Yemenis

Social hierarchy

Yemen is notable as the most tribal nation in the Arab world, largely due to the significant influence of tribal leaders and their deep integration into various aspects of the state. Estimates vary, with approximately 200 tribes in Yemen, although some reports list more than 400.

There is a system of social stratification in Yemen that was officially abolished at the creation of the Republic of Yemen in 1962. In practice this system has not disappeared, and Yemeni society is still organized around social hierarchies. The difference between social ranks is manifested by descent and occupation and is consolidated by marriages between people of the same ranks.

There are five status groups. At the top of the hierarchy, there are the religious elites, also called sada. These are then followed by the strata of judges (quad). The third hierarchical status is the qaba’il, who are the peasants, who belong to tribes and who live mainly from agriculture and trading. The fourth group is called the mazayanah. This group is composed of people who have no land and provide different kinds of services such as butchers and craftsmen. Finally, at the bottom of the hierarchy are the slaves (a’bid) and even further below them Al-Akhdam, which means servants.

Diaspora

Main article: Yemeni diaspora

The Yemeni diaspora is largely concentrated in the United Kingdom, where between 70,000 and 80,000 Yemenis live. Over 20,000 Yemenis reside in the United States, and an additional 2,800 live in Italy. Yemenis also reside in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain, as well as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Madagascar, and the former USSR. A smaller number of modern-day Pakistanis are of Yemeni descent, their original ancestors having left Yemen for the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia over four centuries ago. Arab Indonesians are Indonesian citizens of Arab or mixed Arab-Indonesian descent, mainly Hadharem from Yemen. The census of 2005 recorded a total of 87,227 Arab Indonesians. Around 50.000 Yemenite Jews migrated to the State of Israel. In 2015, due to the conflict in Yemen, many have migrated to the northern coasts of Djibouti, Madagascar, and Somalia in Africa.

Notable Yemenis

• Abu Bakr Salem, Yemeni singer
• Amna Al-Nasiri, Yemeni plastic artist, art critic, writer
• Bakar, English singer
• Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni Nobel Laureate, journalist, politician, and human rights activist
• Anwar al-Awlaki, Yemeni-American imam
• Hind Al-Eryani, Yemeni activist and journalist
• Ali al-Jifri, Yemeni Islamic scholar
• Shoshana Damari, Yemenite Jewish-Israeli singer
• Shatha Altowai, visual artist
• Saber Bamatraf, Yemeni pianist, composer and cultural activist.
• Arwa Othman, Yemeni writer, journalist, human rights activist and former Minister of Culture
• Balqees, Yemeni singer
• Saadaldeen Talib, politician
• Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, companion of the Prophet Muhammed

References and notes

References

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8. (24 September 2024). "Operation Magic carpet".
9. "Tudor Parfitt, The Road to Redemption: The Jews of the Yemen, 1900–1950, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996), pages 229–245/".
10. (14 February 2022). "A Precarious Refuge: Yemeni Asylum-Seekers in Jordan".
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12. (14 September 2019). "Yemenis will be able to work legally in Malaysia soon - Ambassador".
13. (7 May 2021). "Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions". Statistics Canada Statistique Canada.
14. "The road from Yemen: Part 3".
15. (10 January 2014). "Brotherly ties: The city of lights now has a twin sister in Yemen". The Express Tribune.
16. (December 2024). "Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland, 31 december 2024, totalt". Statistiska centralbyrån.
17. "CBS Statline".
18. "Oman provides sanctuary for Yemenis fleeing conflict".
19. "Yemen Population (2022) - Worldometer".
20. J. E. Peterson, Tribes and Politics in Yemen p.1
21. "Zaydi Islam".
22. [https://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/556da5f4-a5f6-4551-9edc-a8fb099dbbf4 الجزيرة نت] {{Webarchive. link. (19 March 2014)
23. Hall, Bogumila. “Subaltern Rightful Struggles, Comparative ethnographies of the Bedouin villagers in the Naqab, and the akhdam slum dwellers in Sana’a.” Ph.D. diss., European University Institute, 2016.
24. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/uk_1.shtml Yemenis in the UK]
25. Suryadinata, Leo. (2008). "Ethnic Chinese in Contemporary Indonesia". Chinese Heritage Centre and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.