Fraoucen

Fraoucen (Ait-Ferausen), one of the chief Berber tribes in Great Kabylia, province of Algiers, Algeria. They are members of the powerful Beni-Raten confederacy, and dwell E. of the Beni-Raten proper, in the Sebau basin and the surrounding hills. The tribal name Fraoucen has wrongly been identified with "France," giving rise to a local tradition of their French descent. It is really of great antiquity, occurring in Pliny under the form of Pharusii, a Geetulian tribe; and, according to Hanoteau, they are the Fraxinenses mentioned in some Numidian inscriptions. Since the third century they have occupied their present territory, where they number (1890) about 8,000 souls.