Afar people
The Afar make up about half the population of
Djibouti, and are one of the nine recognised
ethnic divisions (
kililoch) of
Ethiopia. The
Afar language (
Cushitic) is spoken in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, eastern
Eritrea, and
Djibouti, but as the Afar are traditionally
nomadic herders, they may be found further afield.
Although, as with most peoples, some have migrated to cities and adopted "
Western" or cosmopolitan ways of life, the majority have always been nomadic pastoralists, raising
goats,
sheep and
cattle in the desert. During the dry season most move to, and camp on, the banks of the
Awash River.
Camels make up the most common means of transport as they move from watering hole to watering hole. Most move to higher ground with the arrival of the November rainy season to avoid flooding and
mosquitos.An Afar tent house is known as an 'ari' and made of sticks covered with mats, beds of mats raised on sticks are used. The 'burra', or camp, consists of two or more ari, and is the responsibility of the women. The Afar supplement their diet of milk and meat by selling salt that they dig from the desert along with milk and animal hides at markets in
Senbete and
Bati.
Traditionally the society is ruled by sultanates made up of several villages, headed by a 'dardar'.
Afar are organised into
clan families, and into classes --
asaimara ('reds') who are the dominant class politically, and the
adoimara ('whites') who are a working class. It is a patrilineal society, with men inheriting strength of character from their fathers, but physical characteristics like height, and some spiritual characteristics, from the mother.
Circumcision is practiced for both boys and, controversially, girls. A boy is judged for his bravery upon bearing the pain of circumcision, and is then allowed to marry the girl of his choice, though preferably someone from his own ethnic group, and ideally a cousin.
The Afar have a strong relationship with their environment and its wildlife, sharing land and resources with animals and doing them no harm. It is this tendency that is largely responsible for the preservation of the critically endangered African wild ass (
Equus Africanus), which has become extinct in more vulnerable environments.
See also:
Afar clothingThe Afar began to convert to
Islam in the 10th century after contact with
Arabs. The brand of Islam they practice is heavily
syncretic, and includes many elements of their older, indegenous religion (focused on the Sky God).
The ancestors of the Afar settled farm land in the
Ethiopian highlands some time before AD 1000 and primarily raised livestock. Some time after this they began a gradual transition to a more
nomadic lifestyle and moved to the area they currently occupy. Since then they have been involved in many conflicts with bordering tribes and peoples.
In 1975 the
Afar Liberation Front (ALF) began in Ethiopia after an unsuccessful rebellion led by a former Afar sultan. The
Derg established the
Autonomous Region of Assab (now called
Aseb and located in
Eritrea), although low level insurrection continued until the early 1990. Parallel, but less violent, movements were present in Djibouti.
*
Afar Depression*
Kwosso*
National Geographic - "Cruelest Place on Earth - Africa's Danakil Desert"
