ethnic groups in horn of africa

The Horn contains such diverse areas as the highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau, the Ogaden desert, and the Eritrean and Somalian coasts and is home to the Amhara, Tigray, Oromo, and Somali peoples, among others. 8. The Horn of Africa is one of the most complex and conflicted regions of the world. Nubian peoples were in ancient "Upper Egypt" and at one time became the ruling dynasty in all Egypt (the "Black Pharaohs"). Beyond the potentially devastating impact of COVID-19 on politics and the economy, the region is grappling with deeply troubled transitions, cross-border jihadism and remains a playground for great power competition. Here is a basic principle that underlies such questions. Ethiopian Race and Ethnicity Swahili, an indigenous language, is the lingua franca, and English is used in the higher legal courts and in the universities for higher education. Indians at the southern tip of South America also have "robust" features, but have light-coloured skin. They constitute a minority of the population of Ethiopia, being outnumbered by the Oromo cluster of peoples of the country, but have been politically dominant for centuries.*. My articles about the Beja and Oromo peoples in the region also provides some historical information and discusses how different ethnicities intermarry and how new peoples emerge. Traditionally farther west around the White Nile and up into Egyptian territory we find the Nubian peoples, whose speech is classified as Sudanic. The best way to group these various peoples is by language, since languages can be more objectively organized and the relationship between various languages has been well-established over the last two centuries. We can of course perceive some general patterns, and these are the basis of our broad distinctions between various individuals and population groups. East Africa and the Horn comprise 11 states, 315m people, hundreds of ethnic groups, dozens of climatic zones, and various differentiated levels of human development, colonial history, modern political influences, and economic organization all covering nearly … ___________________ There seems to be no generally accepted explanation among scholars. Tigre, Tigray, Tigrinya - Ethnicities, Languages and Politics Its people belong to at least 75 ethnic groups, speak some 80 different languages and converse in 200 dialects. Population: estimated between 5 and 9 million ; Intermarrying These languages are Cushitic and are related distantly to the Somali/Maay group. Findings in Archaeology and Genetic studies continue to indicate Africa as the point of origin of the human race. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. Centuries of systematic investigation and analysis of information about the world's peoples, informs us that there is no consistent relationship of skin color to "race." : Four Possible Trajectories for Ethiopia. This is one reason you will sometimes hear it said that there is only one race, the Human Race. A mechanism must be found to legitimize ethnic identity in the Horn of Africa without making it incompatible with the formation of a larger unit of identity based on mutuality and beneficial collaboration. The Horn of Africa has a history of civil wars, which have triggered epic famines and utter devastation. Shuwa/Baggara, Chadian, Media related to Ethnic groups in Africa at Wikimedia Commons, It has been suggested that this section be, The total number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of. The Oromo:  What Factors Make a People Group Distinct? There are more than one hundred ethnic groups in Tanzania. The Beja Ethnic Somalis and Tigrayans represent about 6% each in … Since the mapping of the human genome in recent years, DNA samples from around the world have been compared. The Oromo:  What Factors Make a People Group Distinct? Located in Africa’s horn on its east coast, the landlocked nation of Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa. East Africa and the Horn comprise 11 states, 315m people, hundreds of ethnic groups, dozens of climatic zones, and various differentiated levels of human development, colonial history, modern political influences, and economic organization all covering nearly … Spiced mixed vegetable stew or spiced boiled beef soup are also enjoyed. It is possible they also contributed to the genetic mix of the Horn area. Among the broad human "races," there exists a continuum of physical features and skin color. The country comprises more than 80 ethnic groups, of which Abiy’s Oromo is the largest, followed by the Amhara. This has enabled specialists to establish a clear geographical chain of origin, descent and migration for human populations worldwide. Especially why we Somalians and Ethiopians look slightly different than other Africans. Please give credit and link back. Likewise in this group are those called Australian Aborigines ("Originals"). Migrations and Ethnic Overlays Thus there are peoples who are black that do not fit into the classic group of physical features traditionally referred to as "Negroid." These various genetic and geographic origins in various mixes account somewhat for the differences we currently observe in their features, as well as in their cultures. The identity of ancient Sheba is uncertain, and is associated with the term Cush also. In the Horn of Africa, for instance, they split Somalis into French Somaliland, British Somalia, Italian Somalia, Ethiopian Somalia, and the Somali region of northern Kenya. Other than that, Ethiopians also introduced the first known use of Teffin making a sort of flatbread that natives refer to as Injerabetween … This group is referred to in various ancient texts, including the Old Testament and the Quran. Related to this migration are the "Somali Bantu," Gosha, Mushungulu and related groups in the inland Horn, as well as the Barawa (Brava) of the Somali coast and related Swahili groups on the coast of East Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. View PDF. You can read about some of these in the following article: Some Somali clans even claim origins in Arab clans across the Red Seas. These Semitic-speaking peoples migrating into the Horn of Africa apparently intermarried with the various Cushites groups already living in the area and migrating in later. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. The primary way groups of ethnicities in the Horn of Africa seem to relate is by language, more than by physical type. The Horn of Africa itself is of significant interest to many countries that consider themselves a geopolitical entity, since its geographical location allows it to control the connection between the Red Sea (and therefore the Suez Canal) and the Indian Ocean, where a large flow of ships passes. If African states are to take their rightful place in the world, progressive Africans believe, tribalism must be destroyed. Join Alan Boswell and his guests who will be delving deep into these issues in Season 2 of The Horn podcast. However, the wars in Yemen and the vast number of arms and materiel provided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have ushered in a golden age for regional arms traffickers. In conclusion, the short summary of all this is that various groups of peoples from different "racial" and linguistic origins have migrated in and out of the Horn of Africa, and have intermarried in various ways. Their language is in the same broad group as the Oromo and Somali families. Traditional terms (developed in Europe) for identifying broad human groupings, like Caucasian, Negroid and Mongoloid, are too general and inadequate to account for the variety we find among humans. It is actually unclear why the Somali peoples look more Caucasian, even though they have dark skin like the Oromo Cushites or Bantu Africans. There are black peoples in Southern India and the Indian Ocean Islands with so-called "Caucasian" features. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. East Africa: How Ethiopia's Conflict Threatens the Horn of Africa MSF People are preparing for the long journey from the Hamadayet border crossing to the Um Rakuba camp site in Gadaref. Each of these broad groups also includes complex sub-groups that complicate the language and ethnic picture in North-Eastern Africa. Among the peoples of the Horn of Africa, like every other place in the world, various groups of humans have migrated in and out over the millennia, and intermarried in various ways. Skin colour is not directly tied to any certain facial features. Grilled fish prepared in tandoor (traditional ovens) is regarded as a delicacy. Tigray-Tigrinya Most countries especially in Africa have experienced a form of conflict that has an ethnic relation. Race and Skin Color 1 Ethnic groups in Africa. Grain dishes, dairy products, and meat are the staples of the diet. Firstly, conflict in the Horn of Africa at large is mapped out. 1. And the problem is not confined to conflict between different ethnic groups. All humans now living on Earth apparently share the same full gene pool. The language family of Amhara people is Semitic and Afro-Asiatic. The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each population generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. I'm originally from Somalia and I get asked by many people about my identity. Meanwhile Nilotic peoples from the North have migrated south to mix with Cushite and Bantu peoples. Tutsi, Hutu and Hima - Cultural Background in Rwanda, Colour, Race and Genetics in the Horn of Africa, Italians, Etruscans and Greeks:  Genetics and Ethnicity. Question: “This conflict dashes our hopes for the region,” prominent Horn of Africa citizens wrote in a letter circulated late last week. Arms trafficking via the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea has a long history. Amhara ethnic group region of existence is the Horn of Africa and specifically Ethiopia. Peter Austin, One Thousand Languages (2008), p. 75, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Nigeria gives census result, avoids risky details", "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans", "Tales of Human Migration, Admixture, and Selection in Africa", https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0520255607, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_ethnic_groups_of_Africa&oldid=988626811, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from May 2018, All articles needing additional references, Pages with Split section templates needing conversion of 2 to discuss, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Articles needing the year an event occurred from May 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 November 2020, at 08:54. This Semitic strain of genetics seems to account somewhat for their more "Caucasian" features. Perhaps some information on the history of these ethnicities will help. More than 600 people were killed during an attack in northern Ethiopia in early November because of their ethnicity, a state-appointed human rights commission said Tuesday. The language family of the Oromo is Cushitic and Afro-Asiatic. Common Genetic Stream Rich Mix By Mohamed A. Mohamoud – Barawani The rivalry between international actors on the Horn of Africa region due to geostrategic interests can only fuel more interstate and intrastate conflicts in the foreseeable future. Ethnic and political groups within Ethiopia and Eritrea are looked at respectively so as to analyse the outbreak of war in the two countries. The Oromo population is around 30 million individuals, the majority of whom (25.448 million) live in Ethiopia. The Journey of Man:  A Genetic Odyssey - See the book on Amazon Artificial borders split many closely related ethnic groups into different colonial regions. In the Horn of Africa, for instance, they split Somalis into French Somaliland, British Somalia, Italian Somalia, Ethiopian Somalia, and the Somali region of northern Kenya. In the cities, the food items are more varied. [Francis S. Collins, The Language of Life (NY: Harper, 2010) p 146]. The country comprises more than 80 ethnic groups, of which Abiy’s Oromo is the largest, followed by the Amhara. The Journey of Man:  A Genetic Odyssey. In general this group/cluster of people is called Dravidian. Race Last edited 14 March 2015. Some Somali clans claim descent from Arab tribes. 1 Ethnic groups in Africa. Well over 25,000 refugees have fled into Sudan, bringing word of vicious attacks by armed forces and even rival ethnic groups. Further, the concept of "race" is very vague and is not a technical category with a standard definition. Skin colour distinctions, like "white" and "black," are also very general and inexact (where is the border between very white and moderately white, or more white than the neighbour, etc) and are useful only for relative distinctions. Although the Horn of Africa consists of 4 independent countries, it shares similar ethnic heritages throughout the region. Peoples in Southern India and the Indian Ocean Islands with so-called `` Caucasian '' features referred to in groups. Sets of genes is another African group of atypical appearance of external role players ' involvement in conflict. Simply part of their visual identity ethnicity, culture and language... was seen as Oromo. Semitic and Cushitic and I get asked by many people about my identity holds about million... Varied the African continent is to take their rightful place in the Horn of Africa seem relate... 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