السقطريون | |
---|---|
Total population | |
71,400 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Yemen | |
Languages | |
Soqotri and Yemeni Arabic | |
Religion | |
Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Semitic-speaking peoples Especially Harasis, Mehri, and other Modern South Arabian-speaking peoples |
The Soqotri people, sometimes referred to as Socotran, are a South Arabian ethnic group native to the Gulf of Aden island of Socotra. They speak the Soqotri language, a Modern South Arabian language in the Afroasiatic family.
The Soqotri primarily inhabit the Socotra Archipelago, on Socotra island and the Abd al Kuri, Darsah and Samhah districts of the Amanat Al Asimah governorate, Yemen. [1]
According to Ethnologue , there are an estimated 71,400 Soqotri. As of the last 1990 Socotra census, they numbered around 57,000. [1]
Most Soqotri are Sunni Muslim. [1] Historically, Soqotri were Nestorian Christians, from the Christianization of the island between the 4th and 6th centuries up until the 15th century, when the island was occupied by the Mehri Sultanate in 1480. [2] This led to slow Islamisation of the Soqotri. [3]
The Soqotri speak the Soqotri language (also known as Saqatri, Socotri, Sokotri and Suqutri). It belongs to the Modern South Arabian languages which are closer to the Ethiopian Semitic languages than to Arabic (Central Semitic languages). Despite historical contacts with the Arabic language, there is no mutual understanding between native speakers of the Modern South Arabian languages and native speakers of Arabic. Moreover, there is no mutual understanding between the speakers of the Modern South Arabian languages themselves, and the Soqotri language is only spoken on the island of Socotra. [4]
Soqotri has several dialects, which consist of ’Abd Al-Kuri, Central Soqotri, Northern Soqotri, Southern Soqotri and Western Soqotri. North Soqotri comprises North Central and Northwest Central (highland) Soqotri. [1]
The language is written using the Naskh variant of the Arabic script. Soqotri is also transcribed with the Latin script. [1]
Most Soqotri belong to the paternal haplogroup J, bearing the basal J*(xJ1,J2) clade at its highest frequencies (71.4%). The remaining individuals mainly carry the J1 subclade (14.3%). [5] YFull [6] and FTDNA [7] however, failed to find J* people anywhere in the world although there are 2 J2-Y130506 persons and 1 J1 person from Soqotra Island.
Maternally, the Soqotri primarily belong to the haplogroups N (24.3% N*; 6.2% N1a) and R0 (17.8% R0a1b; 13.8% R0a; 6.2% R0a1). The basal N* clade occurs at its highest frequencies among them. The next most common mtDNA lineages borne by Soqotri individuals are the haplogroups J (9.2% J*; 3.1 J1b), T (7.7% T2; 1.2% T*), L3 (4.3% L3*), H (3.1%), and R (1.2 R*). [5]
A 2024 study sampled whole-genomes from 39 Soqotri inhabitants from 650-1750 CE, and found that the individuals had a strong genetic relation to Hadhrami Arabs, another Southern Arabian population. These Medieval Soqotri inhabitants were said to derive 86% of their ancestry from Arabs of the Hadramawt region in Yemen, with the Soqotri genome remaining stable over a millennium. The deep ancestry of both the Soqotra and Hadramawt groups was said to be similar to that of Natufians, rather than being from the later Levantine/Anatolian farmers. [8]
Soqotri is a South Semitic language spoken by the Soqotri people on the island of Socotra and the two nearby islands of Abd al Kuri and Samhah, in the Socotra archipelago, in the Guardafui Channel. Soqotri is one of six languages that form a group called Modern South Arabian languages (MSAL). These additional languages include Mehri, Shehri, Bathari, Harsusi and Hobyot. All are spoken in different regions of Southern Arabia.
Socotra or Saqatri is an island of Yemen in the Indian Ocean. Lying between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea and near major shipping routes, Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago. Since 2013, the island has been part of the Socotra Archipelago Governorate.
Yemeni Arabic is a cluster of varieties of Arabic spoken in Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is generally considered a very conservative dialect cluster, having many classical features not found across most of the Arabic-speaking world.
The Modern South Arabian languages (MSALs), also known as Eastern South Semitic languages, are a group of endangered languages spoken by small populations inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen and Oman, and Socotra Island. Together with the Ethiosemitic and Sayhadic languages, the Western branch, they form the South Semitic sub-branch of the Afroasiatic language family's Semitic branch.
South Semitic is a putative branch of the Semitic languages, which form a branch of the larger Afro-Asiatic language family, found in Africa and Western Asia. The grouping is controversial and several alternate classifications supplanting South Semitic have been proposed in recent decades.
Mehri or Mahri (مهريّت) [Roman Transliteration: Mahrīyyt] is the most spoken of the Modern South Arabian languages (MSALs), a subgroup of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. It is spoken by the Mehri tribes, who inhabit isolated areas of the eastern part of Yemen, western Oman, particularly the Al Mahrah Governorate, with a small number in Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni and Omani borders. Up to the 19th century, speakers lived as far north as the central part of Oman.
Haplogroup J-M304, also known as J, is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is believed to have evolved in Western Asia. The clade spread from there during the Neolithic, primarily into North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Socotra Archipelago, the Caucasus, Europe, Anatolia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Haplogroup J is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. The clade derives from the haplogroup JT, which also gave rise to haplogroup T. Within the field of medical genetics, certain polymorphisms specific to haplogroup J have been associated with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy.
Haplogroup L3 is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. The clade has played a pivotal role in the early dispersal of anatomically modern humans.
The endoglossic language of Somalia has always been Somali, although throughout Somalia's history various exoglossic languages have also been used at a national level.
Haplogroup J-M267, also commonly known as Haplogroup J1, is a subclade (branch) of Y-DNA haplogroup J-P209 along with its sibling clade haplogroup J-M172.
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of the Horn of Africa.
The Mehri, also known as the al-Mahrah tribe, are an Arab ethnographic group primarily inhabiting South Arabia especially in the Al-Mahra Governorate in Yemen and the island of Socotra in the Guardafui Channel. They are named after Mahra bin Haydan. They can also be found in the Sultanate of Oman, and the eastern region of the Arabian Peninsula.
The history of Socotra describes the cultures, events, peoples and strategic relevance for sea trade of what is Socotra, an island of the Republic of Yemen, currently under control of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen's ongoing civil war. Lying between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea and near major shipping routes, Socotra is the largest of the four islands in the Socotra archipelago.
Shehri, also known as Jibbali, is a Modern South Arabian language; it and the three island varieties of Soqoṭri comprise the eastern branch of Modern South Arabian. It is spoken by a small native population inhabiting the coastal towns and the mountains and wilderness areas upland from Salalah, located in the Dhofar Governorate in southwestern Oman. The autonym for speakers is əḥklí, plural əḥkló.
Haplogroup R0 is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup.
The Socotra Archipelago, officially the Socotra Archipelago Governorate, abbreviated to Socotra Governorate, is one of the governorates of Yemen. It includes a number of islands in the Indian Ocean south of mainland Yemen, the largest of which is Socotra.
Qulensya is a town on the main island of Socotra, Yemen. It is located in the Qulensya wa Abd al Kuri District and its approximate population is 4,000.
The Guardafui Channel is an oceanic strait off the tip of the Horn of Africa that lies between the Puntland region of Somalia and the Socotra governorate of Yemen to the west of the Arabian Sea. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the north with the Indian Ocean to the south. Its namesake is Cape Guardafui, the very tip of the Horn of Africa. Notable places of interest include the Alula Lagoon.
Suq is a town on the north-eastern coast of the island of Socotra (Yemen). It is located in the Hidaybu District on the eastern end of the Hadibu plain.