| person |
ašəlḥi (m), tašəlḥiyt (f) |
| people |
išəlḥiyn |
| language |
tašəlḥiyt |
The Shilha people, commonly known as the Chleuh (also spelled Shleuh or Shluh in English; native name ašəlḥi, pl. išəlḥiyn) are a Berber ethnic group.[1] They live mainly in Morocco's Atlas Mountains and Souss Valley. The Shilha population is estimated to be approximately 8 million.[2] They speak the Shilha language in several regional varieties. The indigenous peoples of the central Moroccan coast, noted by the early Phoenician explorers, would have been the Chleuh. The first millennium voyages of Hanno described the Phoenicians' methods of peacefully trading with the native peoples of the Mogador area.[3]
The Shilha are associated with Berber music 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, the name "Chleuh" also came to be a French pejorative term for Germans (see: List of terms used for Germans#France).
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