Common Genetic Stream Findings in Archaeology and Genetic studies continue to indicate Africa as the point of origin of the human race. However, recent genetic studies have shown that the human group with oldest sequence of genes is another African group of atypical appearance. The oldest genetic stream of humanity is found among the Bushmen of Southern and Central Africa, more properly known as the San (or Khoi-San) people. These genetic studies include a comparative study of select peoples of all continents and physical types. traditional classification of physical features called Negroid. Ethnicities in Northeastern Africa Now when we come to the Horn of Africa, there are basically three groupings of peoples involved in the ethnic mix of Ethiopians and Somalis: Cushites, Semites and Bantu or Nilo-Saharan. The best way to group these various peoples is by language, since languages can be more objectively organized and the relationship between various languages has been well-established over the last two centuries. Each of these broad groups also includes complex sub-groups that complicate the language and ethnic picture in North-Eastern Africa. The primary way groups of ethnicities in the Horn of Africa seem to relate is by language, more than by physical type. My articles about the Beja and Oromo peoples in the region also provides some historical information and discusses how different ethnicities intermarry and how new peoples emerge. The Beja are a group of basically Cushite peoples who have mixed in various ways with Semitic peoples, the Sabeans and Arabs, as well as with other types of Cushites. The term Oromo refers to a large grouping of languages and peoples in the Horn of Africa and southward deep into Kenya. These languages are Cushitic and are related distantly to the Somali/Maay group. The Oromo peoples are generally very dark, like the Somalis, but are shorter and have more African (Negroid) features, perhaps due to more intermarrying with Bantu or Nilotic groups. The Oromo: What Factors Make a People Group Distinct? A related Cushite group is the Afar, on the Red Sea coast of Ethiopia and Eritrea. They seem to be generally a lighter color, with skin tones that may be perceived as brown. Their language is in the same broad group as the Oromo and Somali families. Mythical and historical elements merge in the oral traditions of the region. For more historical and cultural information, see my article about the Afar: Afar, Ophir and the Mists of History Migrations and Ethnic Overlays Among the peoples of the Horn of Africa, like every other place in the world, various groups of humans have migrated in and out over the millennia, and intermarried in various ways. They have exchanged culture and language. Some Cushite peoples have migrated west towards the center of the Africa continent, like the Tutsi in the Lakes Area, according to some analyses. Meanwhile Nilotic peoples from the North have migrated south to mix with Cushite and Bantu peoples. You can read about some of these in the following article: Tutsi, Hutu and Hima -Cultural Background in Rwanda The Bantu peoples (named for their related languages) in Eastern Africa and Somalia seem to have migrated from the center of the continent from around the time of Christ. Historical linguistics leads to the conclusion that they had made it into what is now Southern Somalia perhaps by 200 AD. Related to this migration are the Somali Bantu, Gosha, Mushungulu and related groups in the inland Horn, as well as the Barawa (Brava) of the Somali coast and related Swahili groups on the coast of East Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. Incidentally, the Swahili groups tend to be lighter skinned due to their origin from the intermarrying of Arab men with African (Bantu) women along the east coast of Africa. See more in my article on the Swahili peoples. Somali Race and Ethnicity Among groups in the Horn of Africa, you have noted that the Somalis and Ethiopians look different from other African peoples. It is actually unclear why the Somali peoples look more Caucasian, even though they have dark skin like the Oromo Cushites or Bantu Africans. There seems to be no generally accepted explanation among scholars. Some Somali clans claim descent from Arab tribes. This is perhaps one source for the more Caucasian features we find among the Somali groups, even with their black skin. This appears to be due to intermarrying since the contact with Islam. Some Somali clans even claim origins in Arab clans across the Red Seas. This probably represents the common practice of borrowing or adopting genealogies, related to trading and military alliances. Additionally, military and even commercial alliances are often sealed by intermarriage, a common cultural feature all over the world. Ethiopian Race and Ethnicity As for the Ethiopians, you are probably referring to the Amhara, Tigrinya (mostly Eritrea) and Tigray peoples associated with the ancient kingdoms of Axum and Abyssinia. They constitute a minority of the population of Ethiopia, being outnumbered by the Oromo cluster of peoples of the country, but have been politically dominant for centuries. These large, dominant ethnic groups of the Ethiopian highlands (including Eritrea) are speakers of a group of Semitic languages, brought to the area from the Arabian peninsula, likely by the Sabean peoples. This group is referred to in various ancient texts, including the Old Testament and the referred to in various ancient texts, including the Old Testament and the Quran. The name appears to be a form of the name Sheba. The identity of ancient Sheba is uncertain, and is associated with the term Cush also. The languages of the region were mixed from ancient times with Semitic and Cushitic. (For instance, the ancient Chaldeans, in the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates River in the Persian Gulf, who later took over the Babylonian Empire from the Assyrians, are thought to have been Cushitic.) Arabic and Hebrew are closely related to the Amharic and Tigrinya languages, in the same Semitic family. The Gurage language group of Ethiopia also shares affinities with Amharic and Tigrinya, though the Gurage peoples are not of a uniform phenotype. See the related articles at the end of this article. The Sabeans were one base of the peoples in the Horn of Africa now speaking Semitic languages. Other racial or genetic contributions to this stock are from the Cushite peoples. These are classified into Eastern and Northern Cushites. The Oromo and Somali are classified in the Eastern group. The Beja are the only remaining Northern Cushite group there now. Peoples speaking Cushitic languages have varying shades of skin tone, from black to shades of brown. Egyptian and Nubian The ancient Egyptians also spoke a language broadly related to the Cushite and Semitic languages in the broader Afro-Asiatic family. Some recent authors have presented the view that ancient Egyptians were black Africans, despite the common depictions on hieroglyphs. Some people seem to invest their emotions or self-identity heavily in the color of the skin, but that is just one feature that may helps us recognize and describe human populations. It appears to me that the Egyptians were lighter skinned, like the Semitic Phoenicians, Hebrews, other Canaanites and the Arabs. Their descendants are primarily identified in the Coptic Egyptians (mostly Christian) who now speak Arabic. In addition, we can add the Nubian mix. Traditionally farther west around the White Nile and up into Egyptian territory we find the Nubian peoples, whose speech is classified as Sudanic. Nubian peoples were in ancient Upper Egypt and at one time became the ruling dynasty in all Egypt (the Black Pharaohs). orvillejenkins/peoples/raceandethnicity.html
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 21:33:13 +0000