A Sandwiched Identity: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the Kunama People of Ethiopia

Andalem Tariku Woldegiorgis

Abstract: This essay is concerned with the Kunama people, a Nilo-Saharan language-speaking people. The Kunama inhabit in Ethiopia, Eritrea and in small tracts of the Sudan. However, the literatures on the academic circle focused on the Kunamas of Eritrea, and the Kunama of Ethiopia are virtually understudied. Hence, this essay attempts to deal with the socio-cultural history of the Kunama of Ethiopia based on studies from field visits and library. The Kunamas have been clustered into four clans each with prescribed social tasks. According to this study, the Kunama people are natives to Ethiopia. They are unique from their neighboring peoples in that they are matrilineal and count descent on the female line. However, this does not indicate their roles in administration.

Keywords: Kunama, Ethiopia, socio-culture, cultural history