Kunama people: Difference between revisions
rv Black Knight's edits, adding sources for more accurate info per Bamse's request |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
== The People and the Land == |
== The People and the Land == |
||
The Kunama speak a [[Nilo-Saharan]] language unrelated to the dominant languages in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, most are converts to either Christianity ([[Roman Catholic]] and [[Protestant]]) or [[Islam]]. The fertile plains of the Gash-Setit, also known as the [[Gash-Barka]], region where the Kunama live are sometimes referred to as the "breadbasket of Eritrea." Formerly nomadic, today they are farmers and pastoralists. Historically, the Kunama have been dominated by other ethnic groups and they are often forced from their traditional lands. The official policy of the Government of Eritrea is that all land is state property and the Government encourages large commercial farms. |
The Kunama speak a [[Nilo-Saharan]] language unrelated to the dominant languages in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, most are converts to either Christianity ([[Roman Catholic]] and [[Protestant]]) or [[Islam]]. The fertile plains of the Gash-Setit, also known as the [[Gash-Barka]], region where the Kunama live are sometimes referred to as the "breadbasket of Eritrea." Formerly nomadic, today they are farmers and pastoralists. Historically, the Kunama have been dominated by other ethnic groups and they are often forced from their traditional lands. The official policy of the Government of Eritrea is that all land is state property and the Government encourages large commercial farms. |
||
== In the Media == |
|||
The 2007 film, "Home Across Lands", documents the journey of several Kunama families as they are granted refugee status in the United States.<ref>[http://www.projo.com/news/content/ETHIOPIA_FILM_11-18-08_BLCAFCJ_v28.3827806.html] |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 08:54, 29 August 2009
| File:Kunama Eritrea.JPG | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Eritrea: 107,000 (est.) Sudan: 4,860[1] | |
| Languages | |
| Kunama | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam |
The Kunama are a Nilotic ethnic group living in Eritrea and Ethiopia, making up only 2 percent of the population of Eritrea, where they are one of the smallest ethnic groups. Most of the estimated 100,000 Kunama live in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia. The Ethiopian-Eritrean War (1998-2000) forced some 4,000 Kunama to flee their homes to Ethiopia. As a refugees they reside in the tense area just over the border with Eritrea and in proximity to the contested border village of Badme.[2] In the 2007 Ethiopian census, however, the number of Kunama in Tigray has dropped to 2,976 as the remaining 2,000 or so members of this ethnic group have migrated into the other Regions of Ethiopia.[3]
The People and the Land
The Kunama speak a Nilo-Saharan language unrelated to the dominant languages in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, most are converts to either Christianity (Roman Catholic and Protestant) or Islam. The fertile plains of the Gash-Setit, also known as the Gash-Barka, region where the Kunama live are sometimes referred to as the "breadbasket of Eritrea." Formerly nomadic, today they are farmers and pastoralists. Historically, the Kunama have been dominated by other ethnic groups and they are often forced from their traditional lands. The official policy of the Government of Eritrea is that all land is state property and the Government encourages large commercial farms.
In the Media
The 2007 film, "Home Across Lands", documents the journey of several Kunama families as they are granted refugee status in the United States.<ref>[1]
References
- ^ Central Statistical Agency (2008), "TABEL [sic] 5: POPULATION SIZE OF REGIONS BY NATIONS/NATIONALITIES (ETHNIC GROUP) AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE: 2007", Census 2007 (PDF), Addis Ababa: Central Statistical Agency, p. 66
{{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Forgotten People: The Kunama of Eritrea and Ethiopia" (Refugees International; Webpage mirrored at archive.org)
- ^ Census 2007, Table 5
 | This Eritrea-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Ethiopia-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about an ethnic group in Africa is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |