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Al-Muhamashīn

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Al-Akhdam
Akhdam children in a Ta'izz neighborhood.
Total population
500,000–3,500,000
Regions with significant populations
Sana'a, Aden, Ta'izz, Lahij, Abyan, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla
Languages
Yemeni Arabic
Religion
Islam

Al-Akhdam, Akhdam or Achdam (singular Khadem, also called Al-Muhamasheen) is a social group in Yemen, distinguished from the majority by its members' Veddoid-like physical features and stature.[1] Their origins are unknown, and some theories hold they are Africans.[2] They belong in the bottom of the societal ladder and are mostly confined to menial jobs in the country's major cities.[3]

The Arabic Muslims do not intermarry with Akhdam Muslims in Yemen, shunning them as untouchables.[4] The social stratification and historical exclusion of Al Akhdams has been referred to as a caste system in Yemen.[4][5][6]

Etymology

Khadem means "servant" in Arabic, while Al-Muhamasheen means "the marginalized ones".

History

Akhdam man or Khadem in Ta'izz

The exact origins of Al-Akhdam are uncertain. One popular account holds that they are descendants of Nilotic Sudanese people who accompanied the Abyssinian army during the latter's occupation of Yemen in the pre-Islamic period. Once the Abyssinian troops were finally expelled at the start of the Muslim era, some of the Sudanese migrants are said to have remained behind, giving birth to the Akhdam. Another theory maintains that they are of Veddoid origin.[1]

The alternate theory holds that they are African descendants of Ethiopian origin.[7]

Social stratification

Anthropologists such as Vombruck suggest that Yemen's history and social hierarchy that developed under various regimes, including the Zaydi Imamate, created a caste-like society.[8] This social hierarchy includes rituals and expected norms of behavior from Al-Akhdam by the elite.[9]

Though their social conditions have improved somewhat in modern times, Al-Akhdam are still stereotyped by mainstream Yemeni society; they have been called lowly, dirty, immoral and untouchables.[5][10] They form a kind of hereditary caste at the very bottom of Yemeni social strata.[10][11]

The Akhdam people have historically lacked occupational mobility and suffered social exclusion.[12][13] They do the sanitation jobs, and live in the slums of Yemen.[14] A 2014 Khaleej Times article and a United Nation's IRIN report mentions a popular saying in Yemen, "Clean your plate if it is touched by a dog, but break it if it’s touched by a Khadem".[14][15] Al-akhdam are, according to Al-Serouri et al,[16] as well other scholars,[17] stereotyped in the Yemeni society and forbidden to socialize or intermarry outside their group.[16]

Many NGOs and charitable organizations from other countries such as CARE International are working toward improving the living circumstances of the Akhdam.[18] Huda Sief disagrees, reporting that "Yemen's old caste system under which Al-Akhdam minority had suffered for hundreds of years", lacks official response to the social discrimination and exclusion of Al Akhdams by Yemeni government officials, as well as lack of any action by the United Nations and other international organizations in Yemen.[6]

Distribution

Most Al-Akhdam live in segregated slums on the outskirts of Yemen's main urban centers.[3] Many of them reside in the capital San‘a’. Others can also be found in Aden, Ta'izz, Lahij, Abyan, Al Hudaydah and Al Mukalla.

Demographics

According to official estimates, the Akhdam numbered around 500,000 individuals in 2004.[3] Other estimates put their number at over 3.5 million residents in 2013, out of a total Yemeni population of around 22 million.[19]

Anthropology

Besides their social position, the Akhdam are distinguished from the general Yemeni population by their distinctly Veddoid or Negrito-like physical appearance. They are considerably shorter in height than the average-statured Yemeni. They also possess facial features, hair texture and skin color characteristic of Negrito populations in general.[1]

Genetics

Genetic studies by Lehmann (1954) and Tobias (1974) noted the sickle cell trait at high frequencies amongst the Akhdam.[1][20] According to Lehmann, this suggests a biological link with the Veddoids of South Asia, who also have a high incidence of the trait.[1]

AIDS

AIDS studies by Al-Serouri et al. report lower education and understanding of HIV risks, and higher rates and risks of HIV infections among Al-Akhdams.[16]

Along with Akhdam, there are other discriminated social strata in Yemen. These include `Abid,[21] or descendants of former slaves who are also of African origin, but they fewer in number. Other groups include Jazzara whose occupation is butchery, Muzayyen whose occupation includes circumcision, and Hammami who are bath attendants. These groups cannot marry outside their group.[7][22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Lehmann, Hermann (1954). "Distribution of the sickle cell trait" (PDF). Eugenics Review. 46 (2): 113–116. PMC 2973326. PMID 21260667. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  2. ^ Walters D. (2001), Women, Healthcare, and Social Reform in Yemen, Feminism and Antiracism: International Struggles for Justice, Chapter 4 in Editors: Kathleen M. Blee, France Twine, ISBN 978-0814798553, New York University Press
  3. ^ a b c Robert F. Worth, "Languishing at the Bottom of Yemen’s Ladder", New York Times, (February 27 2008)
  4. ^ a b Lehmann, Hermann (1954). "Distribution of the sickle cell trait" (PDF). Eugenics Review. 46 (2): 113. PMC 2973326. PMID 21260667. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b Marguerite Abadjian (April 22, 2004). "In Yemen, lowest of the low". The Baltimore Sun.
  6. ^ a b Huda Seif (2005), The Accursed Minority: The Ethno-Cultural Persecution of Al-Akhdam in the Republic of Yemen, Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 2, Issue 1, Art. 9, (pages 10, 29)
  7. ^ a b J.G. Kennedy, The Flower of Paradise: The Institutionalized Use of the Drug Qat in North Yemen, ISBN 978-1556080111, Springer, page 49-50
  8. ^ GABRIELE VOMBRUCK (June 1996). "Being worthy of protection. The dialectics of gender attributes in Yemen". Social Anthropology. 4 (2): 145–162. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8676.1996.tb00322.x.
  9. ^ Meneley, Anne (2000), Living Hierarchy in Yemen, Anthropologica, Vol. 42, No. 1, 61-73
  10. ^ a b "Caste In Yemen". Baltimore Sun. April 25, 2004.
  11. ^ Worth, Robert (December 7, 2008). "In slums without hope, Yemen's untouchables". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Najwa Adra (2006), Social Exclusion Analysis – Yemen DFID and World Bank
  13. ^ Victor Dike, The Osu Caste Discrimination in Igboland, ISBN 978-0595459216, Chapter 4, Quote - "In Yemen, the black skinned - lowest of low castes - are held at the bottom of social ladder. They are almost always kept at an arms length and any chance of social integration is next to impossible."
  14. ^ a b Akhdam: A look into lives of Yemen’s untouchables Khaleej Times (22 January 2014)
  15. ^ IRIN United Nations
  16. ^ a b c Al-Serouri A. W., Anaam M., Al-Iryani B., Al Deram A. & Ramaroson, S. (2010), AIDS awareness and attitudes among Yemeni young people living in high-risk areas, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 16(3): 242-250
  17. ^ Susanne Dahlgren, Contesting Realities: The Public Sphere and Morality in Southern Yemen, ISBN 978-0815632467, Syracuse University Press, pp 274-292
  18. ^ Yemen Times
  19. ^ Yemen’s Al-Akhdam face brutal oppression
  20. ^ Tobias, P.V. (1 June 1974). "An Anthropologist Looks at Malaria" (PDF). S.A. Medical Journal. pp. 1124–1127. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  21. ^ Steven Caton, Yemen, ISBN 978-1598849271, page 182-188
  22. ^ Rutter E (1933), Slavery in Arabia, Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society, 20(3), pp 315-332
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