Afar people
Qafara عفر | |
---|---|
Cushitic peoples[3] |
The Afar (
Etymology
The etymology of the term “Dankali” can be traced back to the Afar language and is derived from the words “dan” (meaning “people” or “nation”) and “kali” (referring to the Afar Region). The term has been used for centuries to refer to the Afar people, their language, culture, and way of life. Its usage reflects the Afar people’s sense of pride in their unique identity and their determination to preserve their heritage and way of life in the face of various historical and contemporary challenges.[7][8][9]
History
Early history
The earliest surviving written mention of the Afar is from the 13th-century
The Afar are consistently mentioned in Ethiopian records. They are first mentioned in the royal chronicles of Emperor
They are again mentioned over a century later in the royal chronicles of Emperor
According to sixteenth century Portuguese explorer Francisco Álvares, the Kingdom of Dankali was confined by Abyssinia to its west and Adal Sultanate in the east.[13] He also described that the Afar salt trade was extremely lucrative in the area. The mineral he adds, were considered very cheap in the Afar country, but was very valuable by the time it got to Shewa.[14]
Pre-20th century
Afar society has traditionally been organized into independent kingdoms, each ruled by its own
The Afar are divided into two subgroups, the Asaimara ("Red Men") and the Adoimara ("White Men"). The Asaimara were regraded as the nobility, whereas the Adoimara were seen as inferior stock. These groups are further subdivided into upwards of 150 sub-tribes, the chief tribe of the Asaimara was the Mudaito in the south, to which the sultan of Aussa belonged to. The Modaitos who occupied the region of the lower Awash, were the most powerful tribe, and no European traversed their territory without claiming the right of hospitality or the brotherhood of blood. Some Afars helped the Europeans by providing, for a fee, the security of Western caravans that circulated between the southern coast of the Red Sea and central Ethiopia. The Afars were also heavily active in the Red Sea slave trade, serving as guides to Arab slave traders. A major slave route to Arabia crossed through Afar country, with Afars reportedly still actively trading in slaves as recently as 1928.[17]
The Afars were consistently viewed as violent and bloodthirsty, and generally had a bad reputation for massacring caravans and expeditions. As Italian explorer L. M. Nesbitt describes: "The Danakils kill any stranger on sight. The taking of a life has become a habit of their nature." In one notable incident, Werner Munzinger, along with his wife, child and a force consisting of 350 soldiers, 2 guns, and 45 camels, arrived in Tadjoura, with their errands being to open up the roads between Ankober and Tadjoura, to enter into communication with King Menelik of Shewa by traversing through the Danakil Desert. On the 14th of November upon reaching Aussa, the Egyptian force was attacked at night by a large number of Afars. The Afar managed massacred their army leaving only a small number left which fled to Tadjoura. Amongst the Egyptian casualties were the leader Munzinger, his wife, and his child.[18][19][20][21]
Towards the end of the 19th century, the sultanates of Raheita and Tadjoura on the coasts of the Red Sea have then colonized between European powers: Italy forms Italian Eritrea with Assab and Massawa, and France the French Somaliland in Djibouti, but the inland Aussa in the south was able to maintain its independence for longer. Even comparatively fertile and located on the Awash River, it was demarcated from the outside by surrounding desert areas. Ethiopia wanted to neutralize Aussa and prevent them from helping the Italians during the course of the First Italo-Ethiopian War in 1895–1896. The show of Abyssinian force dissuaded the Afar sultan Mahammad Hanfare of the Sultanate of Aussa from honouring his treaties with Italy, and instead Hanfare secured a modicum of autonomy within the Ethiopian Empire by accepting Emperor Menelik indirect rule after the war.[22][23]
20th century
When a modern administrative system was introduced in Ethiopia after the Second World War, the Afar areas controlled by Ethiopia were divided into the provinces of Eritrea, Tigray, Wollo, Shewa and Hararge. Tribal leaders, elders, and religious and other dignitaries of the Afar tried unsuccessfully in the government from 1961 to end this division. Following an unsuccessful rebellion led by the Afar Sultan,
In March 1993, the
Demographics
Geographical distribution
The Afar principally reside in the
Language
Afars speak the
The Afar language is spoken by ethnic Afars in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, as well as in southern Eritrea and northern Djibouti. However, since the Afar are traditionally nomadic herders, Afar speakers may be found further afield.
Together, with the Saho language, Afar constitutes the Saho–Afar dialect cluster.
Society
Religion
Afar people are predominantly
Culture
Socially, they are organized into
In addition, the Afar are reputed for their martial prowess. Men traditionally carry the
The Afar are mainly livestock holders, primarily raising camels but also tending to goats, sheep, and cattle. However, shrinking pastures for their livestock and environmental degradation have made some Afar instead turn to cultivation, migrant labor, and trade. The Ethiopian Afar have traditionally engaged in salt trading but recently Tigrayans have taken much of this occupation.[29]
See also
- Afar Depression
- Aussa Sultanate
- Kwosso
- Mudaito Dynasty
Notes
- ^ a b c "Afar". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ "Afar". Ethnologue. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ISBN 1581120001.
- ISBN 9780080877754. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ISBN 9780080877754. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Fairhead, J. D., and R. W. Girdler. "A discussion on the structure and evolution of the Red Sea and the nature of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and Ethiopia rift junction-The seismicity of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Afar triangle." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences 267.1181 (1970): 49–74.
- ^ “The Afar People: An Ethnolinguistic and Historical Overview” by Dr. Thomas H. Hinnebusch, Journal of African History, Volume 13, Issue 1 (1972).
- ^ “The Afar and the Horn of Africa: History, Society, and Economy” by Dr. Mohammed H. Yusuf, African Studies Review, Volume 34, Issue 1 (1991).
- ^ “The Afar: An Ethnolinguistic and Historical Overview” by Dr. Said M. Salih, in African Ethnolinguistic
- Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands (Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1997), p. 61
- ^ Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands, pp. 61–67, 106f.
- ^ Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands, pp. 61–67, 106f.
- ^ Chekroun, Amélie. Le" Futuh al-Habasa": écriture de l'histoire, guerre et société dans le Bar Sa'ad ad-din [The Futuh al-Habasa: Writings on History, War and Society in the Bar Sa'ad ad-din (Ethiopia, 17th century).]. Université Panthéon-Sorbonne. p. 196.
- ^ Pankhurst, The Ethiopian Borderlands, pp. 109
- ^ Shehim, Kassim. THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAM ON THE 'AFAR (ETHIOPIA).
- ^ Trimingham, p. 262.
- ^ Page, Willie. Encyclopedia of africaN HISTORY andCULTURE (PDF). Facts on File inc. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ Wylde, Modern Abyssinia, p. 25.
- ^ Trimingham, p. 172.
- ISBN 0-19-285061-X.
- ISBN 978-1-5144-2223-6.
- ISBN 9780195382075.
- )
- ^ Ethiopia – Political Parties, Accessed: 1-07-2006.
- ^ "Country level" Archived 16 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Table 3.1, p.73.
- ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ a b Matt Phillips, Jean-Bernard Carillet, Lonely Planet Ethiopia and Eritrea, (Lonely Planet: 2006), p. 301.
- doi:10.1163/1570060054307534 – via JSTOR.
- ^ ISBN 1-57958-468-3.
- ^ Brugnatelli, Vermondo. "Arab-Berber contacts in the Middle Ages and Ancient Arabic dialects: new evidence from an old Ibadite religious text." African Arabic: approaches to dialectology. Berlin: de Gruyter (2013): 271–291.
- ISBN 978-3-447-04746-3.
References
- Mordechai Abir, The era of the princes: the challenge of Islam and the reunification of the Christian empire, 1769–1855 (London: Longmans, 1968).
- J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952).
Further reading
- Jeangene Vilmer, Jean-Baptiste; Gouery, Franck (2011). Les Afars d'Éthiopie. Dans l'enfer du Danakil. ISBN 9782352701088. Archived from the originalon 31 July 2013.