The Oromo people are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, also found in northern Kenya and Somalia, with an estimated total population of over 35 million. Low caste people are expected not to handle farm equipment or cattle. Similarly, traditionally, the craftsman and the noble are ritually forbidden to enter the house of the other. For example, the castes have long considered each other as ritually impure, and food prepared by either nobles or artisans castes is considered a taboo to others. Other than endogamy and occupational differences between the castes, their ritual, social and political positions are different, as are the beliefs held by each about the nature of the other. The lower castes of the Borana people, states Herbert Lewis – a professor of anthropology specializing in East African societies – show no physical differences from the noble castes of Somalia and Somalilands. They are found in virtually every Cushitic or Semitic community of this region. These are endogamous castes each with a specialized inherited occupation, and include a stratum that constitutes outcastes. They have historically had castes, among which the hunters and artisans have constituted the depressed strata. The Borana people are found in southern Ethiopia and northeastern Kenya. However, some state it as an economically closed, endogamous class system or as occupational minorities, whereas others such as the historian David Todd state that this system can be unequivocally labelled as caste-based. This caste system has been a rigid, endogamous and occupationally closed social stratification among Amhara and other Afro-Asiatic-speaking Ethiopian ethnic groups. The Amhara caste system consisted of: (1) endogamy, (2) hierarchical status, (3) restraints on commensality, (4) pollution concepts, (5) each caste has had a traditional occupation, and (6) inherited caste membership. The Amhara caste system was hierarchically higher than its lowest slaves strata. According to Donald Levine – a professor of sciology specializing in Ethiopian society – the Amhara society has consisted of high-ranking clans, low-ranking clans, caste groups (artisans), and slaves. The social stratification of the Amhara people of Ethiopia includes castes. This list of sources is incomplete, but contains important sources. The terminology used by various scholars has varied but they have found consistently found links between social groupings and occupations, often potters, metal workers, weavers, leather workers. The term "Manja" or ""Manjo" is found repeatedly. They have been studied in communities that speak Semitic, Cushitic, and Omotic languages. There has been much recent scholarship on caste systems in the Horn of Africa. While it is unclear when and how the caste systems developed in Africa, they are not ancient and likely developed sometime between the 9th century and 15th century in various ethnic groups. Countries in Africa that have societies with caste systems include Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Nigeria, Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and others. Some societies have a rigid and strict caste system with embedded slavery, whereas others are more diffuse and complex. The specifics of the caste systems in Africa vary among the ethnic groups. These caste systems feature endogamy, hierarchical status, inherited occupation, membership by birth, pollution concepts and restraints on commensality. Caste systems in Africa are a form of social stratification found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the Sahel, West Africa, and North Africa.
0 kommentar(er)
