Afar people
| Afar | |
|---|---|
| Total population | over 1,000,000 |
| Regions with significant populations | Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia |
| Language | Afar |
| Religion | Sunni Islam <tr><th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Related ethnic groups</th><td style="background-color:#fff6d9;">Oromo, Sidama, Somalis, Agaw and Beja</td> </tr> |
Afar (Afar alphabet cAfár, Ge'ez ዐፋር ʿāfār, Amh. translit. āfār, also spelled አፋር) are an ethnic group who reside principally in the Danakil Desert in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in Eritrea and Djibouti. They are sometimes called Danakil, a name used specifically to refer to northern Afars, while southern Afars can be called "Adel" (also transliterated as Adal), similar to the province/kingdom of Adal.
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General
The Afar make up about half the population of Djibouti, and are one of the nine recognised ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia. The Afar language (Cushitic) is spoken in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, eastern Eritrea, and Djibouti, but as the Afar are traditionally nomadic herders, they may be found further afield.
Lifestyle and culture
Although, as with most peoples, some have migrated to cities and adopted "Western" or cosmopolitan ways of life, the majority have always been nomadic pastoralists, raising goats, sheep and cattle in the desert. During the dry season most move to, and camp on, the banks of the Awash River. Camels make up the most common means of transport as they move from watering hole to watering hole. Most move to higher ground with the arrival of the November rainy season to avoid flooding and mosquitos.An Afar tent house is known as an 'ari' and made of sticks covered with mats, beds of mats raised on sticks are used. The 'burra', or camp, consists of two or more ari, and is the responsibility of the women. The Afar supplement their diet of milk and meat by selling salt that they dig from the desert along with milk and animal hides at markets in Senbete and Bati.
Traditionally the society is ruled by sultanates made up of several villages, headed by a 'dardar'.
Afar are organised into clan families, and into classes -- asaimara ('reds') who are the dominant class politically, and the adoimara ('whites') who are a working class. It is a patrilineal society, with men inheriting strength of character from their fathers, but physical characteristics like height, and some spiritual characteristics, from the mother.[citation needed]Circumcision is practiced for both boys and, controversially, girls. A boy is judged for his bravery upon bearing the pain of circumcision, and is then allowed to marry the girl of his choice, though preferably someone from his own ethnic group, and ideally a cousin.
The Afar have a strong relationship with their environment and its wildlife, sharing land and resources with animals and doing them no harm. It is this tendency that is largely responsible for the preservation of the critically endangered African wild ass (Equus africanus), which has become extinct in more vulnerable environments.
The Afar culture includes unique items of clothing.
These include:
- When married, women traditionally wear a black headscarf called a 'shash' or 'mushal'.
- For men and women, the main article of clothing is the 'sanafil', a waistcloth. Women's are dyed brown (although today many women adopt multi-coloured sanafil) while men's are undyed.
Religion
The Afar began to convert to Islam in the 10th century after contact with Arabs. The brand of Islam they practice is heavily syncretic, and includes many elements of their older, indigenous religion (focused on the Sky God).
History
The ancestors of the Afar settled farm land in the Ethiopian highlands some time before AD 1000 and primarily raised livestock. Some time after this they began a gradual transition to a more nomadic lifestyle and moved to the area they currently occupy. Since then they have been involved in many conflicts with bordering tribes and peoples.
In 1975 the Afar Liberation Front (ALF) began in Ethiopia after an unsuccessful rebellion led by a former Afar sultan. The Derg established the Autonomous Region of Assab (now called Aseb and located in Eritrea), although low level insurrection continued until the early 1990. Parallel, but less violent, movements were present in Djibouti.
See also
External links
- Afar Friends - an NGO working to support the Afar people, from Sweden
- National Geographic - "Cruelest Place on Earth - Africa's Danakil Desert"
Categories
Articles with unsourced statements | Ethnic groups in Djibouti | Ethnic groups in Eritrea | Ethnic groups in Ethiopia | Pastoralists | African nomads