Madhiban

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Main article: Somali people
Madhiban
Regions with significant populations
 Somaliland,  Ethiopia,  Kenya,  Somalia
Languages
Somali
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Somali people and other Cushitic people

The Madhiban (Somali: Madhibaan), also known as Gaboye,[1] are an artisanal caste among Somali people.[2][3][4] They have been endogamous, and their traditional hereditary occupation has been as hunters.[5][6]

They are also referred to as Midgaan, an appellation which is sometimes used pejoratively.[7] The Madhiban have been one of the low status castes among the Somalis, along with Tumal and others.[2][8][9]

Distribution and names[]

Tarakh Ahmed a 40 year old Madhiban man

The Madhiban are a part of the Somali ethnic group found in the Horn of Africa region, particularly in Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya, and Djibouti.[1][10]

Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century CE, Islam spread throughout West Africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby African rulers either tolerated the religion or converted to it themselves. In this way, Islam spread across and around the Sahara Desert. In addition, the religion arrived in East Africa when Arab traders crossed the Red Sea and, in a second wave, settled along the Swahili Coast. Military campaigns did occur from the 14th century CE against the Christian kingdoms of Nubia and Madhibans who ruled part of Somalia especially the Land of Punt. There were also sometimes violent resistance by supporters of traditional African beliefs such as Madhiban were followers of Waaq religion. [11]

For at least a decade the Madhiban kingdom resisted the invasion of Islamic conquest and were finally defeated in mid 14th century. After their defeat Madhibans fled to the rural place and become hunters and leatherworkers with other ritual and craft tasks performed for the majorities. [12]

According to a 1960 count, they numbered around 20,000 out of 640,000 Somalis in parts of Somalia that were within the then British Protectorate. Their numbers in other parts of Somalia and other Somali regions were unknown.[13]

The terms Madhiban, Midgan or Midgaan for this Somali caste are found in historic literature, but in modern discourse, the term Gaboye is increasingly common. This caste is distinct from the Tumal and Yibir outcast communities because each is accused of things different from each other in Somali society.[4]

Discussion[]

The Madhiban were historically hunters, but now engage in occupations like leather work (shoemaking). They also are the traditional circumcision performers for both males,[14][15] and females in the Somali society.[16][17] These professions have traditionally been considered dirty, and the Madhiban have been a part of the sab or lower castes as opposed to the aji or upper castes.[18]

According to Lee Gunderson, Dennis Murphy Odo and Reginald D'Silva, the Midgan have traditionally been treated as a low caste, scorned and reviled.[19] A Midgan-Madiban has been deemed as polluting and therefore avoided as a taboo in the Somali society.[19][20][21]

Under Somalia's military administration, some Madhiban were appointed to positions within the government to promote integration. The Madhiban have since obtained wider political representation. Their general social status has also improved with the expansion of urban centers.[22]


Law[]

Under the 1951 UN convention, several legal proceedings have ruled that Midgan as a low caste in Somalia are "akin to Dalits or the untouchables in India".[8]

Cognate castes in Horn of Africa[]

The Madhiban caste is not an exception limited to the Somali ethnic group, and equivalent cognate caste is found in numerous ethnic groups in Horn of Africa and East Africa.[23][24] According to Donald Levine – a professor of Sociology specializing in Ethiopian and Horn of Africa studies, similar caste groups in different languages and ethnic groups have been integral part of societies of this region.[23] These strata have featured all the defining characteristics of caste, states Levine, characteristics such as "endogamy, hierarchy, status, concepts of pollution, restraints on commensality, a traditional occupation and membership by birth".[25] In east Ethiopia ethnic groups, such as the Oromo people, cognates to Somali castes have been recorded in 16th century texts, states Cornelius Jaenen.[26] The table below illustrate some alternate terms for castes mirroring the Madhiban in other ethnic groups that share this region with the Somali people.[27]

Castes equivalent to Madhiban in Horn of Africa
Ethnic group Caste name[27][28] Occupation
Somali Midgan, Madhiban hunters, tanners
Amhara people Weyto, Faqi hunters, tanners
Argobba people Faqin tanners
Borana people Watta hunters, tanners, potters, foragers
Gurage people Fuga hunters,[24] woodworkers
Janjero people Fuga hunters, potters, tanners
Kefa people Manjo hunters, guards
Kimant people Arabinya tanners
Kwayeju hunters
Sidama people Awacho tanners

Notable Madhiban[]

  • a Member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Somaliland
  • Maryam Mursal legendary Somali female singer
  • Cabdillaahi Xirsi Ibraahim Known as Baarleex, Poet
  • Mohamed Sulayman Tubeec a Somali singer, songwriter, and record producer, called the King of Voice.
  • Yassin Axmed Digfeer, Musician

Groups[]

  • In 2009, the Minneapolis Police Department of Minneapolis, Minnesota, reported that "Madhibaan with Attitude" was one of several Somali gangs active in the city.[29]
  • Gaarhaye, also called Adone, was the ninth-largest of the eleven constitutive Darawiish administrative division; it was exclusively Madhiban[30]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Djibouti: Situation of members of the Madhiban caste, including treatment by society and authorities; state protection and services (2003-October 2013), UNHCR, IRB Canada (2014)
  2. ^ a b Donald N. Levine (2014). Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society. University of Chicago Press. pp. 62, 195. ISBN 978-0-226-22967-6.
  3. ^ [Е. de Larajasse (1972), Somali-English and Somali-English Dictionary, Trubner, pages 108: Midgan, 119, 134, 145, 178
  4. ^ a b Mohamed A. Eno and Abdi M. Kusow (2014), Racial and Caste Prejudice in Somalia, Journal of Somali Studies, Iowa State University Press, Volume 1, Issue 2, pages 104-106
  5. ^ David F. Horrobin (2012). The Somali, in "A Guide to Kenya and Northern Tanzania". Springer. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-94-011-7129-8.; Е. de Larajasse (1972), Somali-English and Somali-English Dictionary, Trubner, page 108
  6. ^ Е. de Larajasse (1972), Somali-English and Somali-English Dictionary, Trubner, pages 108, 119, 134, 145, 178
  7. ^ The Middle East, Issue 4, (Northumberland Press: 2007), p.196
  8. ^ a b Andreas Zimmermann; Jonas Dörschner; Felix Machts (2011). The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary. Oxford University Press. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-19-954251-2.
  9. ^ JW Kirk (1904), THE YIBIRS AND MIDGANS OF SOMALI-LAND, THEIR TRADITIONS AND DIALECTS, African Affairs, Oxford Journals Social Sciences, Volume 4, Issue XIII, pages 91-108
  10. ^ Lewis, I. M. (1999). A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa. James Currey Publishers. pp. 7–8, 13–14. ISBN 0852552807. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  11. ^ worldhistory.org
  12. ^ https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/old-site-downloads/download-912-Click-here-to-download-full-report.pdf
  13. ^ Lewis, I.M. (1999). A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 7, 14 with footnotes. ISBN 3825830845. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  14. ^ David F. Horrobin (2012). The Somali, in "A Guide to Kenya and Northern Tanzania". Springer. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-94-011-7129-8.
  15. ^ Е. de Larajasse (1972), Somali-English and Somali-English Dictionary, Trubner, page 108
  16. ^ Wright, Jane (1996). "Female genital mutilation: an overview". Journal of Advanced Nursing. Wiley-Blackwell. 24 (2): 251–259. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1996.01934.x. PMID 8858427.
  17. ^ Gallo, Pia Grassivaro; Tita, Eleanora; Viviani, Franco (2006). "At the Roots of Ethnic Female Genital Modification: Preliminary Report, in Bodily Integrity and the Politics of Circumcision". Springer: 49–55. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4916-3_4. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ Jama, Hassan Ali (2005). Who Cares about Somalia: Hassan's Ordeal ; Reflections on a Nation's Future. Verlag Hans Schiler. pp. 97–98. ISBN 3899300750. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  19. ^ a b Lee Gunderson; Dennis Murphy Odo; Reginald D'Silva (2013). ESL Literacy Instruction. Routledge. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-135-05238-6.
  20. ^ Thomas M. Leonard (2013). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Routledge. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-135-20508-9.
  21. ^ Mohamed A. Eno and Abdi M. Kusow (2014), Racial and Caste Prejudice in Somalia, Journal of Somali Studies, Iowa State University Press, Volume 1, Issue 2, pages 91-92, 95-96, 108-112
  22. ^ Lewis, I.M. (2008). Understanding Somalia and Somaliland: Culture, History, Society. Columbia University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0231700849.
  23. ^ a b Donald N. Levine (10 December 2014). Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society. University of Chicago Press. pp. 57, 169–171. ISBN 978-0-226-22967-6.
  24. ^ a b Shack, William A. (1964). "54. Notes on Occupational Castes Among the Gurage of South-West Ethiopia". Man. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 64: 50–52. doi:10.2307/2797801. JSTOR 2797801.
  25. ^ Donald N. Levine (10 December 2014). Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society. University of Chicago Press. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-0-226-22967-6.
  26. ^ Cornelius J. Jaenen (1956), The Galla or Oromo of East Ethiopia , Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, University of Chicago Press, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Summer, 1956), pages 171-190
  27. ^ a b Donald N. Levine (10 December 2014). Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society. University of Chicago Press. pp. 195–196. ISBN 978-0-226-22967-6.
  28. ^ Saïd Amir Arjomand (2014). Social Theory and Regional Studies in the Global Age. State University of New York Press. pp. 229–237. ISBN 978-1-4384-5161-9.
  29. ^ Rise of Somali Gangs Plagues Minneapolis, Associated Press (July 20, 2009).
  30. ^ Personally, I have never had much hope of catching the Mullah. It could only be done had he stood bis ground and awaited our advance, or were he to remain with a small following in the nearer portions of the Frotectorate long enough for a surprise to be effected. 1| Neither of these eventualities were at any time to be depended upon. He is said to have taken extraordinary precautions to safeguard his person, amongst others retaining a bodyguard of Midgans with poisoned arrows, and these precautions would point to his not exposing himself in a position where he would be able to be caught. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00098568/00033/pdf

Bibliography[]

  • Hassan Ali Jama, Who cares about Somalia, (Verlag Hans Schiler: 2005)
  • I.M. Lewis, A pastoral democracy, (James Currey Publishers: 1999)

External links[]

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