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The Madhiban ('), also known as Gaboye,
UNHCR, IRB Canada (2014)
are an artisanal
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...
among
Somali people The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mo ...
. They have been endogamous, and their traditional hereditary occupation has been as hunters.Е. de Larajasse (1972), Somali-English and Somali-English Dictionary, Trubner, pages 108, 119, 134, 145
178
/ref> They are also referred to as Midgaan, an appellation which is sometimes used pejoratively. The Madhiban have been one of the low status castes among the
Somalis The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
, along with Tumal and others.


Distribution and names

The Madhiban are a part of the Somali ethnic group found in
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...
, particularly in Somalia, Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya, and Djibouti. Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century CE, Islam spread throughout West Africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby African rulers either tolerated the religion or converted to it themselves. In this way, Islam spread across and around the Sahara Desert. In addition, the religion arrived in East Africa when Arab traders crossed the Red Sea and, in a second wave, settled along the Swahili Coast. Military campaigns did occur from the 14th century CE against the Christian kingdoms of Nubia and Madhibans who ruled part of Somalia especially the Land of Punt. There were also sometimes violent resistance by supporters of traditional African beliefs such as Madhiban were followers of Waaq religion. For at least a decade the Madhiban kingdom resisted the invasion of Islamic conquest and were finally defeated in mid 14th century. After their defeat Madhibans fled to the rural place and become hunters and leatherworkers with other ritual and craft tasks performed for the majorities. According to a 1960 count, they numbered around 20,000 out of 640,000 Somalis in parts of Somalia that were within the then British Protectorate. Their numbers in other parts of Somalia and other Somali regions were unknown. The terms Madhiban, Midgan or Midgaan for this Somali caste are found in historic literature, but in modern discourse, the term Gaboye is increasingly common. This caste is distinct from the Tumal and Yibir outcast communities because each is accused of things different from each other in Somali society.


Discussion

The Madhiban were historically hunters, but now engage in occupations like leather work (
shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
). They also are the traditional circumcision performers for both males, and females in the Somali society. These professions have traditionally been considered dirty, and the Madhiban have been a part of the ''sab'' or lower
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...
s as opposed to the ''aji'' or upper castes. According to Lee Gunderson, Dennis Murphy Odo and Reginald D'Silva, the Midgan have traditionally been treated as a low caste, scorned and reviled. A Midgan-Madiban has been deemed as polluting and therefore avoided as a taboo in the Somali society. In 1890
Élisée Reclus Jacques Élisée Reclus (; 15 March 18304 July 1905) was a French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork, ''La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes'' ("Universal Geography"), over a period of ...
, in his extensive work "The Earth and its Inhabitants: AFRICA" (Vol. IV, South and East Africa) described the Madhiban (Midgan) as follows: Under Somalia's military administration, some Madhiban were appointed to positions within the government to promote integration. The Madhiban have since obtained wider political representation. Their general social status has also improved with the expansion of urban centers.


Law

Under the 1951 UN convention, several legal proceedings have ruled that Midgan as a low caste in Somalia are "akin to
Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
s or the untouchables in India".


Cognate castes in East Africa

The Madhiban caste is not an exception limited to the Somali ethnic group, and equivalent cognate caste is found in numerous ethnic groups in
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...
. According to Donald Levine – a professor of Sociology specializing in Ethiopian and Horn of Africa studies, similar caste groups in different languages and ethnic groups have been integral part of societies of this region. These strata have featured all the defining characteristics of caste, states Levine, characteristics such as "endogamy, hierarchy, status, concepts of pollution, restraints on commensality, a traditional occupation and membership by birth". In eastern Ethiopia ethnic groups, such as the
Oromo people The Oromo (pron. Oromo: ''Oromoo'') are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' or ''Oromiffa''), which is part of the Cushitic br ...
, cognates to Somali castes have been recorded in 16th century texts, states Cornelius Jaenen. The table below illustrate some alternate terms for castes mirroring the Madhiban in other ethnic groups that share this region with the Somali people.


Notable Madhiban

*
Maryam Mursal Maryam Mursal ( so, Maryan Mursal, ar, مريم مرسل) (born 1 January 1950) is a Somali composer and vocalist. Biography Mursal grew up in Somalia in a Muslim family with four daughters. Mursal's family was originally from Somaliland, and i ...
, Somali female singer *
Mohamed Sulayman Tubeec Mohamed Sulayman Tubeec ( so, Maxamed Saleebaan Tubeec), (1941– 11 March 2014) was a Somali singer, songwriter and record producer, called the King of Voice. Personal life Tubeec was born in 1941 in the town of Laaleys near Berbera, situated ...
, Somali singer/songwriter *
Professor Ahmed Ashkir Botan Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
Minister of Education in 1981 and a former Vice-Chancellor of the Somali National University.


Groups

*In 2009, the
Minneapolis Police Department The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesot ...
of
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...
, reported that "Madhibaan with Attitude" was one of several Somali gangs active in the city. *
Gaarhaye Haroun, also called Fadhiweyn, and natively transliterated as Xarunta in Somali, was a government and headquarters of the Dervishes, headed by Faarax Mahmud Sugulle. According to Claude Edward Marjoribanks Dansey, the political officer in the ...
, also called Adone, was the ninth-largest of the eleven constitutive Darawiish administrative division; it was exclusively Madhiban


References


Bibliography

*Hassan Ali Jama, ''Who cares about Somalia'', (Verlag Hans Schiler: 2005) *I.M. Lewis, ''A pastoral democracy'', (James Currey Publishers: 1999)


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Somali People Cushitic-speaking peoples Ethnic groups in Ethiopia Ethnic groups in Kenya Castes Muslim communities in Africa