Total population | |
---|---|
? | |
Regions with significant populations | |
north-central Algeria | |
Languages | |
Arabic | |
Religion | |
Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Romani people in Algeria |
The Beni Ades ( Arabic بني عداس bnī ʕdās, Kabyle Bni Ɛdas [1]) are an itinerant group living in north-central Algeria, negatively stereotyped by the wider population and often loosely compared to the Roma. [2]
In 1851, Alexandre Dumas describes these "Bohemians" as an endogamous itinerant group of horse-traders and fortune-tellers, and recounts colourful anecdotes of their horse-trading scams around Sétif. [3] In the early 20th century, they are described in similar terms as specialists in tattooing, circumcision, horse-trading, and fortune-telling. [4]
As the practice of tattooing declined over the 20th century, [5] they turned to other pursuits. By the early 21st century, a Beni Ades community in Tizi-Ouzou is described as making its living by begging and sand-mining, while rejecting school for the children, and claiming Tunisian nationality despite having come to the area from Algiers. [6]
The Beni Ades are reported to regularly visit certain saints' tombs, notably those of Sidi Ahmed ou Yousof in Miliana [7] and Sidi Khelifa in Saïda Province. [8]