Jeberti people

Jeberti

Jeberti / Jabarti

The Jeberti (also spelled Jabarti, Jaberti, Jebarti or Djeberti) are a Muslim clan inhabiting the Horn of Africa, mainly Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen and Oman.

Jeberti people are Tigrinya-speaking Muslims in Eritrea.

Sources mention that the Eritrean federal government does not recognize Jeberti as an ethnic group but that it does take into consideration Jeberti to be component of the Tigrigna ethnic group.

Tronvoll reports that Jeberti looked for and got recognition as a distinct ethnic team from the Ethiopian government before Eritrea ended up being independent.

 

History

Islam was introduced to the Horn of Africa early on from the Arabian peninsula, shortly after the hijra. Zeila's Masjid al-Qiblatayn (Two-mihrab Mosque) dates to the 7th century, and is the oldest mosque in the city. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. Among these early migrants was Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, the forefather of the Darod clan family. Al-Maqrizi noted that a number of the Muslims settled in the Zeila-controlled Jabarta region which is presently northeastern Somalia, and from there gradually expanded into the hinterland in the horn of Africa. The Jebertis (Darod) are the biggest clan in terms of population and land size in Somalia and a large minority in Yemen, Oman, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Most Jeberti concentrated cities include Asmara, Addis Ababa, Kismayo, Badhan, Garowe, Lasanod, Garbaharey, Jigjiga, Bosaso, Bardera, Buraan, Garissa and Salalah.

 

Language

The Jebertis in Somalia are called "Darood"; they are descended from Abdurahman bin Ismail Al-Jeberti are from Al-Jabarta in the Hejaz and Yemen. The Somali Jebertis clan family speak Somali and Arabic. In Eritrea they mainly speak Tigrinya and Arabic, while the Jeberti in Ethiopia speak Tigrinya.


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