![]() | |
Total population | |
---|---|
260,000 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() | 250,000 (est.) [2] [3] |
![]() | 5,400 (2007) [4] |
Languages | |
Kunama | |
Religion | |
Animism, Islam and Christianity (Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Roman Catholic, [2] P'ent'ay) [5] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Nara |
The Kunama are an ethnic group native to Eritrea. They are one of the smallest ethnic communities in Eritrea, constituting only 4% of the population. Most of the estimated 260,000 Kunama live in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia. The Kunama people have ancient ancestry in the land of Eritrea. [6] In the 2007 Ethiopian census, however, the number of Kunama in Tigray has dropped to 2,976 as the remaining 2,000 or so members of this ethnic group have migrated into the other regions of Ethiopia. [4] [2] [3]
The earliest written mention of the Kunama comes from Ya'qubi, writing around 872 AD. His account is based on travelers' reports. He noted the 'Cunama' tribe living on the eastern borders of Alodia. They were later mentioned by the 10th century Arab geographer Ibn Hawqal. He states they lived in the Barka valley, and fought with bows, poisoned arrows and spears, but did not use shields. He also mentions that the Kunama worship a God called Anna, and were ruled by a community of elders. [7] [8] [9]
The Kunama were victims of frequent slave raids by the neighboring Tigrinya and Tigrayan people, the Kunama called these raids sakada masa or baada. In 1692 Abyssinia led a raid on the Kunama, capturing hundreds of slaves and cattle. The governor of Tigray exacted tribute from the Kunama, if tribute was not paid then the Tigrayans would raid, kill and enslave the Kunama. [10] Until about 1750 the Kunama were able to resist with advantage in their territories, their raids had thrown such terror into their neighbors that the Abyssinians of Wolkait and Adi-Abo were forced to abandon the cultivation of the plain for retire to the mountains. [11] Among the most violent raids ever recorded in the region was conducted by the Tigrayan warlord Ras Alula of Ethiopia, who in 1886, killed off two-thirds of the Kunama and Nara populations living north of the Mareb River. Italian colonialism in the 1890s put an end to the raids. [12]
During the Eritrean War of Independence, the Kunama were the only tribe in Eritrea to have consistently supported Ethiopian rule. In the 1940s they were raided by Hamid Idris Awate and many of their villages were destroyed, another raid by the ELF in 1962 forced many Kunama to flee towards Tigray province. In 1977 the Kunama raised a militia to fight alongside the Ethiopians against the Eritrean separatists. As a result, whenever the Ethiopian soldiers went through the Gash Barka region, they would burn down the villages belonging to the Tigre and Nara but leave the Kunama villages alone. In the 1980s, the EPLF sought to gain Kunama support through village self organization programs, social services and education. By the end of the decade some Kunama had begun participating in the EPLF. [13] [14]
The Ethiopian-Eritrean War (1998–2000) forced some 4,000 Kunama to flee their homes to Ethiopia as the most intense parts of the conflict took place in their own homeland. [15]
The Kunama speak the Kunama language. It is conventionally classified as part of the Nilo-Saharan family, which also includes the nearby Nara language although they are not closely related. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, majority of the Kunama have adopted Islam. [16]
The fertile plains of the Gash-Setit, also known as the Gash-Barka region, where the Kunama live are sometimes referred to as the "breadbasket of Eritrea". Formerly nomadic, today they are farmers and pastoralists. Historically, the Kunama have been dominated by other ethnic groups and they are often forced from their traditional lands. The official policy of the Government of Eritrea is that all land is state property and the Government encourages large commercial farms. [17]
The Kunamas are settled agriculturalists and pastoralists living mainly from cattle. They are matriarchal with a prominent role played by women. According to their social system, a child is a member of Kunama society only if his or her mother is Kunama, and relatives are only recognized on the mother's side. [2] The Kunamas are both linguistically and culturally closely related to the Nara people of Eritrea. [18] [19]
Many of the Kunama were traditionally hunters and gatherers. They also engaged in hoe-farming. However, some Kunama took up pastoralism as agricultural land became scarce. Contemporary Kunama are mainly sedentary agriculturists and pastoralists who raise cattle. [20]
The Kunama are a matrilineal clan-based society, where some of the most notable clans include the Alaka, Lakka, Serma, Kara, and Nataka. [20]
The majority of the Kunama are adherents of Islam or Roman Catholicism, while a few still practice their traditional religion. [21] The Kunama converted to Christianity and Islam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [22]
The award-winning documentary film Home Across Lands [23] follows a group of Kunama refugees resettled in the United States and their attempts to adapt to life in their new home.
Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with some proposing numbers as low as 3.6 million and others as high as 6.7 million. Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.
The music of Eritrea, is a diverse mix of traditional and popular styles originating from ancient to modern times. The nine major ethnic groups of Eritrea—Afar, Bilen, Hedareb, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Saho, Tigre and Tigrinya—celebrate autonomous music-making expressed through a rich heritage of vocalists, instrumentalists and activities within the country and throughout the international diaspora. The country's music is informed by a range of ethnolinguistic group dynamics in the region, by its shared pre-colonial history with and revolutionized independence from Ethiopia, and by its exposure to globalized American music in the mid-twentieth century.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front, also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government from May 2021 until its removal from the list in March 2023. In older texts and Amharic publications, it is known as Woyane or Wayane.
Central Region, also known as the Ma'ekel or Maakel Region, is an administrative region of Eritrea, located in central Eritrea. The region was formed on 15 April 1996, from the historical province of Hamasien. The region is located on the central plateau, and sits at an average of about 2,250 metres (7,380 ft) above sea level. It contains Asmara, the capital and largest city of Eritrea.
The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991.
The Tigre people are an ethnic group indigenous to Eritrea. They mainly inhabit the lowlands and northern highlands of Eritrea.
Tigrayans are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch.
The National Confederation of Eritrean Workers (NCEW) is a National trade union center in Eritrea. Its predecessor, the National Union of Eritrean Workers (NUEW) was founded in 1979 as the trade union wing of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), then waging a war of independence against Ethiopia. After independence, the NUEW was reconstituted as the NCEW. It has around 26,000 members in five subsidiary federations. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation.
Barentu is a town in north-western Eritrea, lying south of Agordat, and is the capital of Gash-Barka Region. The town is integrated with different types of tribes: Kunama, Nara, Tigre and Tigrinya being the most dominant.
The Nara are an ethnic group inhabiting southwestern Eritrea. The society is divided into four subtribes, who are traditionally animist. They are mostly subsistence farmers.
The Kunama language has been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family, though it is distantly related to the other languages, if at all. Kunama is spoken by the Kunama people of the Gash-Barka Region in western Eritrea and just across the Ethiopian border. The language has several dialects including: Barka, Marda, Aimara, Odasa, Tika, Lakatakura, Sokodasa, Takazze-Setit and Tigray. Ilit and Bitama are not mutually intelligible and so may be considered distinct languages.
Tahtay Adiyabo is a woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the North Western Zone, Tahtay Adiyabo is bordered on the south by Asigede Tsimbela, on the southwest by the Tekezé River on the north by Eritrea, and on the east by La'ilay Adiyabo; part of the northern border with Eritrea is delineated by the Mareb River. The northernmost point of this woreda is the northernmost point of Ethiopia. Towns in this woreda include Addi Awuala and Addi Hageray. The town of Sheraro is surrounded by Tahtay Adiyabo.
The provinces of Eritrea existed since pre-Axumite times and became administrative provinces from Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Many of the provinces had their own local laws since the 13th century.
The Eritrean Highlands are a mountainous region in central Eritrea. Bordered to the south by the Mareb River, it is a northern continuation of the Ethiopian Highlands. The region has seen tremendous deforestation since the colonial period, which began in the late 19th century. The Highlands are at particular risk of deforestation and associated soil erosion. Furthermore, the region, lying south of the Sahel are at particular risk of desertification and frequent drought. The Highlands experience, as most tropical regions, two seasons; the rainy season (kremti) is from June–September while the dry season (haggai) is from September to June. The average temperature for Asmara, which is 2,340 m (7,677 ft) above sea level, is approximately 16 °C (61 °F), but other places range from about 10 to 25 °C.
Eritreans are the native inhabitants of Eritrea, as well as the global diaspora of Eritrea. Eritreans constitute several component ethnic groups, some of which are related to ethnic groups that make up the Ethiopian people in neighboring Ethiopia and people groups in other parts of the Horn of Africa. Nine of these component ethnic groups are officially recognized by the Government of Eritrea.
Gash-Setit is a 709 km2 (274 sq mi) designated national wildlife reserve and historical area of western Eritrea where its considered to be the northern most point of Africa for elephant habitat. It is located in much of Omhajer District and Haykota District between south west of Haykota and the market town of Tesseney in the Gash-Barka region. The name is derived from the two rivers, the Gash and the Setit (Tekezé) River. It is the historical area of the Kunama people and a very fertile region extending to the Sudan border.
Religion in Eritrea consists of a number of faiths. The two major religions in Eritrea are Christianity and Islam. However, the number of adherents of each faith is subject to debate. Estimates of the Christian share of the population range from 47% and 63%, while estimates of the Muslim share of the population range from 37% to 52%.
Eritrea ( ERR-ih-TREE-ə or -TRAY-; Tigrinya: ኤርትራ, romanized: Ertra, pronounced[ʔer trä], officially the State of Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Negus is the word for "king" in the Ethiopian Semitic languages and a title which was usually bestowed upon a regional ruler by the Negusa Nagast, or "king of kings," in pre-1974 Ethiopia. The negus is referred to as Al-Najashi (النجاشي) in the Islamic tradition.
Tigrayan nationalism is an ethnic nationalism that advocates the interests of Tigrayan people in Ethiopia. Inspired predominantly by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) with its predecessor Tigray Liberation Front (TLF), this type of nationalism holds that Tigrayans are an independent group with unique ancestry, heritage, history and culture outside Ethiopia. As such, they claim Tigray is the source of Ethiopian civilization and utterly a benefactor of state-building without other local ethnic groups. Tigrayan nationalists accuse Amharas of imposing their cultural, economic and political hegemony over Tigrayans.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)