Gabra people

Last updated
Gabra
Gabra
Total population
c. 700,000
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 520,010 (2007) [1]
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 141,200 (2019) [2]
Languages
Oromo
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
OromoRendille • other Cushitic peoples

The Gabra (Oromo : Gabraa) are a Cushitic ethnic group who mainly inhabit the Moyale and Marsabit regions of northern Kenya and the highlands of southern Ethiopia. They are closely related to the wider Oromo people and practice Islam as their religion. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Genetics

According to Y-DNA analysis by Hirbo (2011), around 82.6% of Gabra in Kenya carry the paternal E1b1b haplogroup, with most belonging to the V12 or E3b1a subclade (58.6%). This lineage is most common among local Afroasiatic-speaking populations. The remaining Gabra individuals bear the T/K2 (3.4%) and J haplogroups (3.4%), which are both also associated with Afroasiatic speakers, as well as the E3*/E-P2 clade (3.4%) and E2a lineage (3.4%). [9]

Maternally, Hirbo (2011) observed that approximately 58% of the Gabra samples carried derivatives of the Eurasian macrohaplogroups M and N. Of these mtDNA lineages, the M1 subclade was most common, with around 22.58% of the Gabra individuals belonging to it. The remaining ~42% of the analysed Gabra bore various subclades of the Africa-centered macrohaplogroup L. Of these mtDNA lineages, the most frequently borne clade was L3 (19.36%), followed by the L0a (9.68%), L4 (9.68%), and L2 (6.45%) haplogroups. [9]

The Gabra's autosomal DNA has been examined in a comprehensive study by Tishkoff et al. (2009) on the genetic affiliations of various populations in Africa. According to Bayesian clustering analysis, the Gabra generally grouped with other Afroasiatic-speaking populations inhabiting Northern Kenya. [10]

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References

  1. Gordon Jr., Raymond G., ed. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth Edition. Dallas: SIL International. ISBN   978-1-55671-159-6.
  2. "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  3. Tablino, Paolo (1999). The Gabra: Camel Nomads of Northern Kenya. Paulines Publications Africa. ISBN   978-9966-21-438-6.
  4. Wairimu, Nderitu, Alice (2018-12-14). Beyond Ethnicism: Exploring Racial and Ethnic Diversity for Educators. Mdahalo Bridging Divides. ISBN   978-9966-1903-0-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Whittaker, Hannah (2014-10-13). Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Kenya: A Social History of the Shifta Conflict, c. 1963-1968. BRILL. ISBN   978-90-04-28308-4.
  6. Schlee, Günther; Shongolo, Abdullahi A. (2012). Islam & Ethnicity in Northern Kenya & Southern Ethiopia. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN   978-1-84701-046-9.
  7. Feyissa, Dereje; Hoehne, Markus V.; Höhne, Markus Virgil (2010). Borders & Borderlands as Resources in the Horn of Africa. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN   978-1-84701-018-6.
  8. Kefale, Asnake (2013-07-31). Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Ethiopia: A Comparative Regional Study. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-135-01798-9.
  9. 1 2 Hirbo, Jibril B. "Complex Genetic History of East African Human Populations" (PDF). University of Maryland. pp. 195, 199, 215, 220. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  10. Sarah Tishkoff; et al. (2009). "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans" (PDF). Science. 324 (5930): 1035–44. Bibcode:2009Sci...324.1035T. doi:10.1126/science.1172257. PMC   2947357 . PMID   19407144. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-12-05.

Further reading