African Tribes
Most modern African states reflect the boundareies
drawn by European colonial powers in the 19th century during the scramble for Africa.
The Europeans commonly ignored tribal and linguistic afinities among
African peoples. This mean that tribal groups were often fracrtured and
separated by the European imposed boundaries. Thus modern African
states commonly are composed of multiple tribal groups. And many tribal
groups populate multiple countries. We have begun to collect
information on some of these tribal groups. This is not a subject we
know much about, but as with much of HBC, wecare interested in leaning
more and encourage readers to add their insights.
Afar
The Afar people inhabit the Horn of Africa are and are concentrated
in Ethiopia and areas of Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. They are a
nomadic people who eke out a living in a rocky, arid enviroment. They
also inhabit the Awash Valley and the forests of northern Djibouti. The
popuulation totals about 3 million people. They speak Afar.
Their lives are built around the livestock they heard, goats, camels,
and sometimes cattle. Religion also plays an important part of their
lives. Most Afars converted to Islam (10th century). There are also a
few Christians. Afar clothing is an interesting blend of Arab and
African influences. The women perhaps reflecting the prevalence of
Islam traditionally wear head scarves, but go bare breasted.
Baganda
Abayudaya
meaning the "People of Judah", similar to the Jewish term Children of
Israel, are a Ugandan group which practices Judaism. They belong to the
Baganda tribe of eastern Uganda aroun the town of Mbale. Unlike
Ethiopian Jews they are not genetically linked to the Hebrew people of
Israel or the Diaspora.
Bedouin
The term Bedouin evolved from the Arabic term "badawi" meaning
"desert-dweller". It is a term that has been generally applied first
the Arabian nomadic pastoralists, but has come to be used to describe
the nomadic peoples living in the desert belt extending from the Arabian
Peninsula, Negev, and Sinai through the North African Sahara to the
Atlantic Ocean. The Bedouin are divided into two main groups which is
reflected in their Arabic dialects. There are eastern and western
Bedouin, divided roughly along the Egyptian-Libyan border. The Bedouin
are more of a people defined by life style than ethnicity. The Bedouin
of Arabia are of Semetic origins. Other Bedouins have more varied
origins. The Bedouin are known for a nomadic life style, but their
movement is primarily seasonal, and based on the availability of water
and grazing conditins. When there is some precipitation they may move
deeper into the desert, but during more arid periods move back to areas
where water is more available. Given the desert environment, the
Bedouin are particularly known for herding camels, but also heard other
livestock like sheep, goats and cattle. There are also known for their
Handicraft work.
The Musli outburst allowed the Arabian Bedouins to move out of the
Arabian Peninsula, brining Islam and the Arabic language with them.
First they moved to Syria and Egypt (7th century). Gradually the
Bedouin moved west, but primarily into North Africa rather than
sub-Saharan Africa. The Bedouin population is declining. The nomadic
life style was limited by modern national boundaries and the desire of
people for a more affluent, sedentary life style.
Dinka
The Dinka people live in the southern Sudan along both sides of the
White Nile. The Dinka are one of the branches of the Nilotes. They are
known for centuries as Dinka, but they actually call themselves
Moinjaang, "People of the people." The Dinka are the largest ethnic
group in southern Sudan. The Dinka groups retain the traditional
pastoral life of the Nilotes, but have added agriculture in some areas,
growing grains, peanuts, beans, corn (maize) and other crops. Women do
most of the agriculture, but men clear forest for the gardening sites.
There are because of the climate usually two plantings per year. Some
are fishers. The boys tend goats and sheep while the men are responsible
for the cattle. The cattle are central to the Dinka culture Before the
coming of the British the Dinka did not live in villages, but travelled
in family groups living in temporary homesteads with their cattle.
Efé
The Efé are one of the pygmy people of central Africa. There are
Pygmy people in the tropical rain forests of Central Africa that inhabit
an area stretching roughly from Cameroon east across the Congo into
Zaire. The Pygmies are principally known for their small stature.
Adults are only about 3-4 fett in height. The Pygmy peoples are
earliest surviving inhabitants of the Congo Basin dominated by Zaire.
DNA analysis suggests that the Pygmies are one of the oldest living
human populations. Anthropologists believe that Pygmies have lived in
the Ituri Forest for over four thousand years. The Pygmies there call
themselves Mbuti. The Mbuti includes several tribes, including the Efe,
the Aka, and the Bayaka. Pygmies tend to be are lighter skinned than
their Negroid neighbors. We are not sure why this is the case. Pygmies
are a gentle, peaceful people who have retreated into the less
productive areas of the rain forest by the more dvanced Bantu people.
They are forest dwellers existing on a hunter-gtger life style. Some
may practice primitive agriculture, planting fields in the middle of the
forest, but cobinuing to hunt and gather. The more isolated groups
continue to lead aifestyle little changed over several millenia. The
Efé live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Fula
The origins of the Fula are a matter of conjecture. There are
atraditions of Semetic origins. Others speculate that the Fula arose
from the mixing of proto-Berbers of North Africa and the Bafur Saharan
people. Several other theories exist. We do know of any DNA studies.
The Fula or Fulani (also Fulbe) today are an important ethnic group of
about 25 million people spread 20 countries throughout Western Africa
into Central Africa as well as the northern Sudan. The Fula are most
prominnt in Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal, but
are found in mumbers throughout West Africa as well as nothwestern
Cental Africa and the northen Sudan.
The bulk of the Fula people live from Lake Chad east to the Atlantic
Ovean. While a major West African group, the Fula are a minority in all
of the different countries they ingabit. They are most prominsnt in
Guina (about 40 percent). The Fulani have traditionally been nomadic
pastoralist and trading people which is why they are so widely
distributed throughout West Africa. They have traditionally hearded
cattle, goats and sheep across the extensive dry interior of West and
Central Africa south of the Sahara. They thus pursued a life different
and separate from the more settled agricultural populations because
their lives and social organization was determined by the needs of the
animals they hearded. Their language is Fula which is classified
within the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Ebore
We have some limited information on individual Ethiopian tribal
groups. Many of the most destinctive tribes live in the Omo Valley. We
have not yet found much information on the Ebore / Abore. We know that
they are one of the Omo Valley tribes which practice body painting. The
girls shave their heads until they are married.
Hamar / Hammere
The Hamar / Hammere are a small tribe found in southwestern
Ethiopia. They have been described as one of the vanishing tribes of
the Omo Valley. They live in Hamer Bena woreda (district). This is a
well-wattered fertile part of the Omo River valley. This is part of the
ebub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples
Region. The Hamar are aeople still lrgely untouched by the modern
world. They are for the most part pastoralists with a high value placed
on livestock, especially cattle. A 1994 census reported a population of
about 40,000 people. Very few members of the tribe have educations
beyond the primary level. The language of the Hamer people is
Hamer-Banna which is in the Afro-Asiatic language family. Hamer-Banna is
an Omotic language and is primarly spoken in the Omo River Valley of
Ethiopia by the Hamer tribe. Hamer boys traditionally wear mud body
painting. An important Hamar tribal ritual is an initiation ceremony,
the jumping of the bulls ceremony. One aspect of the ceremony is that
the female relatives of the individual undergoing the bull-jumping test
are whipped during the trial.
Himba
The Himba are nomadic pastoralists who live in the Kaokoland area of
northwestern Namibia. The Himba are descendants of Herero herders and
they still speek the Herero language. They fled into the less
desirable remote northwest after an uprising was supressed by the
Germans who colonized Namibia (Southest Africa).
Many of the Herero perishedd uring the Herero War (1904). They were
displaced by the more compliant Nama. The Himba managed to survive y
survive in harsh savana, in almost desert-like conditions. The Himba
herd sheep, goats, and some cattle. They move location several times
each year as the livestock quickly deplete the porr grazing land. Their
houses are cone-shaped dwelings built from the brush available and
covered with mud and livestock dung. The Himba have clung to their
traditions into the modern era. The Himba women are noted for their
intricate hairstyles and traditional jewellery. The Himba are
technolloficallt primitive, never mastering weaving. Traditionally men
and woman wear few clothes apart from a loin cloth or goat skinned
skirt, although now one sees some Western clothing. They use red ochre
and fat to protect themselves from the sun. This gives their bodies a
red color.
Karamojong
The Karamojong sometimes written as Karimojong are an ethnic groups
comprising several different related tribes. They inhabit primarily
northeast Uganda near the South Sudan and Kenya borders. They are
centered in the southern part of Karamoja region, about 10 percent of
the area of modern Uganda. They speak Karamojong which is one of the
lanuages of the Nilo-Saharan language group. Anthropologists based
largely on lingistics believe that the Karamojong as part of a sinle
grouping migrated from Ethiopia (17th century). The reason for the
migration is unknown, but may have been caused by drought. As they
neared what is now Kenya, the migrants split, fragmenting into smaller
groups. One branched settled im what is modern Kenya and developed into
the Kalenjin group and Maasai tribal cluster. The other branch, the
Ateker, migrated further west. The Ateker split into several additional
groups, including the Turkana in western Kenya. Several tribal groups
developed in Uganda, including the Iteso, Dodoth, Jie, Karamojong, and
Kumam. The related Jiye and Toposa settled in what is now South Sudan.
All of these tribes make up the Teso or Karamojong Cluster. They are
traditional agro-pastoral herders who in outward appearance resemble the
related and better known Maasai pastoralists. Like the Masai, have a
cattle culture. They are constantly moving their herd around a
difficult teraine searching for grazing land. They have in Uganda
developed an usavary reputation as cattle raiders. The area of
northeast Uganda where they live is an isolated area. Thy have had less
contact with Westerners than most other Ugandan tribes. Many
Karamojong still do not wear western-style clothes. They tend to wear
traditional dress consisting of a blanket worn like a shawl, often
choosing red and black. The women produce elaborate beadwork for
decoration.
Mangbetu
The Mangbetu are found in the northern Congo (Zaire) and Democrativ
Republic ofthe Congo, along the border with the Central African Republic
and Sudan. They speak Mangbetuti related to central Sudanic languages.
Before the development of DNA techniques, linguistics was a principal
tool of scholars studying pre-literate groups like African tribes and
Native Anerican tribes. Thus it is believed that the Mangbetu began
migrated from the central and southern Sudan south (Mid-18th century).
During this migration they apparently encounteted Bantu peoples
migrating north. They are believed to have reched the northern Congo
(early-19tyh century). The area was inhabited by the Mbuti--pygmy
people. They also absorbef migratory waves of eastern peoples. The
modern Mangbetu are a mixed group produced from cultural interactions
and inter-marriage with the Bantu and pygmy people they encountered as a
result of their migration. Nabiembale briefly established a kingdom of
some importance regionally. It was overcome by Islamic Sudanic slavers
estanlished a level of control over the area. This is also known as
the Swahili raids. This was during the Mhadist revolt
in the Sudan. The slavers set up Islamic sultanates. They controlled
the area until expelled by the Belgians. The Mangbetu are not a tribe
in the normal sence as an ethnic group. The Mangbetu were a ruling
aristocracy which dominated the area. Most of those ruled were not of
Mangbetu ancestry. They are most notable for highly developed art and
music as well as their characteristic scull elongation. This is called
'lipombo' and was a status symbol among the Mangbetu ruling classes.
Mursi (Surma)
Ethiopia's tribal groups are centered in different geographic
regions and play a major role in the country's cultural and political
life. The Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia is an especially interesting
area of Ethiopia ethnicallyAbout 50 percent of Ethiopia's ethnic groups
live there. One of the small tribes in the valley is the Mursi. The
Mursi are one of the many small tribal groups in Ethiopia. Despite their
small size, the Mursi are one of the most recognizable African tribes.
The Mursi are noted for their their clay lip plates and primitive life
style. The women deform the bottom lip with a wooden disk. The Mursi boy
here was photographed in 1995. Mursi children and men until recently
always went naked. Still now most children and men wear no clothing when
they are in their villages. They do, however, commonly paint their
bodies. The boy in the photograph here wears nothing but has destinctive
body painting. In many primitive cultures these paintings were a
substitute for clothing.
San
The San people of the southern African Kalahari are better known as
the Bushmen. The Kalahari is a vast desert that extends over South
Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The San are a hunter gattering people
that eke out a living by hunting wild game and gathering roots and
tubers. They are noted for their "click " language. The San may be the
oldest culture in the world with a history dating back over a 1000,000
years. There is no written record, but San rock art can be seen
throughout southern Africa.
There range has become more limited in the past two millenia as first
the more advanced Bantu-speaking tribes pushed them from the more
fertile areas into the Kalahari. White farmers more recently
intensified this process. [Thomas]
Sara
The Sara (kameeni) have descended from the Sao people. They are the
largest ethnic group in Chad and are also present in the Central
African Republic and Congo Brazeville. The Sara were less touhed by
French colonial policies than the more coastal tribes. They are mostly
non-Muslim people. Some are Christians, perhaps 15 percent. Most
adhere to traditional animist beliefs influenced by Egyptian religion.
The Sara are concentrated in south-east of Chad, especially in the
Moyen-Chari, Logone Oriental, Logone Occidental, and areas of the
Tandjile regions. Tribes to the north tend to ne more Islamicized. The
Sara are a Nilotic people, meaning their origins are in the Nile
Valley, including the African Great Lakes region and southwestern
Ethiopia. They are believed to have migrated west from the Nile Valley
through what is now the Sudan to Chad at a relatively late period (16th
century). The Sara seem to have been one of many traditional cultural
systems that broke down over centuries of attacks from Arab slave
raiders. Tribes in the Nile valley wee especially exposed to the
drepedations of Arab slave traders. Floating their caotives down the
Nile was much easier than trudgeing across the Sahara. While the tribe
may not be recognized by its name, some of its cosmetic practices have
meant that most people have noted the tribe. Women traditionally
elongated their lips using lip plates. Many men used scarification.
Some European explorrs anf missionaries claim that this was an effort to
maske them less desirable to Arab slave traders (19th century). We can
not yet confirm this. The Sara are largely small-scale farmers. The
constutute main stay of the Chadian economy. The cultivate cotton,
rice, peanuts, corn, millet, sorghum, and cassava. Southeastern Chad is
the best watered and most productive region of Chad which extends
northb into the arid Sahel and Sahara. France began colonized Chad
(late-19th century). This brought both forced labor and military
recruitment. One source suggests that the Sara were the largest group
of Sub-Saharan Africans to serve with the French during World War II.
The French during the colonial period tended to romanticized the Sara
with theirv tall, physically powerful presence. They wre called La
Belle Race" (The beautiful race).
Suri (Surma)
The term Surma is variously used to describe the Suri tribe or a
group of related tribes. The Suri are a small African tribe which
inhabits an area in southwestern Ethiopian along the the Sudanese
Border. They are one of several tribes in the fertile Omo Valley. They
number an estimated 20,000 people. The Suri are sometimes called the
Surma. They are sedentary pastoral people who breed cattle. The
economy and cultured is centred on cattle. One author suggests that the
Suri take beauty 'seriously'. This is often expressed through body
painting by both genders. The Suri speak a language from the Surmic
language family. This suggests that they are related to the Mursi
and Meen peoples. Sutmic is part of the Nilo-Saharan language phylum.
Before the discovery of DNA, language was one of the principal tools
used by anthropolgists to ascertain the relationships between tribes.
Language is often, but not alwats related to ethnicity. The Suri,
Mursi, and Meen are sometimes collectively referred to as the Surma.
The collective numbers about 80,000 people. Stick fightingbis a
popular activity for the boys.
Taureg
Another destinctive tribe is the Tuareg of the southern Sahara, a
people who for milenia dominated the Saharan cammel caravans. The
Tuaregs are a nomadic Berber people. They inhabit the Saharan regions of
North Africa (Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria and Burkina Faso). Tuareg is
an Arabic contemptuous term meaning "abandoned by God". They call
themselves "Imohag" i.e. "free men". The Tuareg dominated the
trans-Saharan camel caravans which were the main stay of regional
commerce until the 20th century. They became Muslims, but preserved many
pre-Islamic traditions and do not strictly follow many Islamic rituals.
The Tuareg for years resisted European domination. Among the Tuareg the
women have a great freedom and participate in family and tribal
decisions. Descent and inheritance are both through the maternal line.
We have only limited information on clothing at this time. The men cover
the face (today only in some circumstance), the women never and the
young children commonly go naked.
Toposa
The Toposa are one of the people of the South Sudan. They suffered
during the Second Sudanrese Civil War (1983-2005) for independence and
the Arab-dominated Sudan Government's brutal effort to supress the
African people of the south. The Toposa role was complicated. The
Toposa supported the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), but at
timesassisted the the Sudanese Government. With independence some of
the lingering bitternes with the Civil war as well as cattle raids on
neigbors continue to be a problem. The Toposa numbers over 0.7 million
people, although exact numbers do not exist. The Toposa object to
census taking or even counging heads of cattle. They live in the
Greater Kapoeta area located on the east bank Eastern Equatoria state.
The most important urban centers are Kapoeta, Riwoto, Narus, Kauto,
Naita, Mogos, Lamurnyang and Karukomuge. The terraine is rugged with
hills and ridges separated low-lying plains and streams which appear
during the rainy season. The area is arid with little vegetation other
than shrubs and short grasses. It has been affected by Saharn
desertification. Their envirnoment hs poeefully shaped the Toposa and
their life style. They are a hearding people whose economy is based on
cattle, camels, donkeys, goats and sheep. They have koilled elephants
for the ivory trade. We are not sure to what extent they have stopped.
There is a tradition of raids on the herds of neighboring tribes. They
have a tradition of constant low-level warfare, usually cattle raids,
against their neighbors.There are mineral resources, but they are not
developed. The Toposa do pan for gold in stream beds. The Toposa are
part of a larger tribal group known as the Ateker cluster, which in the
immediate area of the Sudan include the Toposa, Nyangatom and Jiye.
Other related people include the Turkana (Kenya) and the Jie, Dodoth and
Karamojong (Uganda). Toposa legend relate how they came from the
Losolia Mountains in Uganda but were forced to move by a terrible
drought which killed many. Traditional Toposa culture is eroding ad
modern ways become increasingly important and experience shared with
tribal grouos throughout frica, but more ffecting the traditional tribes
like the Toposa..
Toposa boys are organised as age-sets. Their fathers teach them how to
herd their livestock. They begin with the smaller animalks (goats and
sheep), but gradually learn to care for the more valuable animals and
eventually the cattle. They then can travel substantial distances with
the livestock looking for pasture and water. The girls on the other
hand stay at home and learn house keeping skills fom their mothers.
Xhosa
The Xhosa people are some of the inhabitants of southern Africa at
the time Europeans began settling the Cape (16th century).
The Xhosa are Bantu speakers. Xhosa is today the second most common
South African home language, after Zulu to which Xhosa is actually
strongly related. Xhosa-speaking peoples conceas a nation. They are
divided into several tribes with related but distinct histories and
tradituions. The Xhosa people once inhabited the southern and
central-southern parts of what is now South Africa. The Xhosa people
inhabited an area well north of the Cape in an area betweem Bushman's
River and the Kei River. They wwere what might be called stock farmers,
meaning they kept heards of lifestock and farmed. Eventually the
Europeans began moving into this area. The first Europeans were the
Trek Boers who began moving into the area from the West. The two groups
both kept livestock and thus competed for grazing land. Quarrels
eventually became more serious and led to actual wars (19th century).
The colonial authorities sought to avoid conflict by the only practical
method--keeping white and black settlements separate. And the Fish
River was chosen as the border. As the colony developed, however, the
white population expanded and with the acquisition of modern arms
developed a far superior military capability. White settlers thus began
to increasingly annex land and subjegate the Xhosa and other blacks.
White settlers evenntually had control of the land once occpied by the
Xhosa (mid-19th century). The African Union which formed the modern
state of South Africa was founded (1910). It united the British Cape
Colony and the formerly indeperndent Bohr Republics. It was a
democratic state for whites, but the Xhosa and other African people were
denied the right to vote. During the subsequent Aparheid era, native
people were made to move into 'homelands' where they were allowed to
purchase land. For the Xhosa these were Ciskei and Transkei.
Zulus
Perhaps the best known African tribal groups is the Zulus in South
Africa. The Zulu now live in the KwaZuluNatal province of South Africa.
Zulu legend trace their origins to the patriarch Zulu, the son of a
Nguni chief in the Congo basin of central Africa. The Zulu people began
to migrate south towards Natal where they eventually settled (16th
centuty). The Zulu were not a people with a string central
organization, but rather many relared clans. This was aboutvthe same
time that the Dutch arrived in South Africa. The most admired figure in
Zulu history is King (1816-28). Shaka was a gifted political and
military leader.
He united the various clans into a single centralized tribe which as
they were no longer fighting each other, emerged as the most powerful
tribal group in sothern Africa. He developed effective battle tactics
and innovative formations. He demanded undending loyalty and discipline
from his soldiers, including celibacy. Violations of his discipline
could mean death. Not only were the Zulu clans united, but other
conquered tribes were incorporated into the Zulus. The Zulus has 1,500
soldiers when Shaka became king and at the time of his death there were
50,000 soldiers. The Zulu came to dominate much of the eastern coastal
regions and interior of South Africa. The Zulu were first confronted by
the Dutch Afrikaners. Later they had to face the British. The Zulu
War was the most serious challenge the British faced from an African
tribal group (1879). The war rnded the Zulu's existence as an
independent kingdom. Chief Bambatha led the final Zulu uprising against
the British (1906). The Zulu like other South African tribes were
subjected to an increasingly harsh series of racist laws under South
Africa's Apartheid system.
Sources
Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall. The Harmless People. This is the ground-nreajing study of the San people. Thomas has updated the book with The Old Way: A Story of the First People (Picador, 2007).
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