Cushitic-speaking peoples

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Cushitic speaking peoples
Map of the ethnic groups who speak Cushitic languages
Regions with significant populations
Egypt, Sudan, Horn of Africa, East Africa
Languages
Cushitic languages
Religion
Islam (Sunni) Orthodox Christianity, Traditional religion(s): (Waaqeffanna)

Cushitic speaking peoples refer to the ethnic groups who speak Cushitic languages as a native language. Cushitic languages are today spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa (Somalia,[1] Somaliland,[2] Ethiopia,[3] Eritrea[4] and Djibouti),[5] as well as the Nile Valley (Sudan[6] and Egypt),[6] and parts of the African Great Lakes region (Kenya[7] and Tanzania).[8]

History

Cushitic speaking peoples were present in Ethiopia by 4000–5000 years BC.[9] The Cushitic speaking ethnic groups were divided into the Northern Cushites (Beja), the Central Cushites (Agaw) and the Eastern Cushites which today includes many ethnic groups such as the Oromo, Somali, Afar amongst others.[9] When Nubian speakers first reached the Nile Valley, they encountered Cushitic speaking peoples from whom they borrowed a large number of words, mainly connected with livestock production.[10] The Cushitic speaking populations were also said to have begun a westward expansion from Ethiopia 6000–5000 years BP and they may have initiated the Khartoum Neolithic.[11] Cushitic speaking tribes were known to have inhabited the region of Lower Nubia (Egypt and Sudan) from the 6th century B.C on[12] and speakers of Cushitic languages were known to have inhabited Nubia since antiquity.[13] There is some evidence to show that Cushitic speakers bought a megalithic culture into Tanzania from Ethiopia.[14] Studies have shown that Cushitic speaking pastoralists originating from Northeast Africa spread into East Africa by the 4th century B.C[15] and even as far as south central Africa and comprised one of the earliest groups in the region and introduced the culture of cattle transmission into the region before the Bantu expansion. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Ethnic groups

The Oromo are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia and represent 34.9% of Ethiopia's population.[16] Oromos speak the Oromo language as a mother tongue (also called Afaan Oromoo and Oromiffa), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The word Oromo appeared in European literature for the first time in 1893 and then slowly became common in the second half of the 20th century.

The Somalis are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa.[17] The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim. Ethnic Somalis are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 8.8 million),[18] Somaliland (5.7 million),[19] Ethiopia (4.6 million),[20] Kenya (2.8 million),[21] and Djibouti (534,000).[22] Somali diasporas are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Western Europe, African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa and Oceania.

The Beja (Beja: Oobja; Arabic: البجا) are an ethnic group inhabiting Sudan, as well as parts of Eritrea and Egypt, in recent history they have lived primarily in the Eastern Desert. The Beja are traditionally Cushitic pastoral nomads native to Northeast Africa numbering around 1,237,000 people.[23] Many Beja people speak the Beja language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. Some Beja groups have shifted to primary or exclusive use of Arabic. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni Amer grouping speak Tigre.

The Agaw (Ge'ez: አገው Agäw, modern Agew) are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. The Agaw are perhaps first mentioned in the third-century Monumentum Adulitanum, an Aksumite inscription recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the sixth century. The inscription refers to a people called "Athagaus" (or Athagaous), perhaps from ʿAd Agaw, meaning "sons of Agaw.[24]

The Afar (Afar: Qafár), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea. Afars speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. The Afar are traditionally pastoralists, raising goats, sheep, and cattle in the desert. Socially, they are organized into clan families and two main classes: the asaimara ('reds') who are the dominant class politically, and the adoimara ('whites') who are a working class and are found in the Mabla Mountains.[25]

The Saho sometimes called "Soho", are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa.[26] They are principally concentrated in Eritrea, with some also living in adjacent parts of Ethiopia. They speak Saho as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family and is closely related to Afar.

The Sidama are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Region of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) in Ethiopia. They speak the Sidama language which is a language of the Cushitic of the Afroasiatic language family.

References

  1. ^ "The Constitution of the Somali Republic (as amended up to October 12, 1990)" (PDF). Government of Somalia. p. 2. Retrieved 23 November 2017. "The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic" (PDF). Government of Somalia. p. 5. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Somaliland profile". BBC News. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  3. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. "Ethnologue: Ethiopia". Ethnologue. SIL International. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  4. ^ Minahan, James (1998). Miniature empires: a historical dictionary of the newly independent states. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 76. ISBN 0313306109. The majority of the Eritreans speak Semitic or Cushitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic language group. The Kunama, Baria, and other smaller groups in the north and northwest speak Nilotic languages.
  5. ^ "Djibouti". Ethnologue. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  6. ^ a b Vanhove, Martine (2020a). "North-Cushitic". In Rainer Vossen; Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of African Languages (PDF). Oxford University Press. pp. 300–307. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199609895.013.63. ISBN 9780199609895.
  7. ^ "Kenya". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  8. ^ Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J. (2006). Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society. Walter de Gruyter. p. 1967. ISBN 978-3-11-018418-1.
  9. ^ a b Passarino, Giuseppe; Semino, Ornella; Quintana-Murci, Lluís; Excoffier, Laurent; Hammer, Michael; Santachiara-Benerecetti, A. Silvana (1998). "Different Genetic Components in the Ethiopian Population, Identified by mtDNA and Y-Chromosome Polymorphisms". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 62 (2): 420–434. doi:10.1086/301702. PMC 1376879. PMID 9463310.
  10. ^ Blench, R. (1999). "The westward wanderings of Cushitic pastoralists : explorations in the prehistory of Cental Africa". Undefined. S2CID 131599629.
  11. ^ "The westward wanderings of Cushitic pastoralists : explorations in the prehistory of Central Africa" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  12. ^ Rilly, Claude (2019). "Languages of Ancient Nubia". Handbook of Ancient Nubia. ISBN 9783110420388. Retrieved 2019-11-20. "The Blemmyes are another Cushitic speaking tribe, or more likely a subdivision of the Medjay/Beja people, which is attested in Napatan and Egyptian texts from the 6th century BC on.
  13. ^ Rilly, Claude (2019). "Languages of Ancient Nubia". Handbook of Ancient Nubia. ISBN 9783110420388. Retrieved 2019-11-20. "Two Afro-Asiatic languages were present in antiquity in Nubia, namely Ancient Egyptian and Cushitic.
  14. ^ Lynch, B. M.; Robbins, L. H. (1979). "Cushitic and Nilotic Prehistory: New Archaeological Evidence from North-West Kenya". The Journal of African History. 20 (3): 319–328. doi:10.1017/S0021853700017333. JSTOR 181117. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  15. ^ Windows on the African Past: Current Approaches to African Archaeobotany. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  16. ^ "Ethiopia", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2021-12-28, retrieved 2021-12-31
  17. ^ "Somalia". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  18. ^ "Population Estimation Survey 2014: For the 18 pre-war regions of Somalia" (PDF). UNFPA. October 2014. p. 22. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Republic of Somaliland - Country Profile 2021" (PDF). March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Table 2.2 Percentage distribution of major ethnic groups: 2007" (PDF). Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census Results. Population Census Commission. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  21. ^ "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. December 2019. p. 423. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  22. ^ "Djibouti". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  23. ^ "Bedawiyet". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  24. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert, ed. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003. p. 117
  25. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert (2003). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 103. ISBN 978-3-447-04746-3.
  26. ^ "FindArticles.com - CBSi". findarticles.com. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
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