History of Afar People and their Changing Relationship with the State .1 Origin of the Afar People

The Afar, Somali and Oromo belong to Cushitic language family. The Afar language - cafar-af - is classified along with the Somali and Oromo languages within the Lowland East Cushitic language family (Getachew, 2001a:35; Kebede, 1994:4). Trimingham (1976:8) also stated that “the Afar-Saho, Somali and Oromo belong to one of the waves of Cushitic migrations […] who crossed the Bab-al Mandab¹⁰⁴ and the Gulf of Aden in early times into the coastal regions of East Africa”. According to Trimingham these groups fundamentally belong to the same Hamitic stem, and are usually classified as “Low Kushite” and their original African homeland seems to have been between the upper course of the Webi and the coast of the Gulf of Aden. Trimingham asserted that they became differentiated ethnographically into three great groups due to migration, fractionings, and through mixing in varying degrees with Negroes. And those who spread northwards into the Danakil depression and its coastal region are distinguished by the linguistic group names of Afar and Saho (Trimingham, 1976:8).

According to the above description the Afar are a Hamitic people of the same branch as the Somali, and their ancestors must have come across the Red Sea in the distant past (Trimingham, 1976:171). But, Trimingham remarked that “their history is unknown for, like that of all nomadic peoples it is the issue of migrations and super-impositions, fractionings and regroupings”.

The Afar were first mentioned by Ibn Sa’id in the 13^th century under the form or by the name Dankal/Danakil (Trimingham, 1976:171; Lewis, 1955:155). The Afar call themselves cafara-umata, the Afar people, and they call their language cafar-af, and their country Afer-barro (Getachew, 2001a:35, 49). The Afar are identified by their neighbours and outsiders by various names: Danakil by Europeans and Arabs; Adali by their Oromo neighbours; Oudali by the Issa-Somali; Taltal by Tigre; and Adal by the Amhara and Argoba (Getachew, 2001a:49, Trimingham, 1976:171).

4.2.2 The Afar Sultanates and their Relation with the Central State

For many centuries the north-east part of the Ethiopian Afar land has been an area where a number of big and small Sultanates evolved and declined (Getachew, 2001a:35). Some of these included the Sultanate of Aussa; Sultanate of Rahyata, 60 kms to the south of Assab;

Sultanate of Biru in Tigray [nowadays found in Afar Regional state]; Sultanate of Tadjoura and Sultanate of Gobaad, both found in the Republic of Djibouti (Dahilon, 1985 cited in Kebede, 1994:35).

Trimingham (1976:171) also noted that they [i.e. Danakil] formed the nomadic part of the peoples of the Kingdom of Adal and a substantial section of the Imam Ahmed’s armies.

104 For the location of Bab-al Mandab (Balel-mandeb) see map 1 (Languages of North-East Africa) in Trimingham (1976:16).

Getachew (2001a:49) further indicated that the Afar used to have Sultanates, which seem to have evolved from the Adali Muslim state of Harar since the 17^th century. According to Getachew the earlier Sultanate of the Afar was the Ankala Sultanate with its capital Rahayto, which developed in the northern part of the present day Djibouti Republic and southern Eritrea.

Trimingham (1976:171) claimed that after the death of Imam Ahmed Gragn and the collapse of his armies that consisted of substantial recruits of Afar, the Danakil (Afar) were soon dispersed and back again in their miserable desert, where in one place where permanent settlement was possible, the Sultanate of Aussa was formed. In this connection Getachew (2001a:49) also stated that the Awsa [Aussa] Sultanate evolved from the [Ahmed] Gragn Wars and the Oromo invasion.¹⁰⁵

Historically, the Afar have had a complicated relationship with the central government and their neighbours. Trimingham (1976:172) noted that “the Aussa Sultanate was comparatively free from raids from the highlands and the Abyssinian power until the time of Emperor Menelik II when, as a result of its Sultan having formed treaties with the Italians, it was invaded in 1895 by the Shewan army and forced to pay tribute”. Another explorer (Thesiger, 1935) also reinforced Trimingham’s idea. He stated that "the Afar country has never been effectively conquered by the Abyssinians, who are highlanders, unsuited by nature to operate in those hot and feverish lowlands" (Thesiger, 1935 as quoted in Kebede, 1994:29).

Therefore, according to these sources, the Sultanate of Aussa remained independent and un-penetrated by the central government of Ethiopia until 1944¹⁰⁶.

According to Trimingham, however, the Northern tribes such as the Dahrimela came under the hegemony of the rulers of Tigray, whereas those in the centre and south, with whom the Shewan kings had to remain on good terms in order to ensure the safety of their caravans to the coast always maintained a practical independence. No Abyssinian force dared to penetrate beyond the fringes. The Afar were continually contending even for the possession of these (Trimingham, 1976:171).

Of all Sultanates of Afar, “the most important was that of the Sultanate of Aussa by virtue of its considerable wealth and strategic location. It is only the Aussa region which is fertile, and agriculture has been practiced there for so many years by the help of the Awash River"

(Dahilon, 1985 cited in Kebede, 2005:36). Thus the Aussa Sultanate became stronger than any other previous Sultanate, and political and economic factors contributed to this. The economic factors that had contributed to the strength of the Aussa Sultanate included caravan trade, livestock production, small-scale agriculture along the lower Awash delta, and later the

105 There are two views concerning the emergence of the Sultanate in Aussa. The first view relates the emergence of the Sultanate to the coming of Arabs to the area from a place called Yambu in Yemen, while the second view maintains that it is the result of the fall of Islamic Kingdom of Harar (Kebede, 1994:21). The former description seems unlikely while the second one is most likely and also widely supported by other writers (e.g. Trimingham, 1976: 96-97), and traditional interpretation of history (Kebede, 1994:22).

106 Clapham also further argued that “Ethiopia as a whole did not have a centralized administration until after the end of the Italian rule in 1941, when attempts were made to set up a civil and military bureaucracy” (Clapham, 1969 cited in Kebede, 1994:29).

introduction of large-scale commercial farms in the Awash Valley in the 1960s (Kebede, 1994; Getachew, 2001a).

Historically the Awash Valley had been the main gateway for the caravan trade between the coast and the highland of Ethiopia. Aussa formed an important link on this route and its Sultanates depended on revenue from trade. The early Sultans had also benefited from slave trade and other trade activities as Aussa was the vital trade route to Tadjoura for centuries (Gamaledin, 1993:48). Until the early 1960s (i.e. before the advent of large-scale commercial farms in Aussa), the main economic base of the Sultanate of Aussa was mainly livestock breeding. As animal production was the major economic activity in the region, the major concern of the Afar had been the availability of water and grass for livestock. This economic base continued as the main mode of economic life until the introduction of large-scale commercial farms in Aussa in the 1960s. Agriculture, though on small-scale, had been practiced for thousands of years which first began in today's Afambo area.

Since the early 1940’s (i.e. during Emperor Haile Silassie’s time) the relation between the Imperial Government and the Aussa Sultante had changed. In 1944 an Ethiopian expedition was sent against Aussa on the grounds of the insecurity of the trade-routes, and its Sultan (Mohammed Yayo) was captured and brought to Addis Ababa where he died whilst in captivity. One of his relations, Ali Mirah was appointed as the Sultan of Aussa. (This will be elabourated in Chapter 5, section 5.2.4.1). However, the Imperial Government’s attempt to directly administer Aussa through centrally appointed governors was challenged by Sultan Ali Mirah and his supporters. Thus the central government resorted to indirect rule through appointing local chiefs (Balabats). At that time the relationship between the Sultan of Aussa (Ali Mirah) and the Emperor Haile Silassie was largely smooth. In relation to this Kebede (1994:33) stated as follows:

…. after a little-known Boha Revolt by the Sultan in 1949 when he decided to exile himself to Boha - a small village near the border of the Republic of Djibouti - an agreement was made between the Ethiopian government and the Aussans. […] this agreement served the interests of both the central government and the Aussans. The Emperor was aiming to incorporate the then French territory of Afar and Issa.

Hence, to the central government the long-term objective of the agreement was to use the Sultan as mediator to influence political conditions in that area. The Sultan was also careful to normalize relations with the Emperor for the role the Emperor could play in influencing or determining who should take power when the opportunity presents itself. This was a lesson the Sultan learnt from the Emperor's role in his coming to power in 1944. Both Sultan Ali Mirah and the Emperor needed to have smooth relations with each other. The Sultan was practically a semi-independent Sultan, having a direct access to the central government. For the Emperor, for anything to be done in Aussa the Sultan's prior consensus was important.

Therefore, following the agreement between Emperor Haile Silassie and Sultan Ali Mirah after the brief revolt of the Sultan at a place called Boha, the Ethiopian governor was removed from Asayita. Governors henceforth were to administer the Aussa district from their remote base at Bati town in the highland. The Sultan who had complained about restriction of access to the Emperor was given such access and he was promoted to the position of 'chief’

(Balabat) and then Bitwoded (the beloved). This later ushered the era of indirect rule, because

other Afar leaders were subject to this new overlord (Gamaledin, 1993:53). This point is elabourated in 4.3.4, No.I.

Though exploitation was in its rudimentary stage and not widespread, there were some dominant chiefs who were ‘first among equals’. In relation to this some authors stated that the Afar had Sultanates resembling feudal kingdoms (Fekadu et al., 1984:18). According to the informants from the study community, the Chiefs (Balabats)¹⁰⁷ during the Emperor time were reported to be ‘exploitative’. At each level the local people had to pay tax to their respective chiefs (Balabats) and each chief to the higher level leadership (i.e. to the Sultan in Aussa).

Informants reported that the Sultan of Aussa was able to accumulate large herds collected from tax and share from penalty collected at the community level. The Sultan’s wealth of stock was managed by herding groups assigned to each species of stock. Every 500-1000 cattle were herded by a group of about 15-20 persons, and this grouping was called Bahiri-Derimo. Likewise every 500-1000 camels were herded by a group of about 15-20 persons, and this grouping was named Bahiri-Akelie. Therefore, groups of people who were becoming dependent for subsistence on livestock owned by the Sultan had emerged. In relation to this Gamaledin (1993:48) noted that “the period witnessed the appearance of pastoral aristocracy, many of whose members owned land, and client population who were becoming dependent for their subsistence on the livestock owned and managed by the Sultanate’s own Malokti¹⁰⁸ (bailiffs)”. Gamaledin further stated that the inclusion of Malokti within the power structure, imposition of these officials in pastoral sectors and the introduction of livestock taxes reduced the power of the Makaban.

The introduction of large-scale commercial farming in the late 1950s into Aussa also shifted the Sultanate’s economic base and changed the class structure and relations in the region. The Sultan had been among the shareholders and benefited much from the new commercial farming. The percentage share of the Sultan Ali Mirah was seven percent¹⁰⁹ (Kebede, 1994:34). This new economic wealth of the Sultan together with his traditional authority has strengthened his power and he became stronger than his predecessors. This gave rise to a new class previously unknown to Aussa. Thus the Sultan and a small number of clan chiefs promoted to Balabats benefited from the new commercial farms through shareholding and/or running their own farms. In addition to this the Sultan acquired substantial land and profits from taxation. On the other hand, the majority of the pastoralists were out of the main stream of development, and had no or very little participation in the new economic activity.

Therefore, the majority of the Afar were neglected while modernized agriculture with attractive profit was growing fast at their expense.

In general the Sultanate of Aussa had supremacy over the other Sultanates and succeeded in maintaining its existence as a strong traditional Sultanate for four centuries until 1974. The Aussa Sultanate survived until the 1974 Revolution in Ethiopia. During the Derg rule the Sultanate was officially abolished in 1974. The demise of the Sultanate of Aussa led to the

107 Some authors noted that the introduction of Balabats caused political havoc, because some Afar Kidho Abba (lineage heads), with aspiration to power, began to use the government to promote their personal rise in status (Gamaledin, 1993).

108 Malokti were officials assigned by the Sultan.

109 Mitchell-Cotts Group (a British Firm which managed Tendaho Plantation) had 51 per cent of the share; the Ethiopian government 38 percent, and 4 percent was left for various local and foreign private interest shares.

weakening of the political strength of the Afar (Helland, 1980, cited in Assefa, 1995;

Kelemework, 2000; Gamaledin, 1993). After 1974 the Derg regime abolished the office of the Sultan, clan leaders (Balabats) and the lineage heads (Chikashum) and their feudal privileges (Getachew, 2001a:64). At the same time the relationship between the Derg government and the Afar society deteriorated and became very hostile as the central government pursued aggressively expanding state farms in the Awash Valley and the militarization of the region on the grounds of security and for suppressing insurgent groups from Tigray, Eritrea and the Afar Region as well.

After the fall of the Derg regime, the Aussa Sultan was restored in 1991 (Getachew, 2001a:35). The current Sultan (i.e. spiritual leader) of the Afar is Ali Mirah. As stated earlier, subsequent to the 1991 political change in the country, the Afar have their own Region covering a vast area in north-eastern part of Ethiopia. The establishment of this self-administration, which was long-desired by the Afar, is viewed as a positive measure. In fact it has yet to yield fruit by bringing the entrenched economic, political and ecological marginalization of the Afar society to an end. The following sections discuss the Afar social and political organizations, and the central governments’ attempts to incorporate them into the government structure.