Cushitic-speaking peoples are the ethnolinguistic groups who speak
Cushitic languages
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 ...
natively. Today, the Cushitic languages are spoken as a mother tongue primarily in the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north and south in Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania.
History
Donald N. Levine held that
Proto-Cushitic
Proto-Cushitic is the Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language common ancestor of the Cushitic languages, Cushitic language family. Its words and roots are not directly attested in any written works, but have been reconstructed th ...
was spoken on the
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...
by 5000–4000 BC. Roger Blench hypothesizes that speakers of Cushitic languages may have been the producers of "Leiterband" pottery, which influenced the pottery of the Khartoum Neolithic. Erik Becker, in a 2011 investigation of human remains from Leiterband sites in the Wadi Howar, finds the hypothetical connection of Leiterband pottery to speakers of a Cushitic language improbable.
North Cushitic
The nomadic
Medjay and the
Blemmyes—the latter a section of the ethnic descendants of the former—are believed by many historians to be ancestors of modern-day speakers of
Beja; there appears to be linguistic continuity, suggesting that a language ancestral to Beja was spoken in the Nile Valley by the time of the
Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty period ...
. From an analysis of the lexicon of the
Nubian languages
The Nubian languages are a group of related languages spoken by the Nubians. Nubian languages were spoken throughout much of Sudan, but as a result of Arabization they are today mostly limited to the Nile Valley#In Sudan, Nile Valley between Asw ...
, Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst proposes that when Nubian speakers first reached the
Nile Valley
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...
ca 1500 BC, they encountered Cushitic-speaking peoples from whom they borrowed a large number of words, mainly connected with livestock production. Evidence shows that the linguistic association of the Nubian languages encounters contact with an Eastern Cushitic variation resembling Highland Eastern Cushitic, rather than Beja-related speech. This rewrites the temporal-geographical territorial existence of Eastern Cushites during the 2nd millennium BCE, placing them closer to the Nile Valley than often hypothesized.
Possible lost branch
Roger Blench proposes that an extinct and otherwise unattested branch of Cushitic may be responsible for some of the pastoral cultural features of
Khoekhoe people ca 2000 years BP. As there are very few
Khoekhoe words for which a Cushitic etymology is possible based on existing Cushitic languages, Blench proposes that the contact was with speakers of a now extinct and otherwise unattested Cushitic language which was replaced through assimilation during the
Bantu expansion.
Contemporary ethnic groups
Speakers of North Cushitic
*
Beja people
Speakers of Central Cushitic languages
*
Agaw people
**
Awi people
**
Beta Israel
Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara Region, Amhara and Tigray Region, Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide ter ...
**
Bilen people
The Bilen (also variously transcribed as Blin, and also formerly known as the Bogos or Northern Agaw) are a Cushitic ethnic group in Eritrea. They are primarily concentrated in central Eritrea, in and around the city of Keren and further sout ...
**
Qemant people
**
Xamir people
Speakers of Lowland East Cushitic languages
*
Somalis
The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history.
The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...
*
Aweer people
*
Rendille people
*
Arbore people
*
El Molo people
EL, El or el may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit
* Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things''
* El, fami ...
(most no longer speak a Cushitic language)
*
Daasanach people
*
Oromo people
The Oromo people (, pron. ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo''), which is part of the Cushitic language ...
**
Boorana
**
Barento
**
Orma
*
Waata (Oromo-speaking)
*
Konso people
The Konso, also known as the Xonsita, are a Lowland East Cushitic languages , Lowland East Cushitic-speaking ethnic group primarily inhabiting south-western Ethiopia.
History
According to Hallpike (1972), Konso family traditions indicate that the ...
* Dirasha people, who speak
Dirasha language
* Bussa people, who are shifting away from
Bussa language to Oromo, Dirasha, and Amharic
*
Afar people
The Afar (), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern co ...
*
Saho people
The Saho are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group who are one of the 9 official ethnic groups Eritrea. They speak Saho as a mother tongue.
History
The Saho were originally a northern extension of the Afar people, Afar who moved along the G ...
*
Irob people
Speakers of Highland East Cushitic languages
*
Burji people
*
Gedeo people
*
Sidama people
*
Hadiya people
**
Libido language
*
Kambaata people
*
Halaba people and
Kebena people
Speakers of Yaaku-Dullay languages
*
Yaaku people (the
Yaaku language is no longer a living language, but there is a revival movement)
*
Dullay languages
**
Tsamai language
**
Ale language
Speakers of West Rift Southern Cushitic languages
*
Burunge people
*
Iraqw people
The Iraqw people () are a Cushitic languages, Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the northern Tanzanian regions. They dwell in southwestern Arusha Region, Arusha and Manyara Region, Manyara regions of Tanzania, near the East African Rift, Rift Va ...
*
Alagwa people
*
Gorowa people
References
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