|
Somalia Specialized Occupational Groups
Certain occupational groups such as hunters, leatherdressers , and smiths are known as sab (ignoble) among the
Samaal and as bon (low caste) among the Sab. They resemble
Somalis, but their ethnic origin is uncertain. Some authorities
suggest--and group members believe--that they may be derived from
the land's original population. They speak Somali, but also use
local dialects.
In the late 1950s, when the Somali population was estimated
at 2 million, the number of sab was estimated at more than
12,000, or less than 1 percent of the population. Of these, about
three-quarters were of the midgaan (an appellation
considered pejorative and ultimately legally forbidden) group
whose men worked as barbers, circumcisers, and hunters. Less than
a quarter of the total consisted of the Tumaal, who engaged
chiefly in metalwork. The smallest group was the Yibir (Yahhar in
the south), magicians called upon to make amulets for the
newborn, bless Somali weddings, and act as soothsayers. In return
for these services they would be given gifts.
Occupational groups had lineages, but these were not usually
the foundation of diya-paying groups before Somalia's
independence. Except perhaps for the Yibir, who moved from one
group of Somalis to another, families of occupational specialists
were attached to Somali lineages, which acted as their patrons
and claimed compensation on their behalf. By the end of the
colonial period, change had begun to take place in the political,
legal, and social status of these groups.
|
