The Siwi people or Siwan people (Berber languages:Isiwan; Arabic:سيويون), are a Berber ethnic group of about 30,000 native to Egypt's Siwa and Qara oases. They speak the Siwi language, a Berber language, spoken by about 20,000, along with Egyptian and Libyan Arabic. The Siwi are the easternmost concentration of Berbers.

History

The Siwi people are directly descended from the Banu Wasin tribe, which was part of the large Berber-speaking Zenata tribal confederation spread throughout the Maghreb.