Abameanda Afar Tribal

Limited Edition

The Afar (Afar: Qafár), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are an ethnic Cushitic people inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern part of Eritrea. The Afar speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. Afars are the only Horners whose traditional territories borders both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

It is thought that the Afar were the first of the present inhabitants of Ethiopia to elaborate their pastoral life into full-scale nomadism, descending from the highlands of southeast Ethiopia and migrating to the stony desert area of Danakil, the name sometimes used by Arabs to identify them but which is now considered to be offensive.

The Afar subsistence economy depends on livestock, especially goats, some camels, and, more rarely, cattle. There are some exceptions, such as fishermen in the coastal areas and agriculturalists in the Assau oasis. The Afar also mine and export salt.

Proud, highly individualistic, and much feared by outsiders, they are organized in patrilineal kin groups. Cooperation in larger units such as a subtribe or tribe is induced only by warfare against other tribes or neighbouring peoples.

SHARE