The Aweer (also known as the Boni and Sanye) are a

Cushitic The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As of 2 ...

ethnic group inhabiting the

Coast Province The Coast Province () was one of Kenya's eight provinces prior to 2010. It covered the entire country's coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital city was Mombasa. It was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili peoples, among others. The provin ...

in southeastern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Some members are also found in southern

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. They are indigenous foragers, traditionally subsisting on hunting, gathering, and collecting honey.

Overview

Evidence suggests that the Aweer/Boni, along with the related Dahalo and Wata, are remnants of the early

Bushman The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

hunter-gatherer inhabitants of Eastern Africa. According to linguistic, anthropological and other data, these groups later came under the influence and adopted the

Afro-Asiatic languages The Afroasiatic languages (also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian, Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic) are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of th ...

of the

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and Southern Cushitic peoples who moved into the area. Dahalo has consequently retained some of the characteristic click sounds of the

Khoisan Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...

languages. The Aweer have historically been known in the literature as ''Boni'' or ''Sanye'', both of which are derogatory terms for low-caste groups. Their lives were drastically changed when the Kenyan government curtailed their traditional way of life in the 1960s, forcing them to settle in villages along the Hindi-Kiunga Road, between the Boni National Reserve and the Dodori National Reserve. Although the majority of the Aweer settled in villages located in this corridor between the two reserves, some established themselves in nearby

Bajuni The Bajuni people () are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group who live primarily in the city of Mombasa in Kenya. Many relocated from southern Somalia to Kenya due to war with the Oromo clan Orma (clan), Orma, who drove them out from their ancest ...

villages. Today, the Aweer in Kenya have been encouraged to adopt farming as their main livelihood. However, they also continue to engage in many of their traditional hunter-gatherer practices, utilizing the nearby forests for the collection of wild honey, plants for traditional medicine and building materials, and bush meat to supplement their diets. With laws banning the hunting of all wildlife in Kenya, the Aweer's traditional way of life is in danger. Although Aweer overwhelmingly reside in the East African nation of Kenya, due to the Aweer's traditional dwellings along the protuberant coastline, the Aweer, as well as other inhabitants of Lamu County are sometimes referred to as '' Horners''.Amin, Rajan, et al. "Africa's forgotten forests: the conservation value of Kenya's northern coastal forests for large mammals." Journal of East African Natural History 107.2 (2019): 41-61.

Demographics

According to the 2019 Kenyan population census, around 20,103 Aweer live in Kenya, where they are an officially recognized group. They have traditionally been concentrated in forests in the

, particularly the

Lamu Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Isla ...

and Tana River districts. Some Aweer also inhabit southern Somalia's Badhade district.A.H.J. Prins. 1960 Notes on the Boni, a Tribe of Hunters in Northern Kenya. ''Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research.'' Vol. 1 (3): 25-27; 1963 The Didemic Diarchic Boni. ''The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute.'' Vol. 93 (2): 174-85.

Language

The Aweer speak the

Aweer language Aweer (''Aweera''), also known as Boni (''Bon, Bonta''), is a Cushitic language of Eastern Kenya. The Aweer people, known by the arguably derogatory exonym ''Boni'', are historically a hunter-gatherer people, traditionally subsisting on hunting ...

, also known as Boni. It belongs to the

branch of the

Afro-Asiatic The Afroasiatic languages (also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian, Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic) are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of th ...

family. According to ''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...

'', there are around 8,000 speakers of Aweer/Boni. Most are bilingual and speak the languages of their immediate neighbors, with about 20% speaking only Aweer. Aweer linguistically resembles

Garre The Garre (also Gurreh, Karre, or Binukaaf, Somali: ''Reer Garre'', Arabic: بنو كاف, romanized: ''Banī kāf'') are a prominent Somali clan that traces its lineage back to Samaale, who is believed to have originated from the Arabian P ...

, but the speakers are physically and culturally unalike. The language is believed to be threatened by extinction.

Religion

The Aweer historically practised traditional faiths such as Waaqism, though most have today adopted

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Notes

References

* * Antipa, R. S, Ali, M. H. and Hussein, A. A. (2007
Preservation and Maintenance of Biological Diversity Related Knowledge of Indigenous Diversity and Local Communities with Traditional Lifestyles Boni Forest, Ijara District
National Environmental Management Authority of Kenya. * International Labour Office. "Part I: Traditional Economies." Traditional Occupations of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples: Emerging Trends. International Labour Organization, 2000. 318. Print. *"THE AWEER PEOPLE." AFRICAN FIRST PEOPLES: THE AWEER PEOPLE. ECOTERRA Intl. Web. 19 Feb. 2012
The Aweer People
.

External links

AWEER
{{authority control Ethnic groups in Kenya Indigenous peoples of East Africa Cushitic-speaking peoples Coast Province Ethnic groups in Somalia