Bilen

expand_more Description

The Cushitic-speaking Bilen of the highlands of central Eritrea, traditionally cattle herders, had by the late twentieth century come to rely mainly on cereals and vegetables. Long governed by local hereditary chiefs along with councils of elders and local lineage heads, Bilen culture and society were greatly influenced by their position at the northern frontier of Ethiopian state, surrounded by still independent nomadic pastoral communities.

Identifier

Region

• Africa

Subregion

• Eastern Africa

Subsistence Type

• pastoralists

Samples

• EA
• SCCS

Countries

• Eritrea