Cultural Beliefs of the Afar Tribe
The Afar tribe live in a 143,000 square
kilometer region in Djibouti and Ethiopia. This area is often referred
to as the Afar Triangle. The barren landscape is sparsely freckled with
lava streams and saltwater lakes. Approximately 1.2 million Afars lived
in Ethiopia in 2007 and another 96,000 lived in Djibouti in 2009. Afar
people say they are descendants of Arabs.
Lifestyle
Afars are nomads with a simple
lifestyle focused on survival. A daily routine consists of tending to
livestock and studying religion. Muslim beliefs dominate the culture,
although the beliefs of the Eastern Orthodox Church are also practiced.
Afars tend to roam the valleys and rarely stick to one area but will
spend more time in an area if they find water in a dry season. During
the rainy season, they travel and collect rainwater. Building housing is
uncommon and any structure is temporary.
Classes
Afar society consists of two clans
-- the "reds," called Asaimara and who are the nobles and the "whites"
who are the commoners and are called Adoimara. These clans existed
entirely at times in separate territories, but they are usually mixed
today. The Asaimaras were given territorial rights among the clans when
they were living together, while the Adoimara had grazing rights. Now,
both are intermingled and don't divide their roles. Though the majority
of these two clans are now joined as one, some have decided to live
independently of each other.
War
The Afar have long fought with their
neighbors, the Esa Somali, Ittu, Enia Galla, Wallo, Yaju, Raya Galla,
Issa and Saho, who also occupy the same area of Africa. Afars are
considered by these tribes as being fierce and determined to battle. The
Afar fighting and political unit is called the mela, which means tribe.
From 1991 to 1994 the Afar people fought with the Issa government, who
claimed control over Djibouti, for authority as the main ethnic group in
the nation. Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the Djibouti president at the time,
restructured his government so the Afars and Issas were both given
territory and governing rights on the land.
Food
Nomadic pastoralism, a form of
livestock herding where the animals are moved periodically to find new
areas to graze, is the main form of subsistence for the Afars. The
livestock consists of sheep, camels, goats and the odd cattle. Some of
the Afars that live on the coast also fish. This makes for the Afar a
high-protein, meat diet, though dairy is also on the menu. Afar people
also hunt for meat. They trade agricultural products with farmers, or
they steal them.
No comments:
Post a Comment