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, Judaism, Traditional religion(s):

(Waaqeffanna)

Cushitic speaking peoples refer to the ethnic groups who speak Cushitic

History[edit]
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 Kenya
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. [16] The Bantu eastward expansion into present day Kenya and Tanzania and
the Nilotic people’s incursions into East Africa incorporated or assimilated Southern
Cushitic pastoralists.[17]

Ethnic groups[edit]
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.
[18]
 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.[19] 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),[20] Somaliland (5.7 million),
[21]
 Ethiopia (4.6 million),[22] Kenya (2.8 million),[23] and Djibouti (534,000).[24] 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: ‫ )البجا‬are 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.[25] 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.[26]
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.[27]
The Saho sometimes called "Soho", are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa.
[28]
 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[edit]
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. ^ Jump up to: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. ^ Jump up to: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". 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. ^ Was there an interchange between Cushitic pastoralists and Khoisan speakers in the prehistory of
Southern Africa and how can this be detected? (PDF). Retrieved 2022-01-08.
17. ^ Was there an interchange between Cushitic pastoralists and Khoisan speakers in the prehistory of
Southern Africa and how can this be detected? (PDF). Retrieved 2022-01-08.
18. ^ "Ethiopia", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2021-12-28, retrieved 2021-12-31
19. ^ "Somalia". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
20. ^ "Population Estimation Survey 2014: For the 18 pre-war regions of Somalia" (PDF). UNFPA.
October 2014. p. 22. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
21. ^ "Republic of Somaliland - Country Profile 2021" (PDF). March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original
on 2021-06-21.
22. ^ "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.
23. ^ "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.
24. ^ "Djibouti". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
25. ^ "Bedawiyet". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
26. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert, ed. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003. p. 117
27. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert (2003). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 103. ISBN 978-
3-447-04746-3.
28. ^ "FindArticles.com - CBSi". findarticles.com. Retrieved 18 January 2017.