Azemmour) were Arabized Berbers due to their usage of words borrowed from Berber languages like sārūt < tāsārūt ‘key’; mūka <tāmūkt ‘owl’; mūš < āmshīsh ‘cat’. This argument, however, is not convincing since these are common borrowings found in all Moroccan Arabic dialects, less common words such as tāġūlālt ‘little snail’; tārānīmt ‘reed’; and tāfōtna ‘Turkish bath’ could also be explained with contact with the Chtouka. Contemporary Moroccan authors affirmed their Arab origin, the first to claim this was Al-Kānūnī (1932) followed by Ar-Regrāgī (1935).
Territory
The Chiadma territory is divided into two regions. The western portion lies between the sacred mountain of Regraga, Djebel Hadid, and the Atlantic Ocean coastal plain of the Sahel. This area is known for its mariners, and its farmers raise garden crops, providing the local market with vegetables, fruits and fish. Olive oil, grain and livestock are produced in the eastern Kabla region.
Language The linguist Felipe Benjamin Francisco, based on data made up of four hours of speech, concluded that the speech of the Chiadma does not show relevant contact with the Shilha language despite their centuries long relationship with the Haha. The dialect that Fransisco investigated shared many features with the Hilalian dialect spoken in the Atlantic strip, ʕṛūbi. Francisco records an excerpt of a woman originating from the Chiadma territory specifically Aquermoud. 1. kŭnna ka-nžīw l-ʕṛūbĭyya u-ḥna ṣġāṛ, māzāl ma kāyn-š ḍ-ḍu, kānu ka-ydīru š-šmăʕ, la bougie, d’accord? 2. kānu ka-ydīru f-wŭṣṭ ḍ-ḍāṛ bāš ka-yḍŭwwu u-ma kān-š hād l-ḅūḷa bḥāl hādi ma-kān-š, 3. āh, f-ǝd-dāxǝl dyāl ḍ-ḍāṛ ma-kān-š ḍ-ḍu, kān š-šmăʕ. [question] 4. lā! kŭnna ka-nxŭržu bḥāl hākka, ka-ybqāw ilăʕbu, ḥna ṣ-ṣġīwṛīn u-kān ġīṛ ḍ-ḍu dyāl l-qāmāṛ bḥāl hākka, 5. k-ibqāw ilăʕbu, k-ibqāw ilăʕbu, dīma hna f-ǝl-līl w-āna kătt ka-nxāf, āna ma ka-nbġī-š nǝtḥăṛṛăk, 6. dīma ka-ndīr hākka u-ka-nǝbqa f-blāṣti bəzzāf w-ūma ka-yžru 29 w-ilăʕbu. [...] 1. We used to come to the countryside when we were kids, there was no light (electricity) yet, they used to put on candles, la bougie, d’accord? 2. They used to put it in the middle of the house in order to illuminate and there was no lamp like this one there wasn’t, 3. that’s it, inside the house there was no light, there was the candle. [F.B.F.: There was no electricity?] 4. No! We used to go out like this, they kept playing, us the children, and there was the moonlight only, like this: 5. they kept playing and playing, always here in the evening. I used to be afraid, so I preferred not to move, 6. I always did this way and stayed firmly at my place and they kept running and playing […]
Alongside Darija several rural communes within the Chiadma region have notable Tachelhit-speaking populations, as of the 2024 census the numbers stood at : Meskala (42.8%), Ait Said (35.1%), Ounagha (19.2%), and Mouarid (14.5%).. Note: Geographically and administratively, these communes are classified within the Chiadma regional boundaries of the Essaouira Province, with the Meskala historically constituting an indigenous Amazigh fraction of the Chiadma confederation. in 2014 the numbers were : Meskala (48.8%), Ait Said (46%), Ounagha (30.9%), and Mouarid (34.4%).
Celebrations
Regraga
The Chiadma annually celebrate a 40-day pilgrimage, the Regraga, in spring. During these weeks, pilgrims visit a series of local shrines from the mouth of the Tensift river south of Safi to the northern outskirts of the High Atlas Mountains, and including the city of Essaouira itself. They are led by two groups on a round trip stopping at every shrine on the way. One group must dress at every shrine a holy tent made of fan palm fibres and dyed with henna, the other group arrives in a procession with a muqaddim (religious leader) riding a white horse.
Sidi M'Hamed Ou Marzouq Every year the Sidi M'Hamed Ou Marzouq commune hosts a festival for the local saint Sidi Said Ouhcine, known as "Sabou' al-Eid", the festival serves an important cultural and economic role in commune, featuring Tbourida displays (with participants from Chiadma, Abda, Ahmar and Chichaoua Province) and traditional Halqa street performances, as well as markets and events for children.
Laâroussa
During droughts in the countryside around Essaouira, it is traditional to carry into the fields a white puppet decorated with white flower blossoms, called the Laâroussa Chta (لعروسة شتى ) in Arabic: Laâroussa meaning "the bride on her wedding day", and Chta meaning "rain".
Notable people Muhammad Zarqtuni, Moroccan nationalist and resistance leader Miloud Chaabi, businessman & billionaire
References