page_title: Cushitic peoples
section_title: Ethnic groups
hierarchical_section_title: Cushitic peoples / Ethnic groups
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bedscha-Beduine Italiano: Shalatin - mercato dei cammelli, beduini Beja
context_page_description: The Cushitic peoples are a grouping of people who are primarily indigenous to Northeast Africa and speak or have historically spoken Cushitic languages of the Afroasiatic language family. Cushitic languages are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, as well as the Nile Valley, and parts of the African Great Lakes region. Some examples of these peoples include the Cushitic speaking ethnic groups.
  Linguistic evidence indicates that Cushitic languages were spoken in Lower Nubia, an ancient region which straddles present day Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan, before the arrival of North Eastern Sudanic languages from Upper Nubia. Many extinct populations of northern Nubia such as the Medjay and the Blemmyes spoke Cushitic languages related to the modern Beja language. Less certain are hypotheses which propose that Cushitic languages were spoken by the people of the C-Group culture in northern Nubia, or the people of the Kerma culture in southern Nubia. Historical linguistic analysis indicates that the languages spoken in the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic culture of the Rift Valley and surrounding areas, may have been languages of the South Cushitic branch.
context_section_description: Cushitic-speakers 
  The Oromo are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia and  represent 34.4% of Ethiopia's population. Oromos speak the Oromo language as a mother tongue (also called Afaan Oromoo and Oromiffa), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The word Oromo is sometimes
  mistakenly said to have appeared in European literature for the first time in 1893. However, it was used as early as
  in 1868 by Arnaud d'Abbadie Arnaud-Michel d'Abbadie
  who explained that the people that the Amhara speaking Ethiopians called
  Galla actually call themselves Oromo.
  The Somalis are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. They are predominantly Muslim, mostly Sunni or non-denominational Muslim. Ethnic Somalis number around 12–18 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 9 million), Ethiopia (4.5 million), Kenya (2.4 million), and Djibouti (534,000). A Somali diaspora is also found in parts of the Middle East, African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa, North America, Oceania, and Western Europe.
  The Beja (Beja: Oobja; Arabic: البجا‎) are an ethnic group inhabiting Sudan, as well as parts of Eritrea and Egypt, in recent history they have lived primarily in the Eastern Desert. The Beja are traditionally Cushitic pastoral nomads native to northeast Africa numbering around 1,237,000 people. Many Beja people speak the Beja language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Some Beja groups have shifted to primary or exclusive use of Arabic. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni Amer grouping speak Tigre.
  The Agaw (Ge'ez: አገው Agäw, modern Agew) are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
  The Agaw are perhaps first mentioned in the third-century Monumentum Adulitanum, an Aksumite inscription recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the sixth century. The inscription refers to a people called "Athagaus" (or Athagaous), perhaps from ʿAd Agaw, meaning "sons of Agaw.
  The Afar (Afar: Qafár), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are an ethnic group inhabiting 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 Afroasiatic family.
  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 Saho sometimes called "Soho", are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They are principally concentrated in Eritrea, with some also living in adjacent parts of Ethiopia. They speak Saho as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family and is closely related to Afar.
  The Sidamo are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) in Ethiopia. They speak the Sidamo language which is a language of the Cushitic of the Afroasiatic language family. Despite their large numbers they currently lack a separate ethnic regional state.
  Ethiosemitic-speakers (language shift)
  Many Ethiosemitic-language populations were historically Cushitic speakers, primarily of the Agaw branch. Prominent examples of these include the Amhara, Gurage, Tigrayans, and Tigre. The Beta Israel historically spoke an Agaw language, subsequently followed by a language shift to Amharic and Tigrinya, and in the early 21st century to modern Hebrew due to acculturation into Israeli society. Ethiosemitic speaking groups generally have a cultural a
caption: The Beja Bedouins
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