Worr Libin was an alliance of Cushitic-speaking population groups that inhabited various regions of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. It has been argued that the adoption of the Borana language by the other Somaloid Worr Libin groups reflected their acceptance of a regional Boran political hegemony. This period is thought to have lasted from 1550-1920. [1] [2]
Schlee proposes that prior to 1550 two pastoral societies occupied the northern and southern reaches of Kenya and Ethiopia respectively. One group comprised 'Somaloid' pastoral groups that shared a cultural complex centered on arid-land camel keeping. The other was an Eastern Cushitic speaking community, best represented by the Borana who originated in southern Ethiopia. [3]
The Worr Liban alliance brought together the Borana with groups derived from the Worr Dasse (i.e culturally Somaloid but Boran-speaking). [4]
Following their defeat and scattering at the hands of the Maasai, a large body of the Laikipiak Maasai moved north from what is now the Laikipia district. They took the Rendille people and livestock as their spoil and divided the loot up among themselves, living briefly as parasites within this community. [5] [6]
When however they wanted to move the whole of Rendille society and make them follow them elsewhere, Rendille warriors who had been hiding in the bush attacked them and drove them north in a bloody battle. [7]
Following their expulsion from Rendille, the Laikipiak moved north, raiding cattle and driving large herds along, until they were beaten by Worr Liban cavalry near Buna. [8]
A British researcher in 1917 gave an estimated date of 1876 for the conflict and a probable location at Korondile. [9]
What has been termed the Pax Borana began to break-up in the 1920s from several sources of disturbance. Most noted has been pressure exerted in Wajir and Mandera by an unintended alliance of British and Darood Somali during the period when the Pax Britannica was coming into force. [10] [11]
The Oromo are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007 the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population.
Somalisə-MAH-lee, soh- is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by Somalis in Greater Somalia and the Somali diaspora. Somali is an official language in Somalia and Ethiopia, and a national language in Djibouti as well as in northeastern Kenya. The Somali language is written officially with the Latin alphabet although the Arabic alphabet and several Somali scripts like Osmanya, Kaddare and the Borama script are informally used.
The Beja people are an 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. They number around 1,900,000 to 2,200,000 people. Most of the Beja speak Arabic, while some speak the Cushitic language of Beja and the Semitic language of Tigre. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni-Amer grouping speak Tigre. Originally, the Beja did not speak Arabic. However, the migration of the numerous Arab tribes of Juhaynah, Mudar, Rabi'a, and many more to the Beja areas contributed to the Arabization and Islamization of them. However, the Arabs did not fully settle in the Beja areas as they looked for better climate in other areas. The Beja have partially mixed with Arabs through intermarriages over the centuries, and by the 15th century were absorbed into Islam. The process of Arabization led to the Beja adopting the Arabic language, Arab clothing, and Arab kinship organization.
The Ajuran is a Somali clan, part of the Jambelle clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Hawiye. Ajuran members largely inhabit Kenya as well as southern east Ethiopia; considerable numbers are also found in southern Somalia. Some Ajuran members settled in Mogadishu.
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The Borana is one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo people. They live in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region and Liben Zone of the Somali Region of Ethiopia, former Northern Frontier District of Northern Kenya,Tana River in the former coast province of Kenya and also in central Somalia. Boranas living in Kenya and Ethiopia speak a dialect of Oromo and those living in central Somalia share a dialect with Dirr communities of Somalia, a language that is closely related to both Borana Language and Somali Language. The Borana people are notable for practicing Gadaa system without interruption especially those residing in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, a larger percentage of Boranas in Liban Zone of Somali region and those in central Somalia were Muslims, where as those living in Borena Zone of Ethiopia and those in Kenya majorly practicing Christian and Islamic religion, but few still hold purely to their culture especially those in Sakhu Constituency of Marsabit County.
The Rendille are a Cushitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the northern Eastern Province of Kenya.
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Kenya is a multilingual country. The two official languages of Kenya, Swahili and English are widely spoken as lingua francas; however, including second-language speakers, Swahili is more widely spoken than English. Swahili is a Bantu language native to East Africa and English is inherited from British colonial rule.
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Barento is one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo people. They live in the West Hararghe Zone, East Hararghe Zone, Arsi zone, of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia while the other subgroup named Borana Oromo inhabiting Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Addis Ababa, West Shewa Zone, West Welega Zone and Borena Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
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