Hedareb people explained
The Hedareb or T'bdawe[3] are a Cushitic ethnic group native to northwestern Eritrea. They are a subgroup of the Beja.[4] They are more diverse than the other Eritrean ethnicities; one subgroup speaks the traditional Beja language, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family, while another is more closely related to Sudanese Hadendoa. They are among the least-researched groups in Eritrea.
The Hedareb people live in northwestern Eritrea and extend as far as the borders with east Sudan.[5] Nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, they typically migrate seasonally with their herds of camels, goats and sheep.[6]
Language
The Hedareb speak the Beja language or Tigre language as a mother tongue. In addition to their variety of Beja, known as Hedareb or T’badwe, most Hedareb people also speak at least one other language, typically for a larger group Tigre, and for a small group Arabic as well.[7]
Society
Hedareb society is hierarchical, and is traditionally organized into clans and subclans. Hedarebs are a Muslim group, and most are Sunni Muslims. Marriages are typically arranged to maximize alliances between extended families. It is customary for the groom's family to pay a bride price of five to twelve goats, and a varying amount of money,[8] or as much as 70 camels.[9]
Sociologist Abdulkader Saleh Mohammad writes that the Hedareb have been excluded from state conceptions of Eritrean nationhood and have become a marginalized group with many members who do not feel connected to the Eritrean nation-state.[10]
Laws
As Muslim people, the Hedareb follow Sharia law in most matters.
In the nineteenth century, blood feuds marked by chains of revenge killings existed among Hedareb groups; unlike those among neighboring groups, they were rarely resolved by the payment of blood money, possibly because the Hedareb had fewer trading practices.[11] Also distinctively, killing one's wife was traditionally punished by death, while killing one's children went unpunished.[11] Rape of a noblewoman by a serf was punishable by death, while rape of serfs by nobles was tolerated.[11]
See also
External links
Further reading
- Paul. A.. THE HADĀREB: A Study in Arab—Beja Relationships. Sudan Notes and Records. 1959. 40. 75–78. 41719580. University of Khartoum.
Notes and References
- Book: Mehbratu. S. Habtezion. Zerisenay. Eritrea: Constitutional, Legislative and Administrative Provisions Concerning Indigenous Peoples. 2009. 1584657. International Labour Organization
- African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Communities/Populations in Africa; Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; with support from the European Commission
. 10.2139/ssrn.1584657. Asserts Hedareb population is 2% of the total population of 4.8 million.
- Web site: . About Eritrea: People. eritreanconsulate-lb.com. Honorary Consulate of The State of Eritrea in Lebanon. 28 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501062907/http://eritreanconsulate-lb.com/root/AboutEritria/People.html. 1 May 2018. dead.
- Hedareb, t'badwe, to-bedawye and bedawi may refer to the people or their language. Beja is an Arabic name for the language; Hedareb may be a corruption of Hadarma, "people of the Hadhramaut". See Book: Tesfagiorgis G.. Mussie. Eritrea. 2010. 178 and 216. 9781598842319. and Paul. A.. THE HADĀREB: A Study in Arab—Beja Relationships. Sudan Notes and Records. 1959. 40. 75–78. 41719580. University of Khartoum.
- Web site: 2017-06-15 . Beni Amir: The Hedareb in Eritrea . 2022-10-26 . EriStory . en-US.
- Book: Tesfagiorgis G.. Mussie. Eritrea. 2010. ABC-CLIO. 978-1598842319. 178.
- Web site: . The People of Eritrea. www.eritrean-embassy.se. Eritrean Embassy in Sweden. 27 February 2015. 28 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181028042800/http://eritrean-embassy.se/about-eritrea/people-and-languages/. dead.
- Book: Killion, Tom . Historical Dictionary of Eritrea . 0-8108-3437-5 . The Scarecrow Press . 1998 .
- Book: Tesfagiorgis G.. Mussie. Eritrea. 29 October 2010. 194–195. 9781598842326.
- Book: Gebremedhin, T.G. . Women, Tradition and Development: A Case Study of Eritrea . Red Sea Press . 2002 . 978-1-56902-153-8 . Jul 30, 2017.
- Competing identities and the emergence of Eritrean Nationalism between 1941 and 1952 . Centro de Estudos Internacionais do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) . 18 February 2016 . Mohammad, Abdulkader Saleh . “African Dynamics in Multipolar World” . 2013 . 5th European Conference on African Studies . Lisbon . 1376–1408 . 978-989-732-364-5.
- Book: Favali . L. . Pateman . R. . Blood, Land, and Sex: Legal and Political Pluralism in Eritrea . Indiana University Press . Blood, Land, and Sex . 2003 . 978-0-253-10984-2 . Jul 30, 2017.
