essay

The origin of the lower castes of Somalia

somalia, scritti vari editi ed inediti2 • Published In 1959 • Pages: HRAF Ms: 8 [original: 95-99 ]

By: Cerulli, Enrico.

Abstract
After a brief descriptive summary of the three lower castes of the Somali--the Yibir, the Midgan and the Tumal--Cerulli traces the origins of each in Somali society. Cerulli presents the theories of several other area specialists on the Somali, notably Biasutti, Paulitschke, Ruggieri, Kirk, and Schleicher. The Biasutti theory, for which the author expresses a strong preference, states in effect that the castes of Somalia are residues of pre-Cushitic populations conquered by the subsequent invasions. To this theory the author adds further substantiating data from his own research primarily in reference to language and geographical locations of these caste groups.
Subjects
Social stratification
culture
Somali
HRAF PubDate
1997
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Types
Lawyer
Social Scientist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; Sigrid Khera ; 1972
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
not specified
Coverage Place
Yibir, Midgan and Tumal: Somalia, Djibouti, and southeastern Ethiopia
Notes
Enrico Cerulli
Translation of: L'origine delle basse caste della Somalia.
The original Italian text is not included
Includes bibliographical references
Translated for the HRAF files by Piero Biancani
LCCN
60024993
LCSH
Somalis