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.jpg) A Daasanach woman | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 Ethiopia 48,067 (2007 census)[1] Kenya 19,337 (2019 Census)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Ethiopia,Kenya | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional African religions andChristianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nilotic peoples,[3][a]Aroid (South Omotic) peoples such as theKaro,[3] andCushitic peoples(primarily of theWestern Omo–Tana branch)[4] |
TheDaasanach (also known as theMarille orGeleba) are an ethnic group inhabiting parts ofEthiopia,Kenya, andSouth Sudan. Their main homeland is in theDebub Omo Zone of theSouth Ethiopia Regional State, adjacent toLake Turkana. According to the 2007 national census, they number 48,067 people (or 0.07% of the total population of Ethiopia), of whom 1,481 are urban dwellers.[1]
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The Daasanach are also called Marille, especially by their neighbours, theTurkana of Kenya. The Daasanach are traditionallypastoralists, but in recent years have become primarily agropastoral. Having lost the majority of their lands over the past fifty years or so, primarily as a result from being excluded from their traditional Kenyan lands, including on both sides of Lake Turkana, and the 'Ilemi Triangle' of South Sudan, they have suffered a massive decrease in the numbers of cattle, goats and sheep. As a result, large numbers of them have moved to areas closer to theOmo River, where they attempt to grow enough crops to survive. There is much disease along the river (includingtsetse, which has increased with forest and woodland development there), however, making this solution to their economic plight difficult. Like many pastoral peoples throughout this region of Africa, the Daasanach are a highly egalitarian society, with a social system involving age sets and clan lineages - both of which involve strong reciprocity relations.
The Daasanach today speak theDaasanach language. It belongs to theCushitic branch of theAfro-Asiatic family. The language is notable for its large number of noun classes, irregular verb system, and implosive consonants. For instance, the initial D in Daasanach is implosive, sometimes written as <'D> or <Dh>.
Population genetic analyses of the Daasanach indicate that they are more closely related toNilo-Saharan populations than they are to mostCushitic andSemitic Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations of Ethiopia. This suggests that the Daasanach were originally Nilo-Saharan speakers, sharing common origins with thePokot. In the 19th century, theNilotic ancestors of these two populations are believed to have begun separate migrations, with one group heading southwards into theAfrican Great Lakes region and the other group settling in southern Ethiopia. There, the early Daasanach Nilotes would have come into contact with a Cushitic-speaking population, and eventually adopted this group's Afro-Asiatic language.[4]
A 2021 study comparing a variety of Ethiopian populations discovered that the Daasanach people cluster closer to the NiloticNyangatom and theAroid (South Omotic)Karo peoples than they do to most other Cushitic populations of Ethiopia.[3]
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The Daasanach are a primarily agropastoral people; they grow sorghum, maize, pumpkins and beans when the Omo river and its delta floods. Otherwise the Daasanach rely on their goats and cattle which give them milk, and are slaughtered in the dry season for meat and hides. Sorghum is cooked with water into a porridge eaten with a stew. Corn is usually roasted, and sorghum is fermented into beer. The Daasanach who herd cattle live in dome-shaped houses made from a frame of branches, covered with hides and woven boxes (which are used to carry possessions on donkeys when the Daasanach migrate). The huts have a hearth, with mats covering the floor used for sleeping. The Dies, or lower class, are people who have lost their cattle and their way of living. They live on the shores of Lake Turkana hunting crocodiles and fishing. Although their status is low because of their lack of cattle, the Dies help the herders withcrocodile meat and fish in return for meat.
Women arecircumcised by removing theclitoris. Women who are not circumcised are called animals or boys and cannot get married or wear clothes. Women wear a pleated cowskin skirt and necklaces and bracelets. Women often marry in their late teens and men in their early twenties. Boys arecircumcised. A man's wealth is determined by the size of his herd. Men with large herds often take multiple wives.
There are a number of variant spellings of Daasanach, including Dasenach and Dassanech (the latter used in an episode about them in the TV seriesTribe). Daasanach is the primary name given in the Ethnologue language entry.[5]
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