Djiboutian population is divided into several human components: the Afars and the Dir (clan)Somali people, the Muslim religion for the most part, that are traditionally attached to anthropological group Hamitic. They were called "Hamites Orientals" to distinguish them from these other Hamites that are Egyptians and Berbers. An important Arab community of Yemeni origin, is also based in Djibouti.
The Afars and the Issa Somalis who are characterized by slender physique, regular features, and proud bearing, they speak different Cushitic languages from the great Afroasiatic language family, and traditionally lived as nomadic pastoralists. However, the population tends to settle because today more than half of its citizens live in the capital and the towns and villages of the interior. This land, traditional crossing point between Egypt, Sudan and Saudi crossroads of nations between Africa and Asia, has likely undergone mixing of populations who have played an important role in the fate of the original peoples of the Djibouti nation. Poetry traditionally recited in the villages by special readers called gabaye was a way of recording the community's history and customs, as well as current events.
Djibouti is a multiethnic country. The two largest ethnic groups are the Dir (clan) Somali (60%) and the Afar (35%). The Somali clan component is mainly composed of the Issas, followed by a sizable group of Gadabuursi and smaller numbers of Isaaq. Both are sub-clans of the larger Dir; the Issas form part of the Madoobe Dir, while the Gadabuursi are part of the Madaluug Dir. The remaining 5% of Djibouti's population primarily consists of Arabs, Ethiopians and Europeans (French and Italians). Most local residents are urban dwellers; the remainder are pastoralists.[1]
Arabs
Djiboutians have had expansive relations with the Arab world, as is manifested in its adoption of Arabic as an official language,[2] its location within the Arabian plate,[3] its membership with the Arab League, its millennia-old trade relations with the peninsula's Arabs,[4] and more recently, initiatives for a transcontinental crossing that would permanently link Djiboutians to the Arabian Peninsula.[5] Djibouti has also hosted Arab refugees, primarily from Yemen.[6]
Somali
Somalis have traditionally been organized into nomadic pastoral clans, loose empires, sultanates and city-states.[7]
Their clan groupings are important social units, wherein membership plays a central part in Somali culture. Clans are patrilineal and are often divided into sub-clans, sometimes with many sub-divisions. Somali society is traditionally ethnically endogamous. So as to extend ties of alliance, marriage is often to another ethnic Somali from a different clan.[8]
Afar
Afar society has historically been organized into independent kingdoms, each ruled by its own Sultan.[9] A portion of the community also consists of pastoralists, raising goats, sheep, and cattle in the desert.[9]
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.[10]
In addition, the Afar are reputed for their martial prowess. Men traditionally sport the jile, a famous curved knife. They also have an extensive repertoire of battle songs.[9]
Languages
Djiboutian women dressed in traditional Afar and Issa tribal attire
Djibouti is a multilingual nation. According to Ethnologue, the majority of the population speaks Somali (524,000 speakers) or Afar (306,000 speakers) as a first language, which are the mother tongues of the Somali and Afar ethnic groups, respectively. Both languages belong to the larger Afroasiatic family. There are two official languages in Djibouti: Arabic (Afroasiatic) and French (Indo-European). Arabic is of social, cultural and religious importance. In formal settings, it consists of Modern Standard Arabic. Colloquially, about 59,000 local residents speak the Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic dialect, also known as Djibouti Arabic. French was inherited from the colonial period and is the primary language of instruction. About 10,200 Djiboutians speak it as a first language. Immigrant languages include Omani Arabic (38,900 speakers), Amharic (1,400 speakers), and Greek (1,000 speakers).[11]
With few exceptions, Somali and Afar are entirely Muslims, the majority belonging to the Sunni branch of Islam.[1] The constitution of Djibouti likewise defines Islam as the religion of the Republic of Djibouti. Islam entered the region very early on, as a group of persecuted Muslims had, at Prophet Muhummad's urging, sought refuge across the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. Islam may thus have been introduced to the area well before the faith even took root in its place of origin.[12][13]Christianity is a minority religion in Djibouti, with around 4,767 adherents.
Attire
Issa Somali man and woman in traditional attire (1844)
When not dressed in western clothing such as jeans and t-shirts, men typically wear the macawiis, which is a sarong-like garment worn around the waist. Among nomads, many wear a loosely wrapped white cotton robe called a tobe that goes down to about the knee, with the end thrown over the shoulder (much like a Roman toga).[citation needed]
Women typically wear the dirac, which is a long, light, diaphanous voile dress made of cotton or polyester that is worn over a full-length half-slip and a bra. Married women tend to sport head-scarves referred to as shash, and also often cover their upper body with a shawl known as garbasaar. Unmarried or young women, however, do not always cover their heads. Traditional Arabian garb such as the male jellabiya (jellabiyaad in Somali) and the female jilbāb is also commonly worn. For some occasions such as festivals, women may adorn themselves with specialized jewelry and head-dresses similar to those worn by the Berber tribes of the Maghreb.[citation needed]
Djibouti's various ethnic groups each have their own different styles of music and accompanying dances. Common instruments used by many of the communities are the drum, tanbura and oud. Somali and Afar have a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali and Afar folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic; that is, they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale. At first listen, Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as Ethiopia, Sudan or Arabia, but it is ultimately recognizable by its own unique tunes and styles. Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between lyricists (midho), songwriters (lahan) and singers ('odka or "voice").[14]
Basketball is the second most popular sport. At world basketball, Djibouti is represented by the Fédération Djiboutienne de Basket Ball. Unlike neighboring countries Ethiopia or Somalia, Djibouti has never appeared for the African Basketball Championship at either senior or junior level, men or women.[citation needed]
Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa bordered by Somaliland to the east, Eritrea to west and the Red Sea to the north, Ethiopia to the west and south, and the Gulf of Aden to the east.
Demographic features of Djibouti include population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.
Politics of Djibouti takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the National Assembly. The party system and legislature are dominated by the socialist People's Rally for Progress. In April 2010, a new constitutional amendment was approved. The President serves as both the head of state and head of government, and is directly elected for single six-year term. Government is headed by the President, who appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the latter. There is also a 65-member chamber of deputies, where representatives are popularly elected for terms of five years. Administratively, the country is divided into five regions and one city, with eleven additional district subdivisions. Djibouti is also part of various international organisations, including the United Nations and Arab League.
Awdal is an administrative region (gobol) in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly province of Somaliland. To the east it borders Maroodi Jeex and Sahil; to its north-west it borders Djibouti; to its south and south-west lies Ethiopia; and the Gulf of Aden to its north. The province has an estimated population of 1,010,566. The region comprises the four districts of Borama, the regional capital, Baki, Lughaya, and Zeila.
Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.
The Djiboutian Music refers to the musical styles, techniques and sounds of Djibouti. The first major form of modern Djiboutian music began in the mid-1940s, when Djibouti was a part of the French Somaliland. Djiboutian music is characterized by poetry, so that listening to a Djiboutian song is first paying attention to its meaning. The artist rocks the listeners in the cheerfulness of the refrains and the turn of the sentences. Often sung by a couple, a song is played in the form of a sleight of hand between a man and a woman, one recounting his feelings and his love, even his passion for the other, until the other accepts or rejects this offer.
The Somali people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and they are predominantly Sunni Muslim. Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent, they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.
Zeila, also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland.
The Afar, also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are a Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern coast of Eritrea. The Afar speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. Afars are the only inhabitants of the Horn of Africa whose traditional territories border both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Dir is one of the largest and most prominent Somali clans in the Horn of Africa. They are also considered to be the oldest Somali stock to have inhabited the region. Its members inhabit Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, and northeastern Kenya.
The Gadabuursi, also known as Samaroon, is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
The Saho are a Cushitic ethnic group who inhabit large sections of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. They speak Saho as a mother tongue.
Sitti Zone, formerly known as Shinile, is a zone in Somali Region of Ethiopia.
Demographic features of Somalia's inhabitants include ethnicity, language, population density, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Somalia is believed to be one of the most homogeneous countries in Africa.
The Issa is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
Metehara is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of 08°54′N39°55′E with an elevation of 947 meters above sea level.
The Djiboutians are the people inhabiting or originating from Djibouti. The country is mainly composed of two ethnic groups, the Somali and the Afar. It has many languages - though Somali and Afar are the most widely spoken ones, Arabic and French serve as the official languages. There is a small Djiboutian diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of 23,200 km2 (8,958 sq mi).
The Harla, also known as Harala, Haralla are an ethnic group that once inhabited Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti. They spoke the now-extinct Harla language, which belonged to either the Cushitic or Semitic branches of the Afroasiatic family.
The Gurgura, Gorgorah or Gurgure is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
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