What is "igawawen"

The Igawawen or Gawawa (masculine singular: Agawaw, alternatively: Agawa) were a confederation of Kabyle Berber tribes in Algeria. The Arabs called them Zwāwa (Arabic: زواوة, also written Zouaoua from French transliteration; the masculine singular is زواوي, i.e. Zwāwi/Zouaoui). The Arabic term Zwāwa had been previously used to refer to Kabyle fighters rather than the Igawawen in particular, and it is unclear if the original meaning of the term was ethnic.

The tribes which made up the confederation inhabit the highland areas of Kabylia, from Djurdjura to the sea, which is the area of Tizi Ouzou Province and parts of Bouira Province and Boumerdès Province. In French this area is called Grande Kabylie to distinguish it from the other parts of Kabylia.