This is part II of my "top most interesting African tribes" series.

First I featured the Wodaabe (Fulani) group..BELOW is the link to that thread.
https://www.nairaland.com/1018361/wodaabe-people

Now, I will share info. on the Afar and perhaps next will be the Masai

[size=38pt]The Afar.[/size]


Caption: Afar girl in Asaita, Danakil, Ethiopia
Source: flickr.com

*guys please don't derail this one like you did the first one.

[size=18pt]Background Info:[/size]
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar_people

The Afar (Afar: Qafár, Arabic: عفار‎, Amharic: አፋር? āfār), also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea. Afars speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family.

Afar in pictures:

Afar Girl in Eritrea


Afar of Ethiopia


Afar of Ethiopia

[size=18pt]Afar territory.[/size]

[img]http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER2/wecd_0002_0001_0_img0004[/img]

Although they are predominantly found in North East Ethiopia, the Afar also make up roughly 1/3rd of the population of Djibouti. They are also found in Eritrea.

*thread under construction...*

Afar in Photography & Motion (I).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlKLoqpQKH4

^^they made a mistake @ 5:40 (and i think also @ 6:20).
that woman is Fulani.

present day afar warriors:



...what a cutie

I will explain what is in his hair later on.
Let's just say that the Afar invented the oldest form of hair gel

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1160763_afarman_jpg1bddabae26ff6cbada5efa0c4b1b037b[/img]

[size=28pt]Afar Nomadic Culture[/size]

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1082682_afarnomad_jpg26a4ac9d0115e0c4bc1c1314b30f39fc[/img]

The Afar are traditionally pastoralists, raising goats, sheep, and cattle in the desert.

Socially, they are organized into clan families and two main classes: the asaimara ('reds') who are the dominant class politically, and the adoimara ('whites') who are a working class and are found in the Mabla Mountains.

The Afar move their homes seasonally, living near the Awash River during the dry season and traveling to other areas during the rainy season.

The Afar live in camps surrounded by thorn barricades, which protect them from the attacks of wild animals or enemy tribesmen. Their oval-shaped huts, called ari, are made of palm mats and are easily moved.

In addition, the Afar are reputed for their martial prowess. Men traditionally sport the jile, a famous curved knife. They also have an extensive repertoire of battle songs.

Warrior Music:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKMDXLNcOoo

[size=18pt]Language[/size]

Afars speak the Afar language as a mother tongue. It is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and is spoken by ethnic Afars in the Afar Region of Ethiopia, as well as in southern Eritrea and northern Djibouti. However, since the Afar are traditionally nomadic herders, Afar speakers may be found further afield.

[img]http://alma.matrix.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/african_language_families.jpg[/img]

their territory is also marked in blue signifying that they are part of the Afro.Asiatic language group.

[size=18pt]Writing system[/size]

Afar may be written either with the Latin script or Ge'ez.

Linguists of the Institut des Langues de Djibouti, the Eritrean Ministry of Education and the Ethiopian Afar Language Studies & Enrichment Center are working to develop a standardized written version of Afar in order to facilitate alphabetization of its speakers.

[size=18pt]Religion[/size]
Afar people are predominantly Muslim. They have a long history of association with Islam through the various local Muslim polities.

**Interesting thing to note is that not too long ago Afar women would go about bare br3asted but in recent years a more stricter version of Islam has influenced Afar way of life and as a result they now cover up either in traditional Islamic garb or by tribal influenced locally made striped t-shirts.

Afar woman in the past: (contains nuudity)
http://www.african-tribes.org/afar-woman.jpg

Afar women now:

[size=18pt]More on Afar & Islam[/size]

Afar society has traditionally been organized into independent kingdoms, each ruled by its own Sultan.

The earliest surviving written mention of the Afar is from the 13th century Arab writer Ibn Sa'id, who reported that they lived in the area around the port of Suakin, as far south as Mandeb, near Zeila. They are mentioned intermittently in Ethiopian records, first as helping Emperor Amda Seyon in a campaign beyond the Awash River, then over a century later when they assisted Emperor Baeda Maryam when he campaigned against their neighbors the Dobe'a.

Along with the closely related Somali and other adjacent Afro-Asiatic-speaking Muslim peoples, the Afar are also associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate that controlled large parts of the northern Horn of Africa. During its existence, Adal had relations and engaged in trade with other polities in Northeast Africa, the Near East, Europe and South Asia. Many of the historic cities in the Horn region, such as Maduna, Abasa, Berbera, Zeila and Harar, flourished with courtyard houses, mosques, shrines, walled enclosures and cisterns during the kingdom's Golden Age.

The Afar people do not eat pork and rarely drink alcohol. Those who can afford to do so, make a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition, many pre-Islamic beliefs and customs are also prevalent among the Afar. They believe that certain trees and groves have sacred powers. They also have various religious rites such as anointing their bodies with ghee (a type of butter). Spirits of the dead are believed to be very powerful, and a "feast of the dead," called Rabena, is celebrated each year. They also give annual offerings to the sea to ensure safety for their villages. Many people wear protective leather amulets that contain herbs and verses from the Koran.

Wow! Educative!
Ive never heard of the Afar tribe.

That Afar warrior is a cutie.

**following**

I dont know why but he reminds me of that Michael killer boy

Lol. . . The London-Michael-killer-boy?

The Afar are part of the Cushitic family.
This classification pertains to both a language group and the sharing of a common ancestral background. Cushitic peoples are primarily found in the horn of Africa, central and North Africa.

This videos compares the similarities
between the Afar, Oromo and Somali

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF4qq-juoQ4

Faces of the Afar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12EhWHRjZ8M

adaobi123:

I dont know why but he reminds me of that Michael killer boy

Br3nd4: Wow! Educative!
Ive never heard of the Afar tribe.

That Afar warrior is a cutie.

**following**

cool!! i'll have more up later on sis.

*Kails*:

I guess Im the only person who sees it

Afar women

afar women

afar girl

afar lady

afar girl

afar man in djibouti (kinda looks somali)

afar girl

afar girl

afar men

afar girl

afar man

Lovely pictures.

Afar are good looking people


almost as good looking as their original cousins the somalis

yeah they are good looking.
but let's not derail ok? thanks

do they sharpen their teeth?

PAPA AFRICA: do they sharpen their teeth?

some do

adaobi123:

I dont know why but he reminds me of that Michael killer boy

he kind of reminds me of D'Angelo