Aweer people

Overview

Evidence suggests that the Aweer/Boni, along with the related Dahalo and Wata, are remnants of the early Bushman 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 of the Eastern and Southern Cushitic peoples who moved into the area. Dahalo has consequently retained some of the characteristic click sounds of the Khoisan 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 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.

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 Coast Province, particularly the Lamu and Tana River districts.{{cite web|url=https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=2019-kenya-population-and-housing-census-volume-iv-distribution-of-population-by-socio-economic-characteristics&wpdmdl=5730&ind=7HRl6KateNzKXCJaxxaHSh1qe6C1M6VHznmVmKGBKgO5qIMXjby1XHM2u_swXdiR |title=2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics

Some Aweer also inhabit southern Somalia's Badhade district.

Language

The Aweer speak the Aweer language, also known as Boni. It belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family.

According to Ethnologue, 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, 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.

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 .

References

1. East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society. (1910). "The Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society". London ; New York : Longmans, Green.
2. Fitzgerald, William Walter Augustine. (1898). "Travels in the coastlands of British East Africa and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba; their agricultural resources and general characteristics". London, Chapman & Hall.
3. Mohamed Amin, Peter Moll. (1983). "Portraits of Africa". Harvill Press.
4. "Aweer". Ethnologue.
5. (1992). "Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa". Walter de Gruyter.
6. (2007, p. 472)
7. Umar, Abdi. (2000). "Traditional Occupations of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples: Emerging Trends". International Labor Organization.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. (2003). "International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Volume 1". Oxford University Press.