ሳሆ | |
|---|---|
 Saho women | |
| Total population | |
| 250,000–650,000 (2015 estimate) [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Eritrea | 253,000 (2010 estimate) [2] |
 Ethiopia | 37,000 (2012 estimate) [3] |
| Languages | |
| Saho | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
The Saho are a Cushitic ethnic group who inhabit large sections of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. [5] [6] They speak Saho as a mother tongue. [7]
According to Abdulkader Saleh Mohammad, most of the Saho (like the Afar and the Somali) have a primordial view of their own ethnicity, and claim to be descended from Arabian immigrants; this in turn allows for an identification with the family of Muhammad, and for an association of their history with that of the Near East. The societal structure is patrilineal and hierarchic, with society vertically organized in tribes and clans and families. The tribe (meela, kisho, or qabila) is organized into sub-tribes (gaysha, harak, or 'are) or clans (dik or 'are), but these two concepts are not always clearly distinguished, which are the most important strata because they indicate an individual's "personal descent or origin". Family descent is memorized going back at least 30 or 40 generations. Also memorized and narrated are laws and customs, and consanguinity plays an important role in these traditions, indicating again the primordial quality of tribal and ethnic identity. [8]
Most Saho are pastoralists that also engage in some agriculture but a few groups are settled farmers. [9]
The total population of the Saho is unclear due to conflicting figures. However, most Saho reside in Eritrea. According to a 2015 estimate, the total population ranges anywhere from 250,000 to 650,000. [10] According to Saho advocacy groups, they estimated that the population of Sahos in Eritrea was about 206,000 in 2016. [11] The Saho represent about 4% of the population of Eritrea as of 2021. [12] A 2012 estimate placed the Saho-speaking population of Ethiopia at 37,000. [13]
According to Ethnologue , there are approximately 220,000 total Saho speakers as of 2015. Most are concentrated in Eritrea with the remainder inhabiting Ethiopia. [14] [15] Within Eritrea, the Saho primarily reside in the Southern and Northern Red Sea regions. [14]
The Saho people speak the Saho language as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Saho-Afar dialect cluster of the Lowland East Cushitic languages, which are part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. [16] and is closely related to Afar and Somali. Many Saho people have mingled with other Muslim tribes such as the Jeberti (Tigrinya-speaking Muslims) and the Tigre and have as a result adopted those tribes languages.
The Saho are predominantly Muslim. Majority of the Saho had adopted Islam by the 13th century due to the growing influence of mystics and traders from the Arabian peninsula. [17] A few Christians, who are also known as the Irob, live in the Tigray region of Ethiopia and the Debub Region of Eritrea. [18]
Regarding the customary law of the Saho, when there is an issue the Saho tend to call for a meeting or conference which they call rahbe. In such a meeting the Saho people discuss how to solve issues related to water, pasture or land, clan disputes and how to alleviate these problems. This is also discussed with neighboring tribes or ethnic groups and sub-clans to reach a consensus. [19]
A skilled representative is chosen for this meeting, this representative is called a madarre. A madarre brings forth arguments to his audience and sub-clans or tribes who are involved and tries to win them over. This is discussed with clan or tribal wise men or elders, ukal. On smaller scale conflicts between 2 individuals, one of the 2 takes their grievances to the ukal, they in turn appoint shimagale or mediators for the dispute. [19]
Among the Saho there is a sub-clan called the Gadafur. The Gadafur are an independent sub-clan affiliated with the Minifere tribes and are believed to be originally from the tribe of Gadabuursi. [20]
Ibrahim Omer, New Zealand MP
Osman Ayfarah, British principal presenter at Al Jazeera Channel (Arabic) who worked for a number of channels including Dubai TV, Al Arabiya and BBC Arabi. [21]
The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As of 2012, the Cushitic languages with over one million speakers were Oromo, Somali, Beja, Afar, Hadiyya, Kambaata, and Sidama.
Afar is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken by the Afar people inhabiting Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The culture of the Republic of Djibouti is diverse, due to the nation's Red Sea location at a crossroads of trade and commerce.
The Beja people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Eastern Desert, inhabiting a coastal area from southeastern Egypt through eastern Sudan and into northwestern Eritrea. They are descended from peoples who have inhabited the area since 4000 BC or earlier, although they were Arabized by Arabs who settled in the region. They are nomadic and live primarily in the Eastern Desert. The Beja number around 1,900,000 to 2,759,000.
The Saho language is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. It belongs to the family's Cushitic branch.
Lowland East Cushitic is a group of roughly two dozen diverse languages of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Its largest representatives are Oromo and Somali.
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 Bilen are a Cushitic ethnic group in Eritrea. They are primarily concentrated in central Eritrea, in and around the city of Keren and further south toward Asmara, the nation's capital. They are split into two sub-tribes; Bet Tarqe, Bet Tawqe which are split into further clans known as Hissat. The Tawke has six whereas the Tarke has five which each are divided into smaller kinship groups.
Tigray Province, also known as Tigre, was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed the present day Afar and Tigray regions. Akele Guzai borders with the Tigray province. It encompassed most of the territories of Tigrinya-speakers in Ethiopia. Tigray was separated from the northern Tigrinya speaking territories by the Mareb River, now serving as the state border to Eritrea, bordering Amhara region in the south.
The languages of Ethiopia include the official languages of Ethiopia, its national and regional languages, and a large number of minority languages, as well as foreign languages.
The main languages spoken in Eritrea are Tigrinya, Tigre, Kunama, Bilen, Nara, Saho, Afar, and Beja. The country's working languages are Tigrinya, Arabic, English.
The Eastern Zone is a zone in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the east by the Afar Region, on the south by the South Eastern Zone, on the west by the Central Zone and on the north by Eritrea. Its highest point is Mount Asimba. Towns and cities in the Eastern Zone include Adigrat, Atsbi, Hawzen, and Wukro.
The Hedareb or T'bdawe are a Cushitic ethnic group native to northwestern Eritrea. They are a subgroup of the Beja. They are more diverse than the other Eritrean ethicities; one subgroup speaks the traditional Beja language, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family, while another is more closely related to Sudanese Hadendoa. They are among the least-researched groups in Eritrea.
The Irob people are an ethnic group who live in a predominantly highland, mountainous area by the same name in northeastern Tigray Region, Ethiopia. They speak the Saho language. Most of them profess the Catholic Christian religion and are mostly farmers. The etymology of the name Irob is debatable, but Irob's elders say that the term comes from the Saho word "Oroba", which means "welcome to our home". The boundaries of Irobland are, to an extent, identical to the Irob woreda; both are bordered by the following areas: Dabri-Mela to the north, Hado to the east, the Afar Region to the east and south, Shoumezana and Gulomakeda to the west, and Saesi Tsaedaemba to the south. The first two neighbors are Saho speakers and predominantly Muslim, the third are Muslim Afars, and the others are Tigrigna-speaking Christians.
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.
The Gulf of Zula, also known as Annesley Bay, Baia di Arafali or Zula Bahir Selat’ē, is a body of water on the Eritrean coastline on the Red Sea.
The Kwama, are a Nilo-Saharan-speaking community living in the Sudanese-Ethiopian borderland, mainly in the Mao-Komo special woreda of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region in Ethiopia. They belong, culturally and linguistically, to the Koman groups, which include neighboring communities such as the Uduk, Koma, and Opuuo. Although they traditionally occupied a larger territory, they have been forced to move to marginal, lowland areas by the Oromo from the 18th century onwards. In some villages Kwama, Oromo and Berta live together. The Kwama are often called "Mao" by other groups, especially by the Oromo. The people who live in the southern area and near the Sudanese borderland often call themselves "Gwama" and use the term "Kwama" to refer to those living further to the south and in Sudan. These other "Kwama" are usually known by anthropologists as Koma or Komo. In recent years, many people belonging to this ethnic group have been resettled by the Ethiopian state in order to provide them with clinics and schools.
The Saho–Afar languages are a dialect-cluster belonging to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. They include the Afar and Saho languages, which are spoken in Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The Saho People's Democratic Movement (SPDM) is a rebel group in Eritrea, fighting for the self-determination of the Saho people. They are allied with the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO), whom they have done joint operations with. The organization was founded in 1984, during the Eritrean War of Independence, and played a significant role in the struggle against Ethiopian rule.
The Halaba people are an ethnic group inhabiting the central Ethiopian highlands. The Halaba claim to originate from the Arab cleric, Abadir who settled in Harar. In the middle ages, Halaba were part of the Hadiya state. In the 1400s, their Garad (chief) was in conflict with the Abyssinian monarch Zara Yaqob. They are mostly Muslims but there are also some Christians. A map of the region from 1628 shows a Kingdom of Halaba. They speak Halaba-Kʼabeena which is a member of the Highland East Cushitic languages within the Afroasiatic family. Sidi Mohammed the Garad of Hadiya is stated to be a forefather for the Halaba people.
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